Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Fall of the Mexica Empire (Bedford Series in History and Culture)

In 1519 Hernán Cortés and a small band of Spanish conquistadors overthrew the mighty Mexican empire of the Aztecs. Using excerpts primarily drawn from Bernal Diaz's 1632 account of the Spanish victory and testimonies — many recently uncovered — of indigenous Nahua survivors, Victors and Vanquished clearly demonstrates how personal interests, class and ethnic biases, and political considerations influenced the interpretation of momentous events. A substantial introduction is followed by 9 chronological sections that illuminate the major events and personalities in this powerful historical episode and reveal the changing attitudes toward European expansionism. The volume includes a broad array of visual images and maps, a glossary of Spanish and Nahua terms, biographical notes, a chronology, a selected bibliography, questions for consideration, and an index. "The new edition of 'Victors and vanquished' highlights recent advances in the field of Mesoamerican ethnohistory that allow for a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the fall of the Mexica empire. A revised introduction is followed by eight chronological sections that illuminate the major events and personalities in this powerful historical episode and reveal the changing attitudes toward European expansionism. Within each section, the authors have added a number of new text and visual sources designed to enrich and reframe the story of the conflict. Readers of the revised edition will also find updated section introductions and headnotes, and study questions for students. A list of the principal individuals mentioned in the texts, a glossary of Indigenous language terms, and a new bibliography as a guide to further research are also included"--Page 4 of cover "In 1519 Hernan Cortes and a small band of Spanish conquistadors overthrew the mighty Mexican empire of the Aztecs. Using excerpts primarily drawn from Bernal Diaz's 1632 account of the Spanish victory and testimonies - many recently uncovered - of indigenous Nahua survivors, Victors and Vanquished clearly demonstrates how personal interests, class and ethnic biases, and political considerations influenced the interpretation of these momentous events."--BOOK JACKET. Focusing on the major events and personalities during the fall of the Mexica empire, Victors and Vanquished helps you go deeper into this historical episode by revealing changing attitudes toward European expansionism.