The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 55, July 1951 - April, 1952 Page: 311
562 p. : ill. (some col.), ports., maps (some col.) ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
objectives: to enhance the reputation of the conquistadors; to
promote the permanent settlement of the vast kingdoms of Flor-
ida for the glory of the Crown; to spread the True Gospel among
the infidel natives; and, lastly, just to speak the truth about epic
deeds-Holy Grail of historians of all ages. Through the span of
six books with minute chapter subdivisions, developed chron-
ologically and allowing for frequent though never-dull digres-
sions, Garcilaso leads us along an exciting trail with De Soto and
his men, from Spain to Cuba to the kingdoms of Florida, a land
"so broad and long that there is space enough within it for any-
thing to happen."
Although certain episodes are emblazoned in the reader's mind
by the sheer power of the Inca's story-telling art-like the Battle
of Mauvila, the crossing of the Great Swamp, the adventures in
the Province of Cofachiqui, or the sufferings of Juan Ortiz at
the hands of his Indian captors-it would be impossible to sum-
marize this intricate narrative of Spanish-Indian relations con-
ducted under a canopy of an exacting and often relentless en-
vironment. It is a ballad of high hopes and spirits, of dejection
and despondency, of chivalry and valor, of treachery and cow-
ardice, of disaster and blood and cruelty. And the Inca made the
most of the potentialities in these pungent raw materials.
To judge Garcilaso's history (for so he styles The Florida) by
modern "scientific" standards would be patently unfair. Yet his
variety of "primary sources" comprised an extensive bibliography
which could meet the test of present-day documentation. He
based his account principally upon the oral relation of an anon-
ymous cavalier, believed to have been Gonzalo Silvestre, who
accompanied De Soto's expedition and knew the Inca in both
Peru and Spain. And though it was centuries before the footnote
had become a fetish and was perfected in all its mechanical
mysteries, Garcilaso proudly cited two, brief, written accounts by
other members of De Soto's army, as reinforcement for his his-
torical accuracy. In addition, he mentioned his conversations
with others who had taken part in the expedition and acknowl-
edged his debt to various "histories of the West Indies," upon
which he depended for background material. Nor is it to be for-
gotten that the Inca was a near contemporary of De Soto and his311
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 55, July 1951 - April, 1952, periodical, 1952; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101139/m1/361/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.