Letters from Hernán Cortés to Charles V

What it is

This is the title page of a 1524 printed Latin edition of Cortés's second letter to Emperor Charles V, originally written in 1520. The letter was translated by Petrus Savorgnanus and printed in Nuremberg. Cortés himself wrote the original narrative.

Why it matters

Cortés wrote these letters to defend his mutiny against the governor of Cuba and to present himself as a loyal servant of the crown who had won a great new territory. The letters became Europe's main source of information about the conquest of Mexico and shaped how Europeans first imagined the Aztec empire.

Look closer

• Why might Cortés want his letter printed and widely read in Europe?
• What does the decorative title page suggest about who the book was meant to impress?
• Whose perspective is missing from a letter written by the conqueror himself?