Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and of the Great City of Temestitan
Encyclopedia
The Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and of the Great City of Temestitan is a historical document
dating from the 16th century, one of the few surviving contemporary Spanish
accounts from the period of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
and central Mexico
(1519–1521).
The author of the document is unknown, and is referred to as a Companion of Hernan Cortes, The Anonymous Conqueror (or simply "The Anonymous Conqueror" or "Gentleman of Cortes").
The Narrative provides descriptions of the life and culture of the pre-Columbian
Aztec/Mexica
and surrounding peoples of the Valley of Mexico
, as they were first encountered by the expedition of Conquistador
es under Hernán Cortés
. This narrative describes everything from the land and animals, to military concerns, to food and drink, to religion and government, to architecture and beyond. Historians are divided as to whether the Narrative is a genuine narrative or merely based on reports from returning Conquistadors. It also contains information on the weapons of the Aztecs in comparison to those of the Spaniards.
Historical document
Historical documents are documents that contain important information about a person, place, or event.Most famous historical documents are either laws, accounts of battles , or the exploits of the powerful...
dating from the 16th century, one of the few surviving contemporary Spanish
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
accounts from the period of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
Aztec Triple Alliance
The Aztec Triple Alliance, or Aztec Empire began as an alliance of three Nahua city-states or "altepeme": Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan...
and central Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(1519–1521).
The author of the document is unknown, and is referred to as a Companion of Hernan Cortes, The Anonymous Conqueror (or simply "The Anonymous Conqueror" or "Gentleman of Cortes").
The Narrative provides descriptions of the life and culture of the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian era
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Aztec/Mexica
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
and surrounding peoples of the Valley of Mexico
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
, as they were first encountered by the expedition of Conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
es under Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
. This narrative describes everything from the land and animals, to military concerns, to food and drink, to religion and government, to architecture and beyond. Historians are divided as to whether the Narrative is a genuine narrative or merely based on reports from returning Conquistadors. It also contains information on the weapons of the Aztecs in comparison to those of the Spaniards.
See also
- Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
- The Conquest of New Spain, by Bernal Díaz del CastilloBernal Díaz del CastilloBernal Díaz del Castillo was a conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards for Hernán Cortés, himself serving as a rodelero under Cortés.-Early life:...
External links
- Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and of the Great City of Temestitan, México Text of Marshall Saville'sMarshall Howard SavilleMarshall Howard Saville was an American archaeologist, born at Rockport, Mass. He studied anthropology at Harvard , engaged in field work under F. W. Putnam, and made important discoveries among the mound builders in southern Ohio. After 1903 he was professor of American archæology at Columbia...
1917 translation, reproduced online at FAMSI (ed. Alec Christensen)