Library Of Congress
MyLOC

 
Exploring the Early Americas The Jay I. Kislak Collection
Early History of the Spanish Conquests (62)

Francisco López de Gómara (1511–1564).
The pleasant historie of the conquest of the West India, now called New Spayne: atchieued by the worthy prince Hernando Cortes, marques of the valley of Huaxacac, most delectable to reade/translated out of the Spanishe tongue by T.N., anno 1578.
London: Henry Bynneman, [1578].
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (62)

Early History of the Spanish Conquests 

Francisco López de Gómara wrote this volume as a record of the Spanish Conquests.  Although he was criticized for inaccuracies and for aggrandizing Hernán Cortés, his work does summarize public and private records now lost.  His dedication to Emperor Charles V, from the original Spanish edition published in 1552, begins with these words, “The greatest event which has happened since the creation of the world . . . is the discovery of the Indies.”  This book, the first English translation, unfortunately omits or changes much of the matter contained in Gómara’s original work in Spanish.