Why read Letters from Mexico?

Book cover of Letters from Mexico

Book description

Hernan Cortes's Cartas de Relacion, written over a seven-year period to Charles V of Spain, provide an extraordinary narrative account of the conquest of Mexico from the founding of the coastal town of Veracruz until Cortes's journey to Honduras in 1525.

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Letters from Mexico as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Camilla Townsend

Author

Reading this book, we have a front row seat at one of the most important moments of world history.

Over the course of his conquest of Mexico, Hernando wrote five letters to the King of Spain. He was often full of BS—but that doesn’t make his writings any less interesting! Cortés always had an eye on the main chance, so he wrote what he thought would impress.

Here, for instance, we find the story—impossible to believe—that as soon as Cortés arrived in the Aztec capital, he placed Montezuma, emperor of millions, under house arrest. Cortés had a translator…

From Camilla's list on The best books on the Aztecs by people who once knew an Aztec.