primary sources chapter 07.pdf

Wiesner‐Hanks: Chapter Seven: Europe in the World, 1450‐1600

Early Modern Europe, 1450–1789 CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF EUROPE, 2ND EDITION

Merry E. Wiesner‐Hanks

Primary Sources

CHAPTER SEVEN: EUROPE IN THE WORLD, 1450‐1600

CONTENTS

1. Ma Huan, Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores, 1451 2 2

2. Alvise de Cadamosto on the slave trade, 1450s 4

3. Journal of Vasco da Gama on his first voyage to India, 1497‐1498 CE 6

4. Journal of Christopher Columbus, 1492 7

5. Columbus’ letter to the King and Queen of Spain, 1494 8

6. Amerigo Vespucci, Letter describing his first voyage, 1497 9

7. Letter regarding the voyage of John Cabot, 1497 10

8. Antonio Pigafetta’s description of the death of Magellan, 1521 13

9. Letter of Francis Xavier to the Society of Jesus in Rome, 1552 15

10. The Memoirs of Mendez Pinto 16

11. Kirisitan monogatari, 1639 20

12. Spanish and Nahua accounts of the conquest of Mexico 21

13. Dõna Marina/Malintzin/La Malinche 22

14. Charles V, Emperor and King of Spain, Instructions for Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, 1535 ..................................23

15. Sidi Ali Reis, Mirat ul Memalik (The Mirror of Countries), 1557 26

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1. Ma Huan, Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores, 1451 2

Ma Huan accompanied the Chinese admiral Zheng He as an Arabic translator on three of

his seven voyages into the Indian Ocean, what the Chinese called the Western Sea. He

kept accounts of these voyages, and later published them. Here he is describing the city

of Calicut on the west coast of India, and Hormuz on the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The Country of Calicut

This is the great country of the Western Ocean ....

In the fifth year of the Yongle period the court ordered the principal envoy,

the grand eunuch Zheng He, and others to deliver an imperial mandate to

the king of this country and to bestow on him a patent conferring a tide of

honor, and the grant of a silver seal, also to promote all the chiefs and

award them hats and belts of various grades.

So Zheng He went there in command of a large fleet of treasure‐ships, and

he erected a tablet with a pavilion over it and set up a stone which said,

“Though the journey from this country to the Central Country is more than

a hundred thousand li [about 30,000 miles] yet the people are very similar,

happy and prosperous, with identical customs. We have here engraved a

stone, a perpetual declaration for ten thousand ages.”

The king of the country is an upper‐caste man; he is a firm believer in the

Buddhist religion [actually, he was a Hindu] and he venerates the elephant

and the ox…

The king has two great chiefs who administer the affairs of the country;

both are Muslims ....

The people are very honest and trustworthy. Their appearance is smart,

fine, and distinguished.



Their two great chiefs received promotion and awards from the court of

the Central Country.

If a treasure‐ship goes there, it is left entirely to the two men to

superintend the buying and selling; the king sends a chief and an

accountant to examine the account books in the official bureau; a broker

comes and joins them; and a high officer who commands the ships

discusses the choice of a certain date for fixing prices. When the day

arrives, they first of all take the silk embroideries and the open‐work silks,

and other such goods which have been brought there, and discuss the price

of them one by one; and when the price has been fixed, they write out an

agreement stating the amount of the price; this agreement is retained by

these persons ....

The Country of Hormuz

Setting sail from the country of Guli, you go towards the north‐west; and

you can reach this place after traveling with a fair wind for twenty‐five

days. The capital lies beside the sea and up against the mountains.

Foreign ships from every place and foreign merchants traveling by land all

come to this country to attend the market and trade; hence the people of

the country are all rich..

The king of this country, too, took a ship and loaded it with lions, a giraffe,

horses, pearls, precious stones, and other things, also a memorial to the

throne written on a golden leaf; and he sent his chiefs and other men, who

accompanied the treasure‐ships dispatched by the Emperor, which were

returning from the Western ocean; and they went to the capital and

presented tribute.



2. Alvise de Cadamosto on the slave trade, 1450s

Alvise da Cadamosto (1428‐1423) was a Venetian explorer and merchant who led

voyages down the African coast for Prince Henry the Navigator. He discovered the Cape

Verdes islands, and sailed into the Gambian River, trading with West Africans. Later he

wrote a detailed report of his trips, in which he describes the trans‐Saharan trading

network and the earliest Portuguese ventures in the slave trade. (From G.R. Crone, ed.,

The Voyages of Cadamosto, (1937).

A colored version of one of Theodor de Bry’s images of the Americas, showing Spanish

soldiers overseeing enslaved Africans and indigenous Americans mining.

These [Arabs] are the men who go to the land of the Blacks, and also to our

nearer Barbary. They are very numerous, and have many camels on which

they carry brass and silver from Barbary and other things to Timbuktu and



to the land of the Blacks. Thence they carry away gold and pepper, which

they bring hither. They are brown complexioned, and wear white cloaks

edged with a red stripe: their women also dress thus, without shifts. On

their heads the men wear turbans in the Moorish fashion, and they always

go barefooted. In these sandy districts there are many lions, leopards, and

ostriches, the eggs of which I have often eaten and found good.

You should know that the said Lord Infante of Portugal [Henry the

Navigator] has leased this island of Argin to Christians [for ten years], so

that no one can enter the bay to trade with the Arabs save those who hold

the license. These have dwellings on the island and factories where they

buy and sell with the said Arabs who come to the coast to trade for

merchandise of various kinds, such as woollen cloths, cotton, silver, and

"alchezeli," that is, cloaks, carpets, and similar articles and above all, corn,

for they are always short of food. They give in exchange slaves whom the

Arabs bring from the land of the Blacks, and gold. The Lord Infante

therefore caused a castle to be built on the island to protect this trade for

ever. For this reason, Portuguese caravels are coming and going all the year

to this island.

These Arabs also have many Berber horses, which they trade, and take to

the Land of the Blacks, exchanging them with the rulers for slaves. Ten or

fifteen slaves are given for one of these horses, according to their quality.

The Arabs likewise take articles of Moorish silk, made in Granada and in

Tunis of Barbary, silver, and other goods, obtaining in exchange any

number of these slaves, and some gold. These slaves are brought to the

market and town of Hoden; there they are divided: some go to the

mountains of Barcha, and thence to Sicily, [others to the said town of Tunis

and to all the coasts of Barbary], and others again are taken to this place,

Argin, and sold to the Portuguese leaseholders. As a result every year the



Portuguese carry away from Argin a thousand slaves. Note that before this

traffic was organized, the Portuguese caravels, sometimes four, sometimes

more, were wont to come armed to the Golfo d'Argin, and descending on

the land by night, would assail the fisher villages, and so ravage the land.

Thus they took of these Arabs both men and women, and carried them to

Portugal for sale: behaving in a like manner along all the rest of the coast.

3. Journal of Vasco da Gama on his first voyage to India, 1497‐1498 CE

In 1497, the Portuguese crown sponsored a fleet of four ships led by Vasco da Gama on

a voyage to find a sea route to the Indian Ocean. He reached Calicut in 1498, returned

home with spices, and came back to India several years later with a much larger

expedition. His journal describes peoples that he met and events of the voyage in great

detail.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1497degama.html


http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1497degama.html


4. Journal of Christopher Columbus, 1492

Like da Gama, Columbus kept an extensive journal of his travels, which was published

and then translated into many other languages shortly after he returned. This is an

extract from that very long document, noting the tedium of many days passed at sea,

and describing Columbus’s first impressions of the residents of the New World. The

journal is prefaced by a dedication to Isabella and Ferdinand; Columbus (who always

speaks of himself in the third person) describes his first act on landing as follows:

The Admiral landed in the boat, which was armed, along with Martin

Alonzo Pinzon, and Vincent Yanez his brother, captain of the Nina. The

Admiral bore the royal standard, and the two captains each a banner of the

Green Cross, which all the ships had carried; this contained the initials of

the names of the King and Queen each side of the cross, and a crown over

each letter Arrived on shore, they saw trees very green many streams of

water, and diverse sorts of fruits. The Admiral called upon the two

Captains, and the rest of the crew who landed, as also to Rodrigo de

Escovedo notary of the fleet, and Rodrigo Sanchez, of Segovia, to bear

witness that he before all others took possession (as in fact he did) of that

island for the King and Queen his sovereigns …

The entire extract can be found at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sour


http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sour


Columbus’s coat of arms, granted to him by Isabella and Ferdinand. The symbols at the

top are those of Aragon and Castile, and the islands and anchors below represent his

voyages.

5. Columbus’ letter to the King and Queen of Spain, 1494

In this letter, written before his second voyage, Columbus sets out his ideas about the

best ways to govern the new colonies and handle the gold that he is certain will be

found in great abundance.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus2.html


http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus2.html


6. Amerigo Vespucci, Letter describing his first voyage, 1497

Amerigo Vaspucci was a Florentine merchant and adventurer who served as a ship’s

captain on several voyages. He also wrote colorful descriptions of his travels, many of

which were quickly published, leading the German mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller to

dub the New World “America.” Vespucci discusses a number of violent encounters with

native peoples along the northern coast of South America, and reports at the end of this

letter that two hundred of them were taken as slaves, and later sold at Cadiz in Spain.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1497vespucci‐america.html

Letters‐ patent granted to John Cabot and his three sons for a voyage to discover new

lands by the king of England, Henry VII, at Westminster on March 5,1496. Photo

courtesy of the Public Record Office Image Library, UK (From Pathfinders and

ssageways, the Exploration of Canada, an extensive website run by Library and Archives

Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/explorers/index‐e.html


http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1497vespucci-america.html

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/explorers/index-e.html


7. Letter regarding the voyage of John Cabot, 1497

Italian diplomats and businessmen living abroad were often expected to report any new

of interest to the rulers of their home states in Italy. In 1497, Raimondo di Soncino, an

Italian living in England, sent the following letter to the Duke of Milan.

18th December, 1497.

My most illustrious and most excellent Lord,

Perhaps amidst so many occupations of your Excellency it will not be

unwelcome to learn how this Majesty has acquired a part of Asia without

drawing his sword. In this kingdom there is a certain Venetian named

Zoanne Caboto [John Cabot], of gentle disposition, very expert in

navigation, who, seeing that the most serene Kings of Portugal and Spain

had occupied unknown islands, meditated the achievement of a similar

acquisition for the said Majesty. Having obtained royal privileges securing

to himself the use of the dominions he might discover, the sovereignty

being reserved to the Crown, he entrusted his fortune to a small vessel

with a crew of 18 persons, and set out from Bristol, a port in the western

part of this kingdom. Having passed Ibernia, which is still further to the

west, and then shaped a northerly course, he began to navigate to the

eastern part, leaving (during several days) the North Star on the right hand;

and having wandered thus for a long time, at length he hit upon land,

where he hoisted the royal standard, and took possession for his Highness,

and, having obtained various proofs of his discovery, he returned. The said

Messer Zoanne, being a foreigner and poor, would not have been believed

if the crew, who are nearly all English, and belonging to Bristol, had not

testified that what he said was the truth. This Messer Zoanne has the

description of the world on a chart, and also on a solid sphere which he has

constructed, and on which he shows where he has been; and, proceeding



towards the east, he has passed as far as the country of the Tanais. And

they say that there the land is excellent and (the climate?) temperate,

suggesting that brasil and silk grow there. They affirm that the sea is full of

fish, which are not only taken with a net, but also with a basket, a stone

being fastened to it in order to keep it in the water; and this I have heard

stated by the said Messer Zoanne.

The said Englishmen, his companions, say that they took so many fish that

this kingdom will no longer have need of Iceland, from which country there

is an immense trade in the fish they call stock‐fish. But Messer Zoanne has

set his mind on higher things, for he thinks that, when that place has been

occupied, he will keep on still further towards the east, where he will be

opposite to an island called Cipango [Japan], situated in the equinoctial

region, where he believes that all the spices of the world, as well as the

jewels, are found. He further says that he was once at Mecca, whither the

spices are brought by caravans from distant countries; and having inquired

from whence they were brought and where they grow, they answered that

they did not know, but that such merchandize was brought from distant

countries by other caravans to their home; and they further say that they

are also conveyed from other remote regions. And he adduced this

argument, that if the eastern people tell those in the south that these

things come from a far distance from them, presupposing the rotundity of

the earth, it must be that the last turn would be by the north towards the

west; and it is said that in this way the route would not cost more than it

costs now, and I also believe it. And what is more, this Majesty, who is wise

and not prodigal, reposes such trust in him because of what he has already

achieved, that he gives him a good maintenance, as Messer Zoanne has

himself told me. And it is said that before long his Majesty will arm some

ships for him, and will give him all the malefactors to go to that country and

form a colony, so that they hope to establish a greater depot of spices in



London than there is in Alexandria. The principal people in the enterprise

belong to Bristol. They are great seamen, and, now that they know where

to go, they say that the voyage thither will not occupy more than 15 days

after leaving Ibernia. I have also spoken with a Burgundian, who was a

companion of Messer Zoanne, who affirms all this, and who wishes to

return because the Admiral (for so Messer Zoanne is entitled) has given

him an island, and has given another to his barber of Castione, [perhaps

Castiglione, near Chiavari] who is a Genoese, and both look upon

themselves as Counts; nor do they look upon my Lord the Admiral as less

than a Prince. I also believe that some poor Italian friars are going on this

voyage, who have all had bishoprics promised to them. And if I had made

friends with the Admiral when he was about to sail, I should have got an

archbishopric at least; but I have thought that the benefits reserved for me

by your Excellency will be more secure. I would venture to pray that, in the

event of a vacancy taking place in my absence, I may be put in possession,

and that I may not be superseded by those who, being present, can be

more diligent than I, who am reduced in this country to eating at each meal

ten or twelve kinds of victuals, and to being three hours at table every day,

two for love of your Excellency, to whom I humbly recommend myself.

London, 18 Dec. 1497, your Excellency's most humble servant, Raimundus.



8. Antonio Pigafetta’s description of the death of Magellan, 1521

Antonio Pigafetta was a pilot on the voyage led by Ferdinand Magellan to

circumnavigate the globe. He kept an extensive journal, which is the source of most of

our information about Magellan’s voyage. Here he describes the events that led up to

Magellan’s death in the Philippines. For a longer extract from his journal, see:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1519magellan.html

In this island Fernando de Magalhaes [i.e. Magellan] did what he pleased

with the consent of the country, and in one day eight hundred people

became Christian, on which account Fernan de Magalhaes desired that the

other kings, neighbors to this one, should become subject to this who had

become Christian: and these did not choose to yield such obedience.

Fernan de Magalhaes seeing that, got ready one night with his boats, and

burned the villages of those who would not yield the said obedience; and a

matter of ten or twelve days after this was done he sent to a village about

half a league from that which he had burned, which is named Matam, and

which is also an island, and ordered them to send him at once three goats,

three pigs, three loads of rice, and three loads of millet for provisions for

the ships; they replied that of each article which he sent to ask them three

of, they would send to him by twos, and if he was satisfied with this they

would at once comply, if not, it might be as he pleased, but that they would

not give it. Because they did not choose to grant what he demanded of

them, Fernan de Magalhaes ordered three boats to be equipped with a

matter of fifty or sixty men, and went against the said place, which was on

the 28th day of April, in the morning; there they found many people, who

might well be as many as three thousand or four thousand men, who

fought with such a good will that the said Fernan de Magalhaes was killed

there, with six of his men, in the year 1521.


http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1519magellan.html


1590 engraving of Magellan by the Dutch engraver Crispin van der Passe, who describes

his actions (and death) in “Australis” a term used generically for lands of the western

Pacific.




9. Letter of Francis Xavier to the Society of Jesus in Rome, 1552

Francis Xavier (1506‐1552) was one of the original members of the Jesuit order. In 1542,

he traveled to India as a missionary, working out of the Portuguese colony of Goa. In

1549, he went to Japan, where he stayed for two years and founded the first Christian

congregations. He hoped to go to China, but died before he was able to do so. Wherever

they were in the world, Jesuit missionaries were expected to send regular reports to

their superiors; these Relations, as they are usually called, provide some of the most

extensive material for understanding how Europeans viewed the world around them. In

this letter, Xavier talks in great depth about Japanese religious ideas and institutions,

and both Japanese and Chinese values.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1552xavier4.html

Title page of the first German edition of Mendez Pinto’s book, published in Amsterdam

in 1671.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1552xavier4.html


10. The Memoirs of Mendez Pinto

Ferdinand Mendez Pinto (1509?‐1583?) was a Portuguese explorer and writer known

primarily through his own work, Pilgrimage (Peregrinação) which was published

posthumously. He claims to have been shipwrecked, enslaved, and captured in war

many times, and to have introduced firearms to Japan; it is impossible to say whether

his stories are true, though he was in Japan during the time that guns were first

introduced. He apparently left Europe about the same time as Francis Xavier, and

traveled to India, China, and Malacca as well as Japan. His report does provide a

perspective on Asian culture from a European who was not a missionary (though he did

support the Jesuits financially). In this extract, Pinto reports on a chance meeting in

about 1540 with Inez de Leyria, a Eurasian woman who had earlier been converted to

Christianity by Portuguese missionaries. Women were often quite numerous and

prominent among early converts to Christianity in Asia, just as they had been in the

early years of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

Chained together as we were, we went up and down the streets craving of

alms, which were very liberally given us by the inhabitants, who, wondering

to see such men as we, demanded of us what kind of people we were, of

what kingdom, and how our country was called. Hereunto we answered

conformably to what we had said before, namely, that we were natives of

the kingdom of Siam, that going from Liampoo to Nanquin we had lost all

our goods by shipwreck, and that, although they beheld us then in so poor

a case, yet we had formerly been very rich; whereupon a woman who was

come thither among the rest to see us: "It is very likely," said she, speaking

to them about her, " that what these poor strangers have related is most

true, for daily experience doth show how those that trade by sea do

oftentimes make it their grave, wherefore it is best and surest to travel

upon the earth and to esteem of it as of that whereof it has pleased God to

frame us." Saying so, she gave us two mazes, which amounts to about



sixteen pence of our money, advising us to make no more such long

voyages since our lives were so short.

Hereupon she unbuttoned one of the sleeves of a red satin gown she had

on, and baring her left arm, she showed us a cross imprinted upon it like

the mark of a slave. "Do any of you know this sign, which amongst those

that follow the way of truth is called a cross? or have any of you heard it

named?" To this, falling down on our knees, we answered with tears in our

eyes that we knew exceeding well. Then, lifting up her hands, she cried out,

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name," speaking these

words in the Portugal tongue; and because she could speak no more of our

language, she very earnestly desired us in Chinese to tell her whether we

were Christians. We replied that we were, and for proof thereof, after we

had kissed that arm whereon the cross was, we repeated all the rest of the

Lord's Prayer which she had left unsaid; wherewith being assured that we

were Christians indeed, she drew aside from the rest there present and

weeping said to us, "Come along, Christians of the other end of the world,

with her that is your true sister in the faith of Jesus Christ, or peradventure

a kinswoman to one of you by his side that begot me in this miserable

exile"; and so going to carry us to her house, the hopes which guarded us

would not suffer her, saying, that if we would not continue our craving of

alms they would return us back to the ship; but this they spoke in regard of

their own interest, for that they were to have the moiety of what was given

us, and accordingly they made as though they would have led us thither

again, which the woman perceiving, "I understand your meaning," said she,

"and indeed it is but reason you should make the best of your places, for

thereby you live"; so opening her purse, she gave them two taeis in silver,

wherewith they were very well satisfied; whereupon she carried us home

to her house, and there kept us all the while we remained in that place,

making much of us and using us very charitably.



Here she showed us an oratory, wherein she had a cross of wood gilt, as

also candlesticks and a lamp of silver. Furthermore she told us that she was

named Inez de Leyria, and her father Tome Pirez, who had been great

ambassador from Portugal to the king of China, and that in regard of an

insurrection with a Portuguese captain made at Canton, the Chinese taking

him for a spy and not for an ambassador, as he termed himself, clapped

him and all his followers up in prison, where by order of justice five of them

were put to torture, receiving so many and such cruel stripes on their

bodies as they died instantly, and the rest were all banished into several

parts, together with her father into this place, where he married with her

mother, that had some means, and how he made her a Christian, living so

seven and twenty years together, and converting many Gentiles to the faith

of Christ, whereof there were above three hundred then abiding in that

town; which every Sunday assembled in her house to say the catechism:

whereupon demanding of her what were their accustomed prayers, she

answered that she used no other but these, which on their knees, with

their eyes and hands lift up to Heaven, they pronounced in this manner: "O

Lord Jesus Christ, as it is most true that thou art the very Son of God,

conceived by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary for the salvation of sinners,

so thou wilt be pleased to forgive us our offenses, that thereby we may

become worthy to behold thy face in the glory of thy kingdom, where thou

art sitting at the right hand of the Almighty. Our Father who art in Heaven,

hallowed be thy name. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Ghost, Amen." And so all of them, kissing the cross, embraced one another,

and thereupon every one returned to his own home. Moreover, she told us

that her father had left her many other prayers, which the Chinese had

stolen from her, so that she had none left but those before recited;

whereunto we replied that those we had heard from her were very good,

but before we went away we would leave her divers other good and



wholesome prayers. "Do so, then," answered she, "for the respect you owe

to so good a God as yours is, and that hath done such things for you, for

me, and all in general."

Then causing the cloth to be laid, she gave us a very good and plentiful

dinner, and treated us in like sort every meal during the five days we

continued in her house, which was permitted by the Chifuu in regard of a

present that this good woman sent his wife, whom she earnestly entreated

so to deal with her husband as Eve might be well entreated, for that we

were men of whom God had a particular care; as the Chifuu's wife

promised her to do, with many thanks to her for the present she had

received. In the mean space, during the five days we remained in her

house, we read the catechism seven times to the Christians; wherewithal

they were very much edified; beside, Christophoro Borbalho made them a

little book in the Chinese tongue, containing the Paternoster, the Creed,

the Ten Commandments, and many other good prayers. After these things

we took our leave of Inez de Leyria and the Christians, a who gave us fifty

taeis in silver, which stood us since in good stead; and withal Inez de Leyria

gave us secretly fifty taeis more, humbly desiring us to remember her in

our prayers to God.



11. Kirisitan monogatari, 1639

European missionaries and explorers wrote many reports of their encounters, but so did

the people who they met. This is from a popular Japanese book by an anonymous

author, describing early missionaries. It was published shortly after the ruler of Japan

had closed the country to foreigners and prohibited Christianity. (From George Elison,

Deus Destroyed: The Image of Christianity in Early Modern Japan (Cambridge: Harvard

University Press, 1973), pp. 321‐3)

In the reign of Mikado Go‐Nara no In, the hundred and eighth Emperor

since the days of Jimmu, some time about the Koji Period, a Southern

Barbarian [European] trad‐ing vessel came to our shores. From this ship for

the first time emerged an unnamable creature, somewhat similar in shape

to a human being, but looking rather more like a long‐nosed goblin or the

giant demon Mikoshi Nyudo. Upon close interrogation it was discovered

that this was a being called Bateren.

The length of his nose was the first thing which attracted attention: it was

like a conch shell (though without its surface warts) attached by suction to

his face. His eyes were as large as spectacles, and their insides were yellow.

His head was small. On his hands and feet he had long claws. His height

exceeded seven feet, and he was black all over; only his nose was red. His

teeth were longer than the teeth of a horse. His hair was mouse‐grey in

color, and over his brow was a shaved spot in the outline of a winebowl

turned over. What he said could not be understood at all: his voice was like

the screech of an owl. One and all rushed to see him, crowding all the roads

in total lack of restraint. And all were agreed that this apparition was even

more dreadful than the fiercest of goblins could ever be. His name was

Urugan Bateren. Though at heart he planned to spread the Kirishitan

[Christian] religion, he seemed intent first to survey the wisdom of the

Japanese people. He brought with him all sort and manner of curious things

from South Barbary.



12. Spanish and Nahua accounts of the conquest of Mexico

In a few cases, accounts of initial encounters between Europeans and indigenous

peoples have survived from both sides, allowing comparisons. One of these is the

Spanish conquest of Mexico, for which there are several accounts written by Spaniards,

including Cortés himself. The most detailed is that written Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1492‐

1580), who had been a soldier in Cortés’s army. The most important source providing

the perspective of native peoples is what is now known as the Florentine Codex, a

manuscript written by or under the direction of the Spanish friar Bernardino de

Sahagún. It was apparently originally written in Nahuatl, the language spoken in central

Mexico, but this version has been lost, and what survives is Sahagún’s Spanish‐language

revised version. The work included many illustrations in Nahua picture‐language, but

scholars caution that it must be used carefully, as it represented native voices filtered

through a Spanish lens. Extracts from Díaz and Sahagún are found at:

http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/images/conquestofnewspain.html

http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/images/florentinecodex.html

There is a long discussion of issues in interpreting Díaz’ account at:

http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/travelanalysis.html

Additional original sources about the conquest, and discussion about problems in

interpreting them, can be found at:

http://www.theaha.org/tl/LessonPlans/ca/Fitch/index.htm


http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/images/conquestofnewspain.html

http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/images/florentinecodex.html

http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/travelanalysis.html

http://www.theaha.org/tl/LessonPlans/ca/Fitch/index.htm


Painting by an indigenous artist of Malinche and Cortés, from the Florentine Codex.

13. Dõna Marina/Malintzin/La Malinche

One of the most controversial figures in the Spanish conquest was a native woman who

served as one of Cortes’s translators. He makes only a brief mention of her in his letters,

but Bernal Días and some of the Nahuatl sources describe her in more detail. According

to these sources, she was an upper‐class woman who was given to Cortés, accompanied

him on his conquests, and later married one of his captains. We do not know her

original name; the contemporary sources call her Dõna Marina or Malintzin or La

Malinche. She had a child by Cortés and one by her husband. She was viewed as

important in both Spanish and native accounts, though later Mexican opinion has varied

widely. Some see her as a traitor to her people, others as the mother of the mestizo

culture that is the heart of Mexico, and others as a feminist foremother. Twelve written

and artistic depictions of this controversial woman, beginning with Cortes’s letters and

ending with contemporary sculptures and poems, along with a discussion of their

interpretation, can be found at:

http://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/lessons/lesson6/lesson6.php?s=0


http://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/lessons/lesson6/lesson6.php?s=0


14. Charles V, Emperor and King of Spain, Instructions for Viceroy Antonio de

Mendoza, 1535

Antonio de Mendoza was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat appointed by Charles V to

be the first viceroy in New Spain. He is generally regarded as having been a capable

administrator; while in his post, he sponsored expeditions into the northern parts of the

colony and established several universities. Charles’s instructions to Mendoza were

detailed and extensive, and reveal both royal aims and the problems that had already

developed in the administration of the colony. (He speaks, of course, in the royal “we.”)

The sections here are only a small share of what Charles expected Mendoza to do; the

entire document can be found at:

http://www.college.emory.edu/culpeper/BAKEWELL/texts/mendoza‐instructions.html

First of all, as soon as you arrive in the country and have begun to

understand its affairs, both spiritual and temporal, and in particular those

related to the construction of the churches necessary for the Holy Religion

and to the conversion and instruction of the native Indians of that land, as

well as of other matters pertaining to the service of the Lord Our God and

the discharge of Our royal conscience, you should report whatever you find

lacking or needing attention to Us immediately, including your opinions in

the matter and those of the local prelates. In the meantime, with the help

of the local clergy, you should make provision in all of this to the extent

that you can and see that it is necessary…

Also, you should see if the towns are able to pay more gold, silver, and

other things of value than they currently pay; [and if so], you should inform

them that their assessment will be increased, payable in silver, gold, or its

equivalent. Since I have been informed that the Indians of that country pay

their tributes in blankets, corn, and other local goods that are difficult to

turn into revenue, you should find a manner in which their tributes can be


http://www.college.emory.edu/culpeper/BAKEWELL/texts/mendoza-instructions.html


paid by converting all those things into a certain quantity of gold or silver

yearly. This should be accomplished in such a manner that it increases Our

revenue but not their labor, and since this is a very important matter, you

should place great care in it, listing what they pay in tribute presently and

what Our officials get for it when they sell it or use it in payment, and what

its value would be if commuted to gold or silver; and you should send this

list along with your report on the first ship to come…

Also, We are informed that in many places in the said province there are

large and wealthy mines of gold, silver, and other metals, and that in

addition to the fifths paid by private individuals who mine them with Our

license and permission, We could increase Our revenues greatly if Our

officials in the said mines purchased for Us a large number of slaves, either

blacks or people purchased from the Indians who are held and reputed to

be slaves. And because this is a matter of great importance and We could

receive great benefit if it is correct, We charge and command you, after you

have discussed this matter with Our judges and officials in New Spain and

with other persons who have knowledge of it, to make provision as you

think is most appropriate for this purpose. And if you should see that to

carry this out better it would be good to have a quantity of slaves sent out

from these kingdoms or other regions, you should advise Us of it, giving the

number and quality of the slaves desired and what you have begun to do in

carrying this out, so that I can make disposition in this matter quickly as is

appropriate for Our service and the good administration of Our treasury.



Two sixteenth‐century Ottoman ships. The smaller uses only triangular lateen sails; the

larger is rigged with a variety of sails, and can also be powered by oars.



15. Sidi Ali Reis, Mirat ul Memalik (The Mirror of Countries), 1557

Western European Christians were not the only ones traveling, conquering, and

governing foreign lands in the sixteenth century. The Ottoman Empire reached its

greatest size during this era, ruling a multi‐ethnic, multi‐religious collection of

territories. The Turkish admiral Sidi Ali Reis served in the military of Sultan Suleiman the

Magnificent, fighting and engaging in diplomatic missions through much of south and

central Asia, and visiting Muslim holy sites wherever he went. Like Mendez Pinto, he

wrote of his conquests and adventures in vivid language, in a text that reveals his deep

faith and loyalty to his sovereign. A long excerpt can be found at:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/16CSidi1.html

We proceeded by the coasts of Djilgar and Djadi, past the towns of Keizzar or

Leime, and forty days after our departure, i.e., on the tenth of Ramazan, in

the forenoon, we suddenly saw coming toward us the Christian fleet,

consisting of four large ships, three galleons, six Portuguese guard ships, and

twelve galleys, 25 vessels in all. I immediately ordered the canopy to be

taken down, the anchor weighed, the guns put in readiness, and then,

trusting to the help of the Almighty, we fastened the lilandra to the

mainmast, the flags were unfurled, and, full of courage and calling upon

Allah, we commenced to fight. The volley from the guns and cannon was

tremendous, and with God's help we sank and utterly destroyed one of the

enemy's galleons. Never before within the annals of history has such a battle

been fought, and words fail me to describe it…

The battle continued till sunset, and only then the Admiral of the infidel fleet

began to show some signs of fear. He ordered the signal‐gun to fire a

retreat, and the fleet turned in the direction of Ormuz. With the help of

Allah, and under the lucky star of the Padishah, the enemies of Islam had

been defeated. Night came at last; we were becalmed for awhile, then the


http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/16CSidi1.html


wind rose, the sails were set and as the shore was near … until daybreak.

The next day we continued our previous course…

God is merciful! With a favorable wind we left the port of Guador and again

steered for Yemen. We had been at sea for several days, and had arrived

nearly opposite to Zofar and Shar, when suddenly from the west arose a

great storm known as fil Tofani. We were driven back, but were unable to

set the sails, not even the trinquetla (stormsail). The tempest raged with

increasing fury. As compared to these awful tempests the foul weather in

the western seas is mere child's play, and their towering billows are as drops

of water compared to those of the Indian sea. Night and day were both alike,

and because of the frailty of our craft all ballast had to be thrown overboard.

In this frightful predicament our only consolation was our unwavering trust

in the power of the Almighty. For ten days the storm raged continuously and

the rain came down in torrents. We never once saw the blue sky.

I did all I could to encourage and cheer my companions, and advised them

above all things to be brave, and never to doubt but that all would end well.

A welcome diversion occurred in the appearance of a fish about the size of

two galley lengths, or more perhaps, which the pilot declared to be a good

omen. The tide being very strong here and the ebb slow, we had an

opportunity of seeing many sea‐monsters in the neighbor‐hood of the bay of

Djugd, sea‐horses, large sea‐serpents, turtles in great quantities, and eels…

It was truly a terrible day, but at last we reached Gujarat in India, which part

of it, however, we knew not, when the pilot suddenly exclaimed: "On your

guard! a whirlpool in front!" Quickly the anchors were lowered, but the ship

was dragged down with great force and nearly submerged. The rowers had

left their seats, the panic‐stricken crew threw off their clothes, and, clinging

some to casks and some to jacks, had taken leave of one another. I also

stripped entirely, gave my slaves their liberty, and vowed to give 100 florins




to the poor of Mecca. Presently one of the anchors broke from its crook and

another at the podjuz; two more were lost, the ship gave a terrible jerk‐‐and

in another instant we were clear of the breakers. The pilot declared that had

we been wrecked off Fisht‐Kidsur, a place between Diu and Daman; nothing

could have saved us…

Toward afternoon the weather had cleared a little, and we found ourselves

about two miles off the port of Daman, in Gujarat in India. The other ships

had already arrived, but some of the galleys were waterlogged not far from

the shore, and they had thrown overboard oars, boats, and casks, all of

which wreckage eventually was borne ashore by the rapidly rising tide. We

were obliged to lie to for another five days and five nights, exposed to a

strong spring‐tide, accompanied by floods of rain; for we were now in the

Badzad, or rainy season of India, and there was nothing for it but to submit

to our fate. During all this time we never once saw the sun by day, nor the

stars by night; we could neither use our clock nor our compass, and all on

board anticipated the worst. It seems a miracle that of the three ships lying

there, thrown on their sides, the whole crew eventually got safely to land…

He who wishes to profit by this narrative let him remember that not in vain

aspirations after greatness, but in a quiet and contented mind lieth the

secret of the true strength which perisheth not. But if in God's providence he

should be driven from home, and forced to wander forth in the unknown,

and perchance be caught in the turbulent waves of the sea of adversity, let

him still always keep in mind that love for one's native land is next to one's

faith. Let him never cease to long for the day that he shall see his native

shores again, and always cling loyally to his Padishah. He who doeth this

shall not perish abroad; God will grant him his desire both in this world and

in the next, and he shall rejoice in the esteem and affection of his fellow‐

countrymen.

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