This is the first book written about the political actions of Ferdinand the Catholic in more than a century. From the walls of the Alhambra to the shores of Hispaniola, the king of Spain sent a self-professed, inexperienced explorer, Christopher Columbus, to command a small fleet of vessels to search for a new, faster route to China. From the moment the Spanish seamen saw the glint of gold on the ornaments worn by the Native Americans, they thought of nothing else but stealing their own share of the treasure. Columbus was unable to exert control of their behavior. Their greed changed an island of paradise into an island of living-hell for the inhabitants. More than five hundred years later, there is still unrest on the island of Hispaniola, now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This is only one aspect of history revealed in the historical novel, Machiavelli’s Hero.
Little has been written about Ferdinand the Catholic, the most powerful monarch in Europe during the Renaissance, despite the fact that he significantly influenced and changed not only American history but also the history of Europe.
History has been brought to life through the detailed stories of Ferdinand’s adversaries and victims. The reader will learn about the cunning and ruthlessness of a brilliant politician, with no conscience, who used his wife and children, his army and priests to cheat, rob, enslave and abolish Jewish and Muslim citizens of his own country as well as Italians, French and Americans. He muddled in the affairs of other countries through his clever strategies with the leaders of Germany, England, and France.
