LIBRARY OF LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
GENERAL EDITOR:
DR. A. CURTIS WILGUS
Histories and Historians
of
Hispanic America
BY
A. CURTIS WILGUS, Ph.D.
FRANK CASS
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Copyright, 1942 by A. Curtis Wilgus
This impression first published 1965 by
Frank cass
This edition published by Routledge - 2012
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-21912
ISBN: 978-0-714-62035-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-136-26299-9 (ebk)
Introduction to the First Edition
The bibliography of Hispanic America is extremely vast and remarkably varied so that whoever essays the compilation of an exhaustive bibliography of published materials on any phase of Hispanic American life must have not only abundant time at his disposal but considerable funds in order to accomplish it. Indeed, it is becoming more and more evident that the production of an exhaustive bibliography in any field and on almost any subject requires the cooperation of numerous experts. The Medina type of individual must now be replaced by a coperating group of individual specialists. But whether the bibliographer works by himself or with others, his task is never finished and the results of his work are never satisfactory to everyone, particularly if the list is selective, for somewhere someone will find an important work (probably his own) omitted. Hence, in the preparation of this list of histories and historiansand both terms are used broadlyconcerning Hispanic America, the writer would be foolhardy to lay claim to completeness; he has attempted, and attempted only, to call attention to some of the leading writers and to some of the outstanding references which deal with the subject. The classification chosen is chronological by centuries, like that in the authors Histories of Hispanic America (The Pan American Union, Washington, 1932) and in the Appendices, pages 573-662, in Colonial Hispanic America (The George Washington University Press, Washington, 1936), upon which this study is based, while the arrangement within these divisions is generally both logical and chronological. The table of contents and index have been arranged to provide a ready reference to subjects and to authors. Whenever the years of birth and death of authors have been known these have been given in connection with the first mention of the name, as well as in the author index. Spellings have been modernized, and the recent trend in capitalization has been followed. Limitations of space permit virtually no bio-bibliographical treatment, much as that is to be desired, nor can more than a brief mention be made of most of the items. Despite these limitations, however, it is hoped that some value will accrue, especially to the graduate student of Hispanic American history and civilization, from this mere mention of selected authors and their works.
The writer wishes to record here his grateful appreciation for the assistance rendered him by Dr. James Alexander Robertson, Dr. Philip Ainsworth Means, Dr. Raul dEa, Mr. Ernest Kletsch, Miss Carmen Sullivan, the Library staff of the Pan American Union, and the Inter-American Bibliographical and Library Association, under the auspices of which this work is published. Two persons have rendered invaluable assistance: Miss Catherine Phelps, the writers secretary, whose painstaking aid has been of inestimable value; and Dr. C. K. Jones, whose advice, assistance, and encouragement have been a constant source of inspiration.
A. CURTIS WILGUS.
Washington, D. C.,
April 2, 1936.
Introduction to the Second Edition
Since the publication of the first edition of this volume six years ago, many important works dealing with Hispanic America have appeared and considerable new interest in the field has been manifest both by the public and by students. Consequently it has seemed desirable to issue the work in a revised, corrected, and augmented form. It is hoped that individuals interested in the subject may find this edition even more useful than the previous one.
A. CURTIS WILGUS.
April 2, 1942
Introduction to Reprint Edition
A book becomes scarce for many reasons: it has a paper binding and disintegrates; it is a popular text and the edition sells rapidly; it is a valuable research tool and it disappears from library shelves; it is destroyed by fire, flood, and other Acts of God. The second edition of this volume went out-of-print for all of these reasonshence this reprint by the Cooper Square Publishers, Inc. This organization has made a name for itself in the field of reprints, and its present project of reproducing in facsimile form classic studies in Latin American history and culture, most of them listed in this guide, should attract wide and favorable attention. The author is pleased that his book has been selected for this series.
A. CURTIS WILGUS
June, 1965
Chapter One
Sixteenth Century Works1
A. Introduction
B. General works
1. History, geography, description, etc.
2. Voyages and travels
C. Works on individual countries and regions
1. Brazil
2. Mexico
3. Florida
4. West Indies
5. Tierra Firme
6. Peru
7. La Plata
8. Chile
A. Introduction2
When the Iberians, after several centuries of fighting the Moslem, launched upon the conquest of America they little knew what was before them. But their religious zeal and their desire for gold and glory overcame all obstacles, and during the sixteenth century they conquered or claimed more than two-thirds of the Western Hemisphere. The mechanical process of conquering two continents resulted inevitably in the recording of experiences, in speculation concerning the land and its people who were found in a state of nature, in letters, memoirs, reports, and in relations, histories, etc.
B. General Works
1. History, Geography, Description, etc.
Among the earliest and most frequently quoted of the histories concerning America, or as it soon came to be called, the Indies or the New World, is that by Gonzalo Fernndez de Oviedo y Valdes (1478-1557) whose Historia general y natural de las indias was published at Sevilla in 1535. This had been preceded by another brief work, now excessively rare, entitled Sumario de la natural y general historia de las indias (Toledo, 1526). The work of 1535 containing nineteen books or parts was continued in 1557 at Valladolid when the twentieth book appeared. The entire manuscript written by Oviedo seems never to have been published in its entirety, although fifty books were printed at Madrid in four volumes 1851-55. Various abridged editions in foreign languages have been published, the first English translation appearing at London in 1555, the work of Richard Eden (ca. 1521-1576) under the title
