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William Hickling Prescott (May 4, 1796 - January 28, 1859) was an American historian and Hispanist, who is widely recognized by historiographers to have been the first American scientific historian. Despite suffering from serious visual impairment, which at times prevented him from reading or writing for himself, Prescott became one of the most eminent historians of 19th century America.
Prescott specialized in late Renaissance Spain and the early Spanish Empire. His works on the subject, including The History of the Conquest of Mexico, and A History of the Conquest of Peru, have become classic works in the field, and have ha
William Hickling Prescott (May 4, 1796 - January 28, 1859) was an American historian and Hispanist, who is widely recognized by historiographers to have been the first American scientific historian. Despite suffering from serious visual impairment, which at times prevented him from reading or writing for himself, Prescott became one of the most eminent historians of 19th century America.
Prescott specialized in late Renaissance Spain and the early Spanish Empire. His works on the subject, including The History of the Conquest of Mexico, and A History of the Conquest of Peru, have become classic works in the field, and have had a great impact on the study of both Spain and Mesoamerica. Prescott has become one of the most widely translated American historians, and was an important figure in the development of history as a rigorous academic discipline. Historians admire Prescott for his exhaustive, careful, and systematic use of archives, his accurate recreation of sequences of events, his balanced judgments and his lively writing style.
Prescott started drafting the History of the Conquest of Mexico in October 1839. However, Prescott faced difficulties in writing the work which he had not encountered previously. There was relatively little scholarship on Aztec civilization, and Prescott dismissed much of it as "speculation", and he therefore had to rely almost exclusively on primary sources (with the exception of Humboldt). Prescott also studied Spanish writers contemporary to the conquest, most significantly Torquemada and Toribio de Benavente.
The Conquest of Mexico has endured more than any other of Prescott's work: it is regarded as his greatest literary accomplishment.
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Manufacturer: J. M. Dent/Everyman's Library
Release date: 15 March 2018
ISBN-10 : B002F1VA7Y |
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