Cortes: The Life of the Conqueror by His Secretary

Rating:
Summary: How Cortes pulled it off
Review: This book is highly recommended to any student of Mexican history, specifically the conquest by the Spaniards or any history buff for that matter. This book is a perfect companion to other primary sources such "The Broken Arrows" or "The True History of the Conquest". Like the "True History of the Conquest" this is written from a Spaniards perspective and the early prejudicial nuances towards the indigenous cultures are prevelent. The disgust with the primative ways that existed prior to their arrival is always mentioned, especially the eating of flesh and the Gods they believed in. The author was Cortes's personal secretary and chaplain. There are no dispariging words towrds Cortes as he is painted as most noble, loyal to the crown and ingenious in his statesmanship abroad. This is a controversial account as Cortes is given practically single handed credit for pulling off one of the greatest miltary victories of all time. Considering the odds in terms of sheer numbers Cortes was a genius to have pulled off the capture of Tenochitlan and establishing New Spain. The book covers the success of Cortes with his early adventures in Cuba as well as his childhood and youth. The later to show how his adventurous and cunning spirit grew. The translation is excelent in that it is not overly tedious with old world phrases and sentence structure. The translator of this work also tranlated a novel by Mariano Azuela, "Two Novels of Mexico" amognst many others. This is the first translation since the truncated version of Thomas Nicholas in 1578. This is a very fascinatinfg read in that in goes in detail of every"step" along the way of the conquest. The reader follows Cortes from Veracruz and meets all the various hospitable Indios along the way. Those familar with the conquest will be aware of Cortes's manipulation of the various groups and his bid to unify them in an effort to depose Moctezuma. Of particular interest is the way Moctezuma was treated while under arrest and how his followers demanded more respect for him. The establishing of Christianity was of the utmost importance and it is amazing how the Spanish were able to remove the "idols" and establish Christian imagery in the existing houses of worship. The role of "La Malinche" is discussed as well. Cortes was treated as the loyalty he was but his was not enoough as he saw the gold that he convinced the natives to give them so that his men could cure the "illness" they had. This contrived illness I think is better known a greed. Cortes was given the finest gifts everywhere he went and the natives tried to keep him from entering Tenochitlan. The diseaes and mutinies are all explained in detail and how Cortes , according to Gomara, single handedly managed to overcome all obstacles in his quest. The vital role of all tribes that were in oppositon to the Aztecs or Mexica, especially the Tlaxcalans is chronicled with clarity and extreme detail. The final attempts at resistance are also discussed with the inevitable torture and death of many including Cuahtemoc. All of Cortes speaches are included and it is very insightful how his oratory skills played a role in his leadership. The death of Moctezuna is most interesting as it does not signal the end of the conquest as one might believe. The last part of the book after the conquest deals with the establishing of New Spain and the problems Cortes encountered both personally and for the Crown. This is a great account of one of the most dramatic events that changed the course of history with the merging of the old world and the new world. This book is worth hunting down as it is a valuable first hand account of the conquest all be it through the bias of the European perspective. Included is a bibliography for further study and a helpful glossary.