Life and Labor in Ancient Mexico

<p>The Brief and Summary Relation of the Lords of New Spain is one of the major contemporary accounts of the economic political and social impact of the conquest of Aztec Mexico. Written by Alonso de Zorita a Spanish judge of high integrity and many years' experience in colonial administration it provides a detailed description of Aztec life before and after the Conquest. Based on Zorita's stay in Mexico from 1556 to 1566 it reflects the anguish felt by a devoted and humane servant of the Crown who observed the misery inflicted upon the Indians by enslavement and Spanish-imposed tribute and labor systems</p><p>In his extensive introduction Benjamin Keen provides a survey of the rise of Aztec society conditions under post-Conquest colonial administration and a biographical essay on Zoritas life and the reception of his work. With a new preface on recent scholarship and issues in Zorita's work this edition remains the standard translation in English of the Brief Relation.</p><p><br></p>