Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

The Conquest of Mexico

Post Reply
User avatar
Wulfric of Mercia
Scribbler
Posts: 14
Joined: April 2010
Contact:

The Conquest of Mexico

Post by Wulfric of Mercia » Wed May 12th, 2010, 5:42 pm

I've got a thing for reading historical chronicles. I recently picked up two first hand accounts of the conquest of Mexico.

Image

Bernal Diaz was a foot soldier in Hernan Cortes' army. He wrote his chronicle of his experiences late in his life and never published it. It was picked up later and translated and has become a classic depiction of the Spanish domination of Mexico. Truly fascinating.

Image

Not started on this yet but these are the letters that Hernan Cortes wrote to the king of Spain during the years of the conquest.

What makes this period in history so alluring is the clash of completely different cultures. Pretty riveting stuff.

User avatar
princess garnet
Bibliophile
Posts: 1797
Joined: August 2008
Location: Maryland

Post by princess garnet » Sun May 16th, 2010, 12:40 am

The painting on the 2nd book is now on display at the Library of Congress. It's part of a set of paintings about the Mexican conquest.

Ash
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 2475
Joined: August 2008
Location: Arizona, USA

Post by Ash » Sun May 16th, 2010, 2:11 am

Warning: there is a lot of bias obviously towards the Spainards in both books. Make sure you look for a more contemporary work that if not exactly from the native view, at least is a little more objective. We learned about Cortez in school, and it wasn't until I was much older that I realized what happened to so many natives in that country. Theres a lot more than meets the eye here (btw, I know you now want me to give you a title. I can't think of one off hand, tho I do remember one book we used in college that was quite a good depiction of the Mexican culture and history: Distant Neighbors (updated in 2000)

http://www.amazon.com/Distant-Neighbors ... 0679724419

There are others who can probably provide more titles.

User avatar
Margaret
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 2440
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: I can't answer this in 100 characters. Sorry.
Favourite HF book: Checkmate, the final novel in the Lymond series
Preferred HF: Literary novels. Late medieval and Renaissance.
Location: Catskill, New York, USA
Contact:

Post by Margaret » Sun May 16th, 2010, 4:03 am

I haven't read either of these, but I've noticed that the bias in first-hand accounts is often so blatant as to be eloquent in ways the original writer never intended!
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info

annis
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4585
Joined: August 2008

Post by annis » Sun May 16th, 2010, 5:22 am

Although it's also good to read more considered modern interpretations of motivations and events (keeping in mind that modern authors may well have their own agendas), there's nothing like reading the original to give you a feel for the mind-set of particular period.
Last edited by annis on Sun May 16th, 2010, 5:31 am, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
andrewoberg
Scribbler
Posts: 46
Joined: June 2010
Location: Kochi City, Japan
Contact:

Post by andrewoberg » Thu June 17th, 2010, 8:48 am

@Annis

I completely agree. Particularly good for getting into the mindset of the people of the time are the Roman histories, in my opinion. Also, along similar lines, I think that Thucydides' "Peloponnesian War" comes pretty close to a modern attempt at objectivity.

Would be interested to hear more about both titles, and others regarding Spain's colonization of the New World.
Teacher and writer living in rural Japan--very adept with chopsticks! Humorous serial shorts and historical fiction graphic novel at: http://drugstorebooks.com/

Sonia
Scribbler
Posts: 17
Joined: June 2010
Location: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/

The Spaniards Take Over.. fiction

Post by Sonia » Thu June 17th, 2010, 6:50 pm

I gotta step in here and mention a book I was pretty impressed with pertaining somewhat to this discussion.. The setting is not Mexico, however, but Hispaniola, what is today, Haiti and Dominican Republic. The book is not well known and I paid a pretty penny for it and no regrets. The book is Sons of Yocahu and the author is Gloria Bond. I highly recommend it to those of you with a strong interest in the "discovery" of Latin America.

If you want to stick with Mexico, this one isn't too bad: Feathered Serpent by Colin Falconer. It's about Cortez and his takeover.

G. Alvin Simons
Reader
Posts: 70
Joined: November 2009
Location: Florida

My Suggestion on a Conquest of Mexico Book

Post by G. Alvin Simons » Mon December 27th, 2010, 2:00 am

I also enjoy books on these subjects & have read several on Cortes & Mexico. The best of the best in my opinion was written by Hugh Thomas and is called, Conquest: Cortes, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico. I believe Mr. Thomas did a good job of presenting all sides of the story. This volume is HUGE, over 800 pages but a fascinating read. If you're interested, call it up on Amazon & read the reviews, description, etc. there. I can't begin to do justice to just how good this book is when compared to all of the material posted at Amazon about it. It was a Pick of the Month by the History Book Club when it first came out in 1995. That's when I bought my hardcover copy. I can't believe that the latest paperback edition is only $15.43! A used copy in Very Good condition will cost about $6.

Alvin

User avatar
David Ross Erickson
Scribbler
Posts: 28
Joined: March 2011
Location: Midwest, USA
Contact:

Post by David Ross Erickson » Tue March 15th, 2011, 1:09 pm

I will second Mr. Simons' recommendation of Hugh Thomas' Conquest. It is simply one of the best books I've read, if pretty demanding. It is thick and dense, but given the subject that's a good thing. Lots of info about the lives of the Mexica prior to the Spanish. It seemed to me to be a very even-handed treatment of the entire episode.

If you check it out on Amazon, also look into Thomas' Rivers of Gold, another excellent read.

Post Reply

Return to “Historical Nonfiction/Biography”