THE five Letters which follow deal with the conquest and subjugation of Mexico between the years 1519 and 1526. I have translated them from the edition originally published by Rivadeneyra and now by Hernando Sucesores.
A word as to the spelling of proper and place names: they will be found to differ in certain instances from accepted usage. I have adopted the shorter Mexican form wherever possible, in preference to the longer and honorific one. The place-names are mostly as Cortés wrote them. I have forborne to substitute their modern equivalent. It is worth remarking that there can be no absolute standard of accuracy in spelling, since the Conquistadores had to translate the native sounds (which they probably heard imperfectly) into terms of Castilian vowels and consonants. Sixteenth-century Castilian, moreover, differed in pronunciation from that of today. It resembled far more Spanish as it is now spoken in South America. The z and c (before e and i) were not yet lisped: the sound of x approximated to that of ch in modern French. Thus z and s were (in proper names) almost interchangeable, also f and h.
I have adopted the modern rule of accentuation throughout—i.e., words ending in a consonant (other than n or s) are accented on the final syllable; words ending in a vowel (or n or s) are accented on the penultimate syllable. Any accent departing from this rule is marked accordingly. Passages which have been abridged (either as lacking interest or being incidental to the main account) are set in italic. The rest of the matter is in Cortés’s own words.
In writing the Introduction I consulted principally the following works:
Gomara, Historia de la Conquista de Méjico (Segunda Parte de la Historia de las Indias).
Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Verdadera Historia de la Conquista de Ultra Mar.
Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, Breve Historia de la Destrucción de las Indias and Historia de las Indias.
Relación hecha por el Señor Andrés de Tapia.
Various documentos inéditos containing other letters of Cortés, his will, etc.
The notes I have purposely kept as scanty as possible, since I am of the opinion that the best translation of this kind should need almost none.
For the frontispiece I am indebted to the kindness of F. A. Macnutt, Esq., and Messrs. G. P. Putnam’s Sons. The reproduction originally appeared in Mr. Macnutt’s very complete edition of the Letters.
For the map showing Cortés’s route to Honduras my thanks are due to A. P. Maudsley, Esq. (and the Hakluyt Society) for permission to combine two maps which appeared in his edition.
J. B. M.
BRYANSTON SCHOOL,
DORSET,
1928.