Publication | Closed Access
We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico.
133
Citations
0
References
1996
Year
Translation StudiesHistorical GeographyLatin American ArchaeologyColonialismLatin American StudySpanish LiteratureEthnohistoryIndigenous PeopleInca CultureNahuatl AccountsIndigenous StudyIndigenous LanguageLanguage DocumentationLatin American DiasporaSpanish Cultural StudiesHistorical LinguisticsLatin American HistoryCultural HistoryLanguage StudiesJames LockhartIndigenous LanguagesMexican HistoryHeritage LanguageCentury MexicoNahuatl LanguageArtsSpanishCultural AnthropologyMexican Culture
Historians are concerned that early Spanish accounts of the Americas lack balance, and the foremost Nahuatl conquest record is Book Twelve of the Florentine Codex. The book compiles key Nahuatl documents from 16th‑century Mexico to address this imbalance. James Lockhart provides a nuanced English translation of Sahagun’s Florentine Codex, which compiled Nahua accounts of the conquest, and he contextualizes five additional Nahua texts in his introduction. The volume presents the Nahuatl and Spanish texts side by side with English translations and illustrations, making them accessible for the first time.
Historians are concerned today that the Spaniards' early accounts of their first experiences with the Indians in the Americas should be balanced with accounts from the Indian perspective. We People Here reflects that concern, bringing together important and revealing documents written in the Nahuatl language in 16th century Mexico. James Lockhart's superior translation combines contemporary English with the most up-to-date, nuanced understanding of Nahuatl grammar and meaning. The foremost Nahuatl conquest account is Book Twelve of the Florentine Codex. In this monumental work, Fray Bernardino de Sahagun commissioned Nahuas to collect and record in their own language accounts of the conquest of Mexico; he then added a parallel Spanish account that is part summary, part elaboration of the Nahuatl. Now, for the first time, the Nahuatl and Spanish texts are together in one volume with en face English translations and reproductions of the copious illustrations from the Codex. Also included are five other Nahua conquest texts. Lockhart's introduction discusses each one individually, placing the narratives in context.