Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs

All Good

Muy interesante historia..

This book looks at the history of the Aztecs, the Mexica, as they called themselves, before, during and after the Spanish invasion. Based on histories deliberately written by indigenous people who lived shortly after the events, to ensure a record for future generations, this book gives the perspective and understanding of the Mexica about what was happening to them. These works were written to capture and preserve the oral histories and songs which had provided the original communities with their historical culture and identity. They have formed the basis for the author’s research and this fascinating book. It is clear that the Aztecs themselves had built their own own hegemony on violence and conquest and that this history eventually provided the Spanish invaders with the indigenous allies without whom they could not have hoped to prevail. This book also makes clear that some of legends which arose from the writings of the conquistadors are simply untrue - the Mexica did not believe that the Spanish were gods, and Mocezuma did not give his empire away willingly. This book brings the 15th and 16th century Mexica to life - their loves, fears, courage and defeats. It deals with their beliefs, with human sacrifice, and with the atrocities perpetrated by the conquistadors, and the devastating impact of diseases against which the Mexica had no immunity. All of this makes for a fascinating read. The book is written in an engaging style for the general reader, and with a vast store of notes and references for academic purposes and further reading. Highly recommended if you have an interest in Latin America or in history more generally.

Brilliant construction of hidden and tragic history.

The best histories are those that upend everything you were taught in history class. With Fifth Sun, Camilla Townsend has offered a powerful, intelligently written overview of the people of central Mexico. (Erroneously called Aztecs, more on this below). A reader of this book will come away with a new understanding of their remarkable history. Often in discussions this period, the Spanish conquest plays a central role in the story. Obviously that history is presented here. The violence done to the inhabitants of central Mexico though, is frequently seen as almost an erasure, or annihilation of their culture. As Prof Townsend documents, while suffering catastrophic losses to the disease, killings and enslavement by the Spaniards, these people did not disappear. Their culture and language live on. (She helpfully presents an easy-to-understand primer of local pronunciations, including for Mexica, the people of the Valley of Mexico). The violence done even extended to their names. The word 'Aztec' we learn, was fabricated by European scholars centuries after the conquest. Townsend flatly notes : "No people ever called themselves that." She also puts the lie to several myths involving the Mexica, such as their understanding of their religion, and of the Europeans themselves. The idea that the Mexica viewed Hernan Cortes and the other Spaniards as the incarnation of their gods, was a story cooked up by the Europeans (Prof Townsend includes an appendix listing the primary sources). Each chapter is like a window into a world of a people on the verge of catastrophic change. Highly recommended.