Yucatan at the Time of the Spanish Encounter: Relacion de Las Cosas de Yucatan (Multilingual Edition) by Diego De Landa


Yucatan at the Time of the Spanish Encounter: Relacion de Las Cosas de Yucatan (Multilingual Edition)
Title : Yucatan at the Time of the Spanish Encounter: Relacion de Las Cosas de Yucatan (Multilingual Edition)
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1939879027
ISBN-10 : 1939879027
Language : Multilingual
Format Type : and 1 more , Kindle, Paperback
Number of Pages : 300 pages
Publication : Hispanic Economics; Bilingual ed. edition (May 15, 2013)

In an ambitious new translation of Diego de Landa's Account of the Things of Yucatán (Relación de las cosas de Yucatán), the editor revises and updates the language for the contemporary reader of English. In the process he captures the narrative power and intensity, the nuances and subtleties of meaning and the emotions of Landa's history of Yucatán at the time of Spanish arrival, conquest, and settlement of the peninsula. Landa's observations speak of his intellectual curiosity about and of his respect for the First Peoples of Yucatán. For instance, he credits the vast architectural legacy, from the pyramids to the monumental ceremonial centers, to the Mayas' ancestors, and not other "nations." At the same time, Landa surmises that the Maya of centuries past were healthier, better fed, and enjoyed a diverse diet compared to the Maya of his time. This has only recently been confirmed through the analysis of human remains dating back to the Classic Maya period. These intellectual insights, however, stand in sharp contrast with Landa's conviction that the devil visited Yucatán, which led him to establish an Inquisition, for which he was denounced and made to defend himself before the Council of the Indies in Spain. This episode remains arguably the darkest one in Yucatán's post Hispanic history. These beliefs about the presence of the devil, however, as the Salem witch trials a century later demonstrate, were common throughout the world at the time. Now, for the first time, both a new English language translation and Landa's original Spanish language manuscript are published in the same volume, offering readers the opportunity to read the text in both English and Spanish. This is the timeless historical work that constitutes the foundation of our understanding of the ambivalence that characterizes the co existence of the Maya and Spaniards in Yucatán, an ambivalence that in many ways continues to the present day.


Yucatan at the Time of the Spanish Encounter: Relacion de Las Cosas de Yucatan (Multilingual Edition) Reviews


  • W. Jones Jordan, MD

    Bishop Diego de Landa is simultaneously the villain and the hero of Yucatecan history. A devoted missionary, he did everything possible to erase the religion he found there, burning books and destroying idols. At the same time, he had profound respect for the people in his

  • Casual reader

    Historic book in two languages. old Spanish and English. Good for those who are keen on first hand account of the Maya history or the Spanish conquest

  • Ray O. Vac

    Fascinating history of Yucatan. Didn't realize before that native peoples at times were quite allied with the missionaries against the colonial settlers. This book opened my eyes a lot about the history of colonialism and how religion fit into it.

  • S. Pactor

    Maybe it's not pc but it is a good first hand account of Mayan life before and during contact.

  • Ana M Abreu -Velez

    Good book.

  • D.

    Years back I had read the translation of "Relacion de Las cosas de Yucatan" by William Gates and I had been struck by one detail. According to his book, Yucatan Before and After the Conquest, he says the Maya believed that if they didn't perform certain rites properly, then

  • John Grimsrud

    A five star introduction followed by an excellent digital presentation making it readable with interactive table of contents and footnotes. A history buffs dream come true.