"In the sixteenth century, Spain's control over its vast New World empire depended on the sailors and officers who manned the galleons and merchant vessels of its Atlantic fleets. Pablo E. Perez-Mallaina paints a portrait of the bleak daily life of these crews aboard the ships of the Spanish Main. Cramped quarters, abominable food, seasickness, vermin infestation, and the threat of shipwrecks and pirates took a physical and mental toll on seamen and passengers. Most sailors were highly superstitious, and Perez-Mallaina closes his study with an exploration of their unorthodox religious beliefs, which combined Christian and pagan elements. A significant contribution to maritime history, Spain's Men of the Sea also succeeds as a compelling tale of life and death in the maritime community."--BOOK JACKET