CULTURAL READINGS: Colonization & Print in the Americas

Jean and Jay I. Kislak Collection

Antonio de Solís y Rivadeneyra, Historia de la conquista de Mexico... Madrid: B. de Villa-Diego, 1684.

Solís was educated at Salamanca and became a renowned poet and dramatist. His elevation by Marie-Anne of Austria to the position of Cronista Mayor turned him from poet to historian of the Indies. Styling himself a successor to Herrera, Solís's history is drama on a large scale: a modern epic in which heroes confront each other relentlessly in battle. More than his predecessors, Solís takes pains to portray the Aztec forces as worthy opponents for the valorous Cortés.

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Colonial Fictions, Colonial Histories

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