Letters from Mexico [Paperback]

Hernan Cortes (Author), Dr. Anthony Pagden (Translator), Anthony Pagden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0300090943 | ISBN-13: 978-0300090949

Hernan Cortes's Cartas de Relacion, written over a seven-year period to Charles V of Spain, provide an extraordinary narrative account of the conquest of Mexico from the founding of the coastal town of Veracruz until Cortes's journey to Honduras in 1525. Pagden's English translation has been prepared from a close examination of the earliest surviving manuscript and of the first printed editions, and he also provides a new introduction offering a bold and innovative interpretation of the nature of the conquest and Cortes's involvement in it. J. H. Elliot's introductory essay explains Cortes's conflicts with the Crown and with Diego Velazquez, the governor of Cuba.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the most fascinating Machiavellian documents to come out of the Renaissance." -- Carlos Fuentes, Guardian

"The definitive edition [of the letters] in any language." -- C. R. Boxer, English Historical Review

"The first reliable edition of the most important Spanish text . . . draws on Pagden's own profound knowledge of Mesoamerican cultures." -- Helen Nader, Sixteenth Century Journal

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300090943
• ISBN-13: 978-0300090949
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read, April 2, 2002

By 

Robert EL Tedder (Fayetteville, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hernan Cortes: Letters from Mexico (Paperback)

Anthony Pagden, Harry C. Black Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, presents his readers with what he feels is the definitive edition of Hernan Cortes letters. Pagden states in his introduction that although his translation was not the first in English, the previous were, "more or less unsatisfactory" (page lxxix). Pagden sticks to the verisimilitude of the letters as much as possible, presenting Cortes' original spellings and place names. The main liberty Pagden admits to have taken, dividing the text into further paragraphs, does not distract the reader or destroy the intent of the work. By using the earliest available manuscripts, the original translations, and numerous primary sources as evidenced by an extensive bibliography, Pagden allows the reader to enter another world, and delve into the mind of the most talked about of all conquerors, Hernan (Hernando, Fernando) Cortes. Five letters are presented for synaptic digestion. However, the first letter presented is actually not written by Cortes. The unknown author speaks highly of Cortes, though. The other letters, penned by Cortes, describes the exact minutiae of what he paints as a perilous journey. What makes these letters so readable and enjoyable is the reader gains an intimate knowledge of the pageantry of the 16th century, and a first-hand account of what must have been clash of Spanish and New World cultures. The letters written by Cortes are revelatory. He must have had either a tremendous memory (the shortest letter is fifty-six pages long whereas the longest is 122 pages) or a fervent imagination. It is not inconceivable, then, and Cortes' prose intimates this, that he was an educated man. The letters also show that Cortes was very deferential - as he addresses his head of state, every few pages Cortes begins a new thought with phrases such as, "Most Powerful and Invincible Lord", "Your Majesty", and "Most Catholic Lord." For the contemporary reader this can be distracting. From the triumph of Conquest, the reader finds Cortes ends as a broken man, literally begging King Charles for monies to pay his increasing debts. Certainly these are not all the letters Cortes wrote to his monarch. What letters presented represent a unique opportunity. Herein lays the thinking of the man who led a handful conquerors and New World allies to bring down an empire. In this respect, the work succeeds brilliantly, for the mind of Cortes leaps out in his letters.
I might have read a different edition than the one advertised, so the page numbers might not match up.

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oranges and Hernan Cortes, September 10, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Hernan Cortes: Letters from Mexico (Paperback)

The story begins with the planting of A Orange Tree and ends with the the conquest of Mexico. Cortes is a man driven by adventure and the lure of wealth in the new lands. It is however sad that he ends up in love with the place and culture that he finally destroys. The book gives a blow by blow description of the political intrigue of the church, the crown and of course Cortes men. At one point in the book the fighting is so brutal that Cortes is literally hacking the Aztec warroirs to death as steel meets wood in a no contest.Montezouma is perhaps the most tagic figure given that he is a child not a leader. The insights that Cortes rrecordrds give a fascinating account in a true historical sense. It is a book that destroys the idea that conquistidores like Cortes are bigger than life.The book reaffirms a tragic tale with its detail descriptions. A great read for enthusiasts of Mexican history Leigh Collins

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful documents that prove Cortes started the "Cortes is, February 28, 2003

By 

Min Byong Chang "MBC" (Uijongbu South Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hernan Cortes: Letters from Mexico (Paperback)

This book is an excellent new translation of five letters to Charles V, the HRE, four written by Cortes. The first letter, not written by Cortes, seems to have been written with Cortes leaning over the writer's shoulder, for it fits in perfectly with the four Cortes letters, both in sequence and in theme.

The running theme of all five letters seems to be this: Cortes is a great man who works to bring wealth and glory to Charles V, while overcoming amazing obsticles presented by both Indian and Spanish sources.

What can be learned from these letters? Not much that can be trusted, other than Cortes is good at "selling" Cortes to the royal court.

The letters are full of obvious exagerations and vast silences.