La prudencia de Cortés: teoría política y práctica retórica en la Historia de la conquista de México de Antonio de Solís
The Historia de la conquista de México, published by Antonio de Solís in 1684, and later extensively reissued and translated, has been praised for the ‘elegance’ and ‘sweetness’ of its style. From very early on these qualities made the Historia to be read as a prose model worthy of imitation. Different scholars have studied Solís's sources and the way he manipulated them on the one hand, and, on the other, the extent of the reliability of his account. However, very little has been said about the actual writing practices of the Historia in the context of contemporary historiographical theories, or the author's own ideas about history or politics. This paper analyzes how some of these rhetorical techniques (I particularly focus on the use of oratio figurata, sententia, and epiphoneme) gave shape to Solís's political ideas, in particular the concept of prudence.
Historians of the colonial period: 1620–1700
Historiography of the seventeenth century reflected many of the patterns of historical writing developed during the earlier age of discovery and conquest. The principal historians of the sixteenth century worked with fundamental models of historical expression that survived well into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We see a continuation of the cronica mayor , religious historiography that dealt with the history of religious orders and the spiritual life of the colony, various forms of testimonial literature, works that are primarily descriptive of New World geography, and other narrative modalities that were commonly employed during the era, such as the relacion and learned commentaries. Yet there were significant developments within these well-defined norms – creative endeavors that have recently interested literary scholars – to communicate a more imaginative interpretation of those events and processes that led to the expansion and stabilization of the colonies. Though somewhat guided by functional models written in the sixteenth century, historical writing of the late colonial period became more complex and varied in style and structure. Chroniclers of the Indies A curious irony surrounds the role of cronista mayor during much of the seventeenth century. According to some indications, these historians were the most capable of any group of producing comprehensive studies of New World history. Those fulfilling this role had the greatest authority and prestige of any kind of historian in the late colonial period. They possessed the legal charge to petition, read, and censor the work of other historians writing about the American Conquest and settlement.
The Mound on the Mount: A Possible Solution to the Problem with Jerusalem
Following Knauf's suggestion (2000), the article raises the possibility that in most periods in the second and first millennia BCE the main built-up area of Jerusalem was limited to a mound on the Temple Mount. This mound, which may have covered an area of five hectares and more, was boxed-in under the Herodian platform. At these periods activity in the City of David ridge was restricted to the area near the Gihon spring. In the Iron IIB and late Hellenistic Periods the fortified settlement expanded simultaneously to both the City of David ridge and the southwestern hill. In these two periods there was no need to fortify the western side of the City of David, as this line ran in the middle of the city.