Cortés and Montezuma (A New Directions classic) [Paperback]

Maurice Collis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0811214230 | ISBN-13: 978-0811214230 | Publication Date: September 15, 1999

The convergence of Cortés and Montezuma is the most emblematic event in the birth of what would come to be called "America."

Landing on the Mexican coast on Good Friday, 1519, Hernán Cortés felt himself the bearer of a divine burden to conquer and convert the first advanced civilization Europeans had yet encountered in the West. For Montezuma, leader of the Mexicans, April 21, 1519 (known in their sophisticated astronomical system as 9 Wind Day) was the precise date of a dire prophesy: the return of Quetzalcoatl, a fearsome god predicted to arrive by ship, from the East, with light skin, a black beard, robed in black—exactly as Cortés would. The ensuing drama is described by eminent historian Maurice Collis in a style that is equal parts story and scholarship. Though its consequences have been treated by writers as diverse as D.H. Lawrence and Charles Olson, never before have the facts of this event been rendered with such extraordinary clarity and elegance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fascinating piece of history...Maurice Collis tells an extremely intricate story with perfect clarity, and he writes also with obvious delight at having such a good story to tell. (David Garnett - New Statesman )

Collis has set out not merely to retell the fabulous story of the conquest of Mexico, but to study in some detail the characters of Montezuma and Cortés.... Written excitingly, [it is] a book that was needed and could hardly have done better. (Michael Swan - Time and Tide )

Collis's books give nothing but pleasure to those who enjoy elegant writing. (Harold Nicolson - Daily Telegraph )

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: New Directions (September 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811214230
• ISBN-13: 978-0811214230
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #674,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Perspective on an Incredible Story, January 23, 2001

By 

T. Reid (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cortés and Montezuma (A New Directions classic) (Paperback)

The story of the conquest of the remarkable Aztec civilization by Cortes' handful of Spaniards is an incredible drama. The accounts of Bernal Diaz and Prescott tell it well, but at considerable length, and with only a superficial comprehension of what motivated the Mexicans' responses to Cortes' invasion. What makes Corliss's succinct and compelling account so insightful and remarkable, to me, is his sympathetic understanding of the Mexicans' and Montezuma's complex astrological-magical religion, and how it decisively shaped their actions. He understands a pre-modern time when religious beliefs were the predominant context for social and individual actions, as well as the importance of Cortes' religious faith, and he notes the fascinating paradoxes and ironies that resulted from the primary actors' actions based on their respective religious convictions.

But regardless of that, this is simply a wonderful read. My one regret is that the book wasn't accompanied by illustrations to convey the extraordinary richness (and horror) of the Aztec civilization, as well as the difficult and stunning terrain where the action took place.

As a footnote, it is fascinating to contrast the ethos of the Conquistadores with that of the North American settlers so well described in Albion's Seed.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Story and a Great Tragedy, September 7, 2000

By 

James Paris "Tarnmoor" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cortés and Montezuma (A New Directions classic) (Paperback)

My best friend's wife was in the hospital, and I was put in charge of their son for a few hours. I decided to tell him the story from memory of how Hernan de Cortez, with a handful of men, brought down an entire world. I had just finished reading Collis's book, and also Bernal Diaz's first-hand account of the same story and Prescott's able retelling in THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO, so it was still fresh in my mind. The boy was entranced.

Maurice Collis's is by far the best telling of the story as such. (Prescott and Diaz are both worth reading if you have the chance.) I collect Collis and love everything I have ever read by him.

There are, of course, two sides to every story. Cortez's gain was Montezuma's loss: And it was the Aztecs' loss. According to J. Eric S. Thompson in MAYA HISTORY AND RELIGION, approximately 80% of the population of what is now Mexico died of measles, smallpox, malaria and other diseases brought by the Spanish within a very short time. The Aztecs' sacred books were burned as heresy; their language (Nahuatl) is dying out; and the name and image of Montezuma are absent in the Mexico of today. Only Cuauhtemoc, who resisted Cortez and his lieutenants, is honored.

Read this book and marvel at how tenuous a civilzation can be. It took Rome over a thousand years to fall: Tenochtitlan fell in a year.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Esoteric Drama of the Conquest of Mexico, January 20, 2002

By 

"badric" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cortés and Montezuma (A New Directions classic) (Paperback)

The incredible chain of events that led to the conquest of Mexico by a small group of Spaniards is wonderfull told by Maurice Collis in this fascinating book. Well organised and stylishly written, the book includes many quotations from contemporary sources, as well as some very vivid descriptions of the places and persons involved. Collis's understanding of the events and his clear and involving style make Cortes and Montezuma an extraordinary piece of historical writing.

The complex characters and motivations of both central figures are explained in detail. According to Collis, Montezuma was a generous, devout and able ruler, but at the same time he was a tyrannical monster who indulged in endless orgies of ritual murder; Cortes was a civilized and enterprising explorer who brought enlightenment to a oppressed land but he was also the bringer of death and destruction to a complex and fascinating civilization. The author also explains the amazing astrological-magical religion of the Mexicans and how it made the conquest possible.

This is probably the best book on the subjet, a veritable page turner that will help you understand one of the most incredible events in history.