Cortes Hernan Missing (1 results)

First English edition, Hakluyt Society First series, vol. XL; 8vo (22.5 x 15 cm); ex libris Inner Temple Library with bookplates and stamps, withdrawn stamp to title, otherwise clean internally; original publisher's gilt blue cloth, old dampstaining to corners of boards, spine darkened with head slightly chipped, lower inner hinge cracked but firm, a good copy; 2, [4], 156pp. This is the first translation of the fifth letter of Cortàs into English. From 1524 to 1526 Cortàs headed an expedition to Honduras where he defeated Cristà bal de Olid, who had claimed Honduras as his own under the influence of the Governor of Cuba Diego Velázquez. Fearing that the former Aztec Emperor Cuauhtà moc might head an insurrection in Mexico, Cortàs brought him with on the journey to Honduras. Part way through the expedition, Cortàs executed Cuauhtà moc on trumped up charges of conspiracy to murder. Cortà s's fifth letter to King Charles attempts to justify his conduct and concludes with a bitter attack on "various and powerful rivals and enemies" who have "obscured the eyes of your Majesty". Charles, who was also Holy Roman Emperor, had little time for distant colonies and Cortà s's squabbles.