Mexico / Its Ancient and Modern Civilisation, History, Political Conditions, Topography, Natural Resources, Industries and General Development

by C. Reginald Enock

BIBLIOGRAPHY

HISTORY

The history of Mexico at the time of the Conquest rests upon an accurate basis; the five letters of Cortes to the Spanish Emperor, Carlos V. These have been recently retranslated into, and published in, English in two excellent volumes:

The Letters of Cortes to Charles V. F. C. MacNutt. G. P. Putnam's Sons. London. 1908.

The most famous book on the Conquest is that of Prescott, the American historian, and this never loses its charm, although to the traveller who knows the country it may, at times, seem somewhat highly drawn.

Prescott's Conquest of Mexico. 3 vols. London. 1845.

The writers which, after Cortes, were the participators in the Conquest or contemporary therewith, and upon whose writings all other accounts are based, are those of:

Bernal Diaz, Author of the Verdadera Historia de la Conquista. 1858.
Ixtlilochitl, Aztec historian.

Other famous contemporary writers whose works also furnish material for historians were:

Bartolomé de las Casas, Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Gonzalo Oviedo y Valdez, Bernardino de Sahagun, Motolinia, Peter Martyr, Antonio de Herrera. The works of all these writers are extant, principally in Spanish, and they were written in the sixteenth century.

In the seventeenth century Juan de Torquemada wrote, and in the nineteenth numerous works appeared upon Mexico. Among these may be mentioned those of Manuel Orozco y Berra, Manuel Icazbalceta Raminez, all modern Mexicans. Other authors, whether of historical or other books and at varying epochs, are:

Clavigero, Duran, Tezozomoc, Camargo, Siguenza, Pizarro, Acosta, Gage, Lorenzana, Olarte, Vetancourt, Solis, Cavo, Landa, Robertson, Irving, Humboldt, Helps, Bancroft, Kingsborough.

Archæological and Ethnological works are represented by the following:

Bancroft, Native Races of the Pacific States. 5 vols. New York. 1874-6.
Bandelier, The Art of War among the Ancient Mexicans.
Bandelier, Distribution and Land Tenure.
Bandelier, Social Organisation.
Bandelier, Archæological Tour.
Bandelier, Indians of the South-west, U.S.
Batres, Cuadro Arquelogico de la Republica Mexicana; and other works, including Teotihuacan.
Blake, Catalogue of Archæological Collection of the Museum of Mexico, &c.
Brinton, The American Race.
Brinton, Ancient Phonetic Alphabets of Yucatan, &c.
Chavers, Antigüedades Mexicanas.
Chavers, Mexico a traves de los siglos.
Charnay, Ancient Cities of the New World.
Garcia Cubas, Cuadro Geografico, &c.
Holmes, Archæological Studies among the Ancient Cities of Mexico.
Maudsley, Biologia Centralia-Americana.
Kingsborough, famous work on Mexican Antiquities, &c.
Peñafiel, Monumentos del arte Mexicano Antiguo. Berlin. 1890.
Payne, History of the New World. Oxford. 1899.
Starr, Maya Writing, &c. Chicago. 1895.
And many other pamphlets and books in English, Spanish, French, and German.
For a fuller list of these, see the excellent volume on Mexico of the International Bureau of the American Republics. Washington. 1904.

Of books on mining an excellent volume for reference is:

Southworth's Mines of Mexico.

Of mining and natural resources generally, a large complete work has been issued in English, Spanish, and French, entitled:

El Florecimiento de Mexico. Mexico. 1906.

This work is published in Mexico, written by various authors, under the patronage of the Government. It is a valuable book of reference, but somewhat prolix, and the type is small and the volume unwieldy. After the manner of books issued in Spanish-American countries, too much space is taken up with adulations of public men. There are no less than four full-page portraits of President Diaz in it.

Other general works are:

Mexico and the United States. Abbott. New York. 1869.
Guia General de la Republicas Mexicana. Mexico. 1899.
Barrett, Standard Guide to Mexico. Mexico. 1900.
Baedeker, The United States and Mexico. Leipzig. 1899.
Bancroft, A Popular History of the Mexican People. London. 1887.
Bancroft, Resources and Development of Mexico. San Francisco. 1893.
Baianconi, Le Mexique. Paris. 1899.
Brocklehurst, Mexico To-day. London. 1883.
Chevalier, Le Mexique Ancien et Moderne. Paris. 1886.
Congling, Mexico and the Mexicans. New York. 1883.
Garcia, Mexico, &c. Mexico. 1893.
Lummis, The Awakening of a Nation. New York. 1893.
Ober, Travels in Mexico. Boston. 1884.
Martin, Mexico of the Twentieth Century. London. 1908.
Gadow, Travels in Southern Mexico. London. 1908.
Tweedie, Mexico as I Saw It. London. 190?
Tweedie. Porfirio Diaz. London. 1905.
A. H. Noll. A Short History of Mexico. Chicago. 1903.
Romero, Mexico and the United States. New York. 1898.
Statesman's Year-book. London.
Camp Fires on Desert and Lava. Hornaday. London. 1909.
And numerous others in French, German, and English, including various guide-books and pamphlets, scientific and otherwise.
The Mexican Year-book, London, 1908, is published by McCorquodale & Co. The work is written under the auspices of the Mexican Government. It is full of statistics and information, and forms a very useful work of reference.
Modern Mexico, a monthly illustrated paper of high-class, issued in Mexico and St. Louis.
The Mexican Herald, a daily paper published in English in Mexico, is an excellent journal of current events.