Cortes

A detailed Summary of Cortes

Cortes: The Life of the Conqueror was written by Cortes' assistant, chaplain, and

secretary, Francisco Lopez de Gomara. The text, an epic written in a courtly style that

tends to simultaneously enumerate and generalize the presented accomplishments,

follows the life of Hernan Cortes, briefly touching on his early life and spending the

majority of its pages detailing the explorer's various conquests in Mexico. The author,

since he was a companion, advisor, and secretary to Cortes, and was also a secular priest,

can be said to be biased towards the glorification of his subject, with whom he was allied,

and against the native inhabitants, in his vehement disavowal of the indigenous

population's culture and society. His point of view is one of unrestrained admiration

mixed with the sureness that Cortes' every action was inspired by the greater good of

Christianizing the new land. The sources used by Gomara can be assumed to be a

combination of direct reports from Cortes, recollections, reconstructions of events of

which he was not a direct observer, and letters and receipts. In my opinion, the book is a

formidable historical document that goes into great detail, bu

Approximate Word count = 1208
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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