Hernando Cortes

Campe, Joachim Heinrich, 1746-1818Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 222K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Hernando Cortes by Joachim Heinrich CampeAuthor: Campe, Joachim Heinrich, 1746-1818,Language: English, Class: F1201: North America local history: Mexico, Release Date: Jun 11, 2019

Editor's review

This is Hernando Cortes by Joachim Heinrich Campe (1746–1818), released as an ebook by Project Gutenberg in 2019 and classified under Mexican local history. Campe was an eighteenth-century educational writer, and historical biographies of this kind tend to carry a pronounced didactic and narrative coloring, so their value lies not only in telling the story of Cortes himself but also in showing how early modern Europe narrated the history of conquest to young readers. Readers can treat it as a specimen of historiography and the history of education: observe what the narrator chooses to emphasize, what to omit, and how colonial conquest is evaluated. Note that the book is an English translation, and its narrative stance carries the limitations of its time; it should not be taken directly as a neutral, objective modern work of history. Reading it alongside other materials on Mexican colonial history is recommended, with attention to the value judgments and character portrayal in the narrative. For readers studying historical writing, the evolution of historical reading for young people, or early modern European history education, it is a usable public-domain text; for general readers, it can serve as an introductory piece of corroborating evidence on how the image of Cortes has been told.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying colonial history and the evolution of historical writing
Scholars interested in early modern European educational texts on history
Students who need public-domain historical sources for topical reading
Those interested in Cortes and the history of the conquest of Mexico

Not a good fit for

Readers who take the book as a modern, objective work of history
Young readers with little historical background
Serious researchers expecting full modern scholarly annotation

Reading tips

First learn the basic facts of Cortes and the conquest of Mexico, then read this book to see how the narrative differs.
Mark the narrator's evaluative statements as you read, and analyze their stance and the limitations of the era.
Read alongside at least one modern work on colonial history, comparing the selection of material and the interpretive framework.
You can treat the book as an educational text on history, focusing on the persuasive strategies it uses toward its readers.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable as an introductory history reading?

It can serve as corroborating evidence, but it is not advisable as the only introductory book. It was written in the early modern period, and its narrative carries a didactic tone and the stance of its era; it is best first to read a modern general history to establish a basic framework, then use this book to observe how history is told.

Is the book's evaluation of Cortes objective?

The material does not provide the specific content, so the details cannot be judged. But the author, Campe, was an eighteenth-century educational writer, and biographies of this kind usually carry moral instruction and the prejudices of their time; readers should maintain a critical awareness and not take it directly as a neutral evaluation.

Can I read it if my English is not good?

This book is an English ebook released by Project Gutenberg, and its language bears the features of early modern style. Readers with weaker English will find it rather demanding; they may first use a relevant general history in Chinese to understand the background, then read selected key chapters.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Campe, Joachim Heinrich, 1746-1818 Author

Joachim Heinrich Campe (1746–1818) was a German writer, educator and publisher. Two of his works are held here: Ang Bagong Robinson and Hernando Cortes. Judging from the titles, the former is a Robinsonade for young readers, while the latter draws on the historical figure of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Public information is limited, so the exact editions and circumstances of these two works cannot be established; their subjects suggest, however, that Campe wrote mainly for young readers, in both adventure stories and historical biographies, using narrative to convey moral and educational meaning. This is why he is often placed in the tradition of early modern children's and educational literature. His writing is accessible and clearly plotted, combining readability with an educational purpose, and has had some influence on later writing for young people.