History of the Conquest of Mexico - Couverture souple

Prescott, William H.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1842125745 ISBN 13 : 9781842125748

Editeur : Weidenfeld & Nicolson History, 2002

Synopsis

In his HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO and its companion volume, the HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF PERU, William Prescott achieves the remarkable feat of portraying the action and adventures of the Spanish cavaliers in a highly readable format for those with little prior knowledge of the Conquests. In HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO, Prescott provides an excellent account of the origin and nature of Mexican civilization at the time of the conquest, describing how the Aztecs dominated the many races of Mexico with savage brutality, indulging in regular human sacrifices. He then goes on to describe the key player in this adventure, Hernando Cortes, and how he and a small party of cavaliers overcame overwhelming odds to defeat the armies of the Aztecs. While it is impossible not to admire the genius of Cortes, the reader is left in no doubt that the Spaniards were motivated by the promise of Aztec gold and not by the desire to "spread the word of God to the heathen". However, Prescott excuses the means by which Cortes overthrew the Aztec empire as it put an end to the Aztec practice of human sacrifice. Still the best history of its kind ever published. Originally published in three volumes in 1843.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Prescott was from a prosperous, old New England family. In 1811 he entered Harvard, where his academic record was good but undistinguished; he had serious difficulties with mathematics, and in later life the prospect of appraising the mathematical achievements of the aboriginal Mexicans almost prevented him from completing his work. Near the end of his junior year, a crust of bread thrown during a melee in the student commons caused virtual blindness in his left eye; the weakness of his other eye, caused by infection, sometimes prevented him from carrying on any kind of literary work. Throughout his life, Prescott's vision seems to have fluctuated from good to total blindness, and he often resorted to the use of a noctograph, a writing grid with parallel wires that guided a stylus over a chemically treated surface. Substantial portions of all his books and correspondence were composed on this device. He died in 1859.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Weidenfeld & Nicolson History
• Date d'édition: 2002
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1842125745
• ISBN 13: 9781842125748
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 640
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible