Login
Cart
Advanced Search
Our List
Bestsellers
Current Bestsellers
All-Time Bestsellers
Activism
General
Economic Justice
Environmental Justice
Education Reform
Racial Justice
Community Action
Immigration Reform
American Society
General
Anthropology
Cultural Studies
Economics
Law and Society
Media and Technology
Philosophy
Sociology
Sports and Society
Child and Family Issues
Biography and Memoir
Autobiography and Memoir
Biography
Disability
Education
Higher Education
History of Education
Race and Education
School Reform and Policy
Teaching and the Classroom
Environment and Conservation
Energy and Climate
Conservation
Food and Agriculture
Wildlife
Nature and Environment
Feminism and Gender
Biography and Memoir
Feminism
Gender and Sexuality
Women's History
Women's Literature
Women's Lives
History
American History
General
World History
Literature and the Arts
Fiction
Poetry
Music
The Arts
Politics and Current Events
Queer Perspectives
Education and Youth
Fiction
General
Memoir
Religion and Sexuality
Transgender Perspectives
Race and Ethnicity in America
Religion
How We Live Our Beliefs
Pluralism
Buddhism
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Unitarian Universalism
World Religions
Gender and Sexuality
Inspiration
Science and Medicine
Public Health
Medicine
Science
Psychology
Women's Health
YA and Children's
Series
Beacon Classics
Celebrating Black Women Writers
King Legacy
Myths Made in America
National Poetry Series
Queer Action Queer Ideas
Raised Voices Poetry Series
ReVisioning History
Forthcoming
Summer 2025
Fall 2025
Blog
About
About Beacon
Awards
Booksellers and Librarians
Staff
Distribution
Sales and Ordering
Submission Guidelines
Contact
Customer Service
Author Appearances
Jobs and Internships
Media Requests
Desk and Exam Copy Information
Rights and Permissions
Resources
Book Banning Resources
Resources for Times of Fascists
Reading Guides
Teacher Guides
Guides for UUs and Book Groups
Social Impact
The Broken Spears
The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico
Author:
Miguel León-Portillo
Description
Praise and Reviews
Excerpt
Table of Contents
On Our Blog
Media Coverage
Video
Reading Group Guides
Reader Reviews
The revolutionary account of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, through the eyes of the vanished, challenging colonial narratives and centering Aztec voices
A limited Beacon Classics edition, with a gorgeous spot gloss cover and retro, classic palette
For hundreds of years, the history of the conquest of Mexico and the defeat of the Aztecs has been told in the words of the Spanish victors. This is only a small part of the full story. Miguel León-Portilla has long been at the forefront of expanding that history to include the voices of indigenous peoples. León-Portilla’s work translating and compiling the voices contained within the pages of
The Broken Spears
has been revered since the book’s original Spanish publication in 1959 and original English publication in 1962.
In this new edition of his classic, León-Portilla’s work to unearth the voices of Aztec people from the past and the present continues to illuminate untold realities of colonization. His work includes accounts from those present at the time of the conquest of Mexico and has been expanded to include accounts from native Aztec descendants across the centuries since. These texts bear witness to the extraordinary vitality of an oral tradition that preserves the viewpoints of the vanquished instead of the victors.
Through these firsthand accounts from Aztec peoples, a new story about the conquest of Mexico unfolds. Portilla translates these stories, but he also investigates how these firsthand accounts came to be, remaining cognizant of what can be lost in translation, and the stakes of allowing history to be written by the victors.
The Broken Spears
is an exemplary body of historical work that seeks to challenge the pervasiveness of colonial narratives and continues to shape the study of history to this day.
“
Beacon Classics Mines More Than a Century of Backlist Books
,”
Publishers Weekly
, featured in article
Goodreads reviews
ISBN:
978-080701905-4
Publication Date:
6/10/2025
Size:
6
x
9
Inches (US)
Price:
$24.00
Format:
Cloth
Availability:
In stock.
Add To Cart
Other Retailers:
InSpirit Book and Gift Shop
Bookshop.org
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Also Available In:
Paperback
Audio
Categories:
American Society
>
Cultural Studies
Forthcoming
>
Summer 2025
History
>
World History
Series
>
Beacon Classics