The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule: A History of the Indians of the Valley of Mexico, 1519-1810

by Charles Gibson

Book Overview

A Stanford University Press classic.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804709122
• ISBN13: 9780804709125
• Release Date: June 1964
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A must read for those interested in Mexican Heritage

Aztecs Under Spanish Rule is an in-depth study of the evolution of the historical relationship between the Native Mexicans and the Spaniards in Colonial Latin America. The story begins with the cultural differences between the two groups after the Spaniard's conquering effort over the Aztecs, 1519-1521. The social-cultural alterations and reorganizations that took place during the process of their co-existence within the Mexican mesa central from that point until Mexico's bid for independence, in 1821, are the general themes within the topics of each chapter. Gibson begins with a brief historical sketch of the landscape and human occupation of the Valley of Mexico, and each following chapter covering such historical topics as settlement patterns, land use, politics, religion and social structures literally has the potential of being its own disquisition. The author unleashes a flood of data, references and Indian names that cascade over the pages; unless the reader is in firm command of the Mexican Indian terminology, the glossary will become a welcomed reference bookmark. The overall effect of subjugation by the Imperial Spanish over the once Imperial Aztecs is visible in nearly all facets of life. This transformed society becomes the foundation for modern-day Mexico City and the greater Mexican society. The typical form of the chapters is a chronologically based essay. Beginning at or close to the point conquest, and traversing through the next three centuries, stopping at important junctions, at which point Gibson provides connecting vignettes that illuminate this region and inhabitant's path of history. Thus the scholarly Aztecs Under Spanish Rule is not overwhelming and is a quite digestible text that lay persons with interest in Mexican or Latin American history will find most agreeable. Even though the structuring of the chapters and their content is consistent and readable, Gibson's work is essentially a historical text that suffers from a lack of narration. The people and their situations do not come alive; they are presented in a flat, matter of fact manner, negating Aztecs Under Spanish Rule's potential as a page-turner. The most commendable list of primary sources permits the author to introduce an enviable texture, however, the fine combing does not occur, which would have produced a more human connected story. It is hard to imagine that the plethora of letters in the bibliography did not allow for the inclusion of longer, more personable and illuminating quotes. The very strength of each chapter as its own tractate, in this reviewer's opinion, becomes the book's undoing. At the conclusion of each topical chapter, we are back in the starting gate once again. That is not to say that Gibson's work is anything less than exemplary, rather simply that its topical structure somewhat takes away from author's ability to maintain the reader's imagination and focus as the story begins, unfolds, begins t

A Must For Anyone Interested In Mexican History or Heritage

Aztecs Under Spanish Rule is an in-depth study of the evolution of the historical relationship between the Native Mexicans and the Spaniards in Colonial Latin America. The story begins with the cultural differences between the two groups after the Spaniard's conquering effort over the Aztecs, 1519-1521. The social-cultural alterations and reorganizations that took place during the process of their co-existence within the Mexican mesa central from that point until Mexico's bid for independence, in 1821, are the general themes within the topics of each chapter. Gibson begins with a brief historical sketch of the landscape and human occupation of the Valley of Mexico, and each following chapter covering such historical topics as settlement patterns, land use, politics, religion and social structures literally has the potential of being its own disquisition. The author unleashes a flood of data, references and Indian names that cascade over the pages; unless the reader is in firm command of the Mexican Indian terminology, the glossary will become a welcomed reference bookmark. The overall effect of subjugation by the Imperial Spanish over the once Imperial Aztecs is visible in nearly all facets of life. This transformed society becomes the foundation for modern-day Mexico City and the greater Mexican society. The typical form of the chapters is a chronologically based essay. Beginning at or close to the point conquest, and traversing through the next three centuries, stopping at important junctions, at which point Gibson provides connecting vignettes that illuminate this region and inhabitant's path of history. Thus the scholarly Aztecs Under Spanish Rule is not overwhelming and is a quite digestible text that lay persons with interest in Mexican or Latin American history will find most agreeable. Even though the structuring of the chapters and their content is consistent and readable, Gibson's work is essentially a historical text that suffers from a lack of narration. The people and their situations do not come alive; they are presented in a flat, matter of fact manner, negating Aztecs Under Spanish Rule's potential as a page-turner. The most commendable list of primary sources permits the author to introduce an enviable texture, however, the fine combing does not occur, which would have produced a more human connected story. It is hard to imagine that the plethora of letters in the bibliography did not allow for the inclusion of longer, more personable and illuminating quotes. The very strength of each chapter as its own tractate, in this reviewer's opinion, becomes the book's undoing. At the conclusion of each topical chapter, we are back in the starting gate once again. That is not to say that Gibson's work is anything less than exemplary, rather simply that its topical structure somewhat takes away from author's ability to maintain the reader's imagination and focus as the story begins, unfolds, begins then unfolds, and begins