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

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 care and he carefully recorded everything he learned about them, including their alphabet and their mathematics. His alphabet, though almost fatally flawed, helped in the decipherment of Maya glyphs in the 20th century. This is the English translation of DeLanda's rediscovered manuscript.

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

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.

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

Good book.

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 they would suffer "eye maladies." How odd. Why not severe headaches? Or loose bowels? I mentioned this to several people who reassured me that I was mistaken; the Maya feared the "evil eye." Then I realized that Gates translated "mal de ojo" in Spanish not as "evil eye" but as "eye maladies." If he got this wrong, what else did he get wrong? Lots! And this new translation is a delight! It takes the original text and translates it into contemporary English. That the language also reflects more respectful terms ("Indians" are "Mayas" or "First People") makes it a more pleasant read. The exceptional bonus, of course, is that Landa's original Spanish text is also here, so it's easy to refer to the original manuscript if there are any questions on the English translation. This book is a gem and perfect for tourist, student or scholar. It presents the Maya, and the people of the Yucatan, in a brand new light.

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.

THIS BOOKThe cover looks dodgy and the few images that are in the book are bad quality but that doesn't matter, the text is solid (save the odd typo) and the editor does a great job of elaborating on what Landa fails to properly explain, it is written in both English and what I believe is old Spanish (my spanish is too rudimentary to tell) it's also dirt cheap cheap. If you have an interest in the Maya or Mesoamerica this book is a must read and this edition will serve you well.LANDA'S ACCOUNTThe literature itself is a mix of enthralling and depressing.Enthralling to have such a vivid account of Maya life and the Yucatan peninsula in the Post Classic before, during and just after the Spanish invasion.Depressing to hear of the utterly horrendous treatment the Maya endured from the Spanish and the loss of Maya history and culture from Landa's own inquisition.Landa is a tricky figure, his care and interest of the Maya seems genuine, but he undeniably did irreparable damage to world history through his book burning not to mention the mental and physical anguish he inflicted on those Maya who refused to cow to the new Catholic religion.This cruelty can be explained away by Landa's delusions of Satan trying to corrupt the Maya and his inquisition a form of tough love to save them but his actions were reprehensible to Catholics even of the time.He touches on every imaginable aspect of Maya life from clothing, food, religion, landscape, history and more. (though no way near as extensive as Sahagún was of the Aztec)In the end the Maya culture has survived the effort of both conquistadors and friars like Landa, however diminished and segregated, and despite contemporary belief, the Maya live on.

this was a great Christmas surprise and it has a lot of info within its pages.