Tratado del descubrimiento de las Yndias y su conquista, y los ritos y sacrificios, y custumbres de los yndios (Noticias Historicas de la Nueva Espana)

xxiv+392 pages with indexes. Quarto (11 1/4" x 8 1/4") bound in brown cloth with brown label in gilt lettering to spine. Edited by Justo Zaragoza. First edition.

Juan Súarez de Peralta was in an advantageous position to assemble information regarding the first contact between Indians and Spaniards in Mexico. Born in Mexico in 1537, he was the son of Juan Suarez, whose sister Catalina had been the first wife of Hernando Cortes. His education hardly went beyond the basics of grammar, but he developed his knowledge by reading and by personal contact with those who had participated in the Conquest. He lived in Mexico until 1579, when he traveled to Spain. He remained there at least until 1589, the year in which he completed the Tratado del descubrimiento de las Indias. He later returned to Mexico. The date and place of his death are unknown. The complete title of Suarez de Peralta's work give an adequate description of its contents: Tratado del descubrimiento de las Indias y su conquista, y los ritos y sacrificios y costumbres de los Indios; y de los virreyes y gobernadores que las han gobernado, especialmente en la Nueva Espana, y del suceso del Marques del Valle, Segundo, Don Martin Cortes: del rebellion que se le impute y de las justicias y muertes que hizieron en Mexico los jueces comisarios que para ello fueron por su Majestad, y del rompimiento de los ingleses, y del principio que tuvo Francisco Kraque para ser declarado enemigo. It contains information on the history, religion, and customs of the Indians of central Mexico, derived largely from Oviedo, Motolina, Sahagun and Las Casas. When Justo Zargoza (1833-1896) published the work for the first time 1878, he shortened the title to Noticias Históricas de la Nueva España. It was republished in Mexico in 1949 with an introduction by Federico Gomez de Orozco. (Handbook of Middle American Indians p 79)

Condition:

Rebound in modern cloth, some occasional pencil ticks or "x"s in the margins else a very good copy.