The King's Fifth
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 First edition | |
| Author | Scott O'Dell[1] |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
Publication date | September 1966 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 272 pp (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 0-395-06963-7 (hardcover), ISBN 0-440-94538-0 (paperback) |
| OCLC | 301963 |
The King's Fifth (1966) is a children's historical novel by Scott O'Dell It describes, from the point of view of a teenage Spanish Conquistador, how the European search for gold in the New World of the Americas affected people's lives and minds.[2] The title refers to the one fifth share of spoils expected by the Spanish Crown.
The story takes place in a time when the Spanish adventurers, known as Conquistadors, colonised the New World of the Americas, in search of the mythical gold treasures of the dethroned Native Americans.
Characters:
- Estéban de Sandoval: a teenage mapmaker to the expedition to Cibola to find the gold.
- Zia Troyano: a younger teenage Native American guide.
- Captain Blas de Mendoza (very loosely based on Antonio de Mendoza) - an aristocrat in search of gold.
- Father Francisco: a priest to the expedition who joined as a missionary and an explorer.
- Roa and Zuñiga: part of a trio of musicians who are Mendoza's cronies.
