The conquest of America : the question of the other

MY SUBJECT-the discovery self makes of the other-is so enormous that any general formulation soon ramifies into countless categories and directions. "A fascinating study of cultural confrontation in the New World, with implications far beyond sixteenth-century America. The Conquest of America has become a classic in its field. It offers an original interpretation of the discovery of America by Columbus and of the subsequent conquest, colonization, and destruction of Mexico and the Caribbean by the Spaniards at the beginning of the modern era. Using sixteenth-century sources, the distinguished French writer and critic Tzvetan Todorov examines the beliefs and behavior of both the Spanish conquistadors and the Aztecs, adversaries in a clash of cultures that resulted in the near extermination of Mesoamerica's Indian population. Absorbing, intelligent, and responsible in its call for a much-needed dialogue between different cultures, The Conquest of America evokes a drama that set the pattern for much of the history of Western civilization"--Unedited summary from book cover "The Conquest of America is a fascinating study of cultural confrontation in the New World, with implications far beyond sixteenth-century America. The book offers an original interpretation of the Spaniards' conquest, colonization, and destruction of pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico and the Caribbean. Using sixteenth-century sources, the distinguished French writer and critic Tzvetan Todorov examines the beliefs and behavior of the Spanish conquistadors and of the Aztecs, adversaries in a clash of cultures that resulted in the near extermination of Mesoamerica's Indian population."--Amazon.com