The Natural and Moral History of the Indies (Cambridge Library Collection - Hakluyt First Series) - Softcover

Acosta, Joseph De

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1108011519 ISBN 13: 9781108011518

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2010

Synopsis

The publications of the Hakluyt Society (founded in 1846) made available edited (and sometimes translated) early accounts of exploration. The first series, which ran from 1847 to 1899, consists of 100 books containing published or previously unpublished works by authors from Christopher Columbus to Sir Francis Drake, and covering voyages to the New World, to China and Japan, to Russia and to Africa and India. This volume, first published in 1880, translates the first detailed description of the geography and indigenous culture of South America, written by Joseph de Acosta (1540-1600) and originally published in Spanish in 1590. Acosta was one of the first explorers to record and analyse the geophysical phenomena of the 'New World' and attempt to explain them scientifically. Volume 1 contains the first four books of Joseph de Acosta's work describing the climate, plants, animals and meteorological phenomena of South America.

About this title

Book Description:

The publications of the Hakluyt Society (founded in 1846) made available early accounts of exploration. This is a translation of the first detailed account of the geography and indigenous culture of South America, by Joseph de Acosta (1540-1600). Volume 1 describes the animals, plants and climate of South America.

From the Publisher:

"José de Acosta’s A Natural and Moral History of the Indies is the work of one of the sixteenth century’s keenest minds. Based on more than seventeen years of personal experience in Peru and Mexico as well as correspondence with fellow Jesuits around the world, De Acosta creates a comparative understanding of the New World. This modern translation loses none of the freshness of Acosta’s prose and thankfully makes available to readers one of the most widely read and most influential books ever written on the Americas."—Thomas Cummins, University of Chicago

"A superb translation of Jose de Acosta’s Natural History into contemporary English that has been long overdue, with a first-rate introduction by one of America’s outstanding Hispanists. The volume should prove useful to those interested in the natural history of the New World, the history of the Jesuits, and an understanding of Catholic conversion efforts in the sixteenth century."—Patricia Seed, Rice University

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1108011519
• ISBN 13: 9781108011518
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 360
• Editor: Markham Clements R.