- Editorial:
- BEACON PRESS
- Año de edición:
- 1998
- Materia:
- Literatura contemporánea en español
- ISBN:
- 978-0-8070-5507-6
- Páginas:
- 254
- Encuadernación:
- Tapa blanda
MAYA CONQUISTADOR
MATTHEW RESTALL
The real story of the Mayan encounter with the Spanish, based on newly revealed eyewitness accountsu003cbru003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003eu003cbru003eOur familiar images of Mexico's conquest are powerful and enduring: bold and bloodthirsty Spanish conquistadors; nobly savage Aztecs lamenting their broken bones and spears; the battles of Cortés and Montezuma; enormous pyramids and exquisite gold and jade ornaments unearthed in "the land of the sun." u003cbru003eBut one story has not yet been toldand it is one that could reshape our entire vision of the conquest. It is the story of the Spanish creation of a colony in the Yucatán, home of the Maya since ancient times. Maya Conquistador tells this tale through a collection of unique firsthand accountsmost of them previously untranslated from the original Mayan hieroglyphswritten from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. In it are surprising twists: the conquistadors are not Spaniards, but Mayas reconstructing their own sophisticated governance and society; and the conquest is not one event, but a story of the survival of a vital and complex civilization evolving over centuries of contact with the Spanish and other peoples. u003cbru003eu003cbru003eOut of this new chapter in history, the Maya emerge not as passive victims of the Spanish, but as astute observers of their own past and participants in a rich tradition of cultural resilience. Their story is exciting reading to all who are fascinated by the Maya, and it offers rare insight to anthropologists, historians, and students of Mayan and Mexican civilization. u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003e"The author's scholarly introduction puts the texts in proper perspective, making this a book for both specialists and anyone interested in ancient civilizations."u003cbru003eu003cbru003eDallas Morning News
