The Sancy Blood Diamond: Power, Greed, and the Cursed History of One of the World's Most Coveted Gems
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.34 (731 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0471436518 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 338 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-11-04 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Alternately believed to impart invincibility to its wearer and to bring ruin to any who owned it, the Sancy cast a seemingly mystical spell over everyone from the king of Portugal to Henry III of France to England's Elizabeth I to Napoleon Bonaparte and Queen Maria Luisa of Spain.The riveting account of one of the most hotly pursued gems in history, The Sancy Blood Diamond follows its six-century journey from the diamond mines of Golconda to where it now modestly resides at the Louvre, among the remnants of the French crown jewels. She also describes the pivotal roles it played on the chessboard of European geopolitics, and how it was used to raise armies, settle national debts, and enhance its owners' power and prestige.Working from primary sources, Ronald solves, once and for all, the mystery of the Sancy's disappearances in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and she explores the legend of the Sancy curse, which arose after the violent deaths of Burgundy's Charles the Bold, England's Charles I, France's Louis XVI, and other ill-fated owners.. The fascinating six-hundred-year history of one of the world's most coveted gems and the royal feu
Benoit Remy said Sancy Blood Diamond. This so-called history of the Sancy diamond was probably written in a couple of weeks, at most. There isn't a single footnote or reference of any kind in spite of a 'Selected Bibliography' at the end of the book. No fact, no assertion, or speculation of an. fraco C. Pinheiro Comprei um livro na esperança de aprender um pouco sobre diamantes e o livro é sobre a história da europa :-( Bad experience!!
Ronald, a British historian, has gone on a treasure hunt to dig up every fact imaginable about the diamond's owners from the 14th century to the present—it's now in the Louvre, which purchased it from Lord Astor, who inherited it from his father. As an introduction to mostly European history, this book is alternately enlightening and overwhelming. While she clearly illustrates the ill fortune that befell many who came into contact with the diamond, it's hard to buy her claim that "it helped change the course of European history," though those who bought, traded, stole or coveted the San