This study of the Portuguese commercial empire in India during theHapsburg years is the most serious attempt yet made to analyze theold Portuguese pepper trade from the planting of orchards in thefoothills of Malabar and Kanara to the unloading of spice-ladencarracks in Lisbon. Equally significant, it is the first book toexplain how and why the Portuguese were not able to modernize theirtrade system when faced with crisis conditions. The distress thatconfronted the Portuguese following the arrival of the Dutch andEnglish, seen here as partly military but fundamentally economicand organizational, reached its decisive stage in the 162s andearly 163s. The Portuguese attempted to combat the crisis bycreating their own India Company. The story of that company and thereasons for its failure are thoroughly investigated as Disney looksat its antecedents, composition, activities, and weaknesses. \n