Book description
The History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del
Castillo, a new abridgement of Diaz del Castillo's classic
Historia verdadera de la conquista de Nueva España, offers a
unique contribution to our understanding of the political and
religious forces that drove the great cultural encounter between Spain
and the Americas known as the "conquest of Mexico." Besides
containing important passages, scenes, and events excluded from other
abridgements, this edition includes eight useful interpretive essays
that address indigenous religions and cultural practices, sexuality
during the early colonial period, the roles of women in indigenous
cultures, and analysis of the political and economic purposes behind
Diaz del Castillo's narrative. A series of maps illuminate the routes
of the conquistadors, the organization of indigenous settlements, the
struggle for the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, as well as the
disastrous Spanish journey to Honduras. The information compiled for
this volume offers increased accessibility to the original text,
places it in a wider social and narrative context, and encourages
further learning, research, and understanding.
