Description

History of America, From the latest London edition, in which is included the Posthumous Volume containing the History of Virginia to the Year 1668 and of New England to the Year 1652. (2 volumes complete). Robertson, William. Published by E.and E, Hosford., Albany., 1822 Robertson's history of the discovery of America and the conquest of Mexico and Peru was the "most highly regarded secondary source of its time" (Howes, 493). From its publication until the 1840s it "held its place as the standard history of the discovery of the New World" (Honour). "The History of America was published… to a very positive reception. Its success was even more marked on the continent, where it was considered Robertson's masterpiece… The book's structure marked another departure for Robertson, as he alternated chapters of narrative concerning the Spanish conquest with chapters of description of Native American culture and society. With its dramatic sweep of narrative, combined with a provocative confrontation of two very different stages of civilization and a prose that was more flexible and evocative than that of his earlier books, the History of America is often regarded as Robertson's most interesting, original, and even Romantic work"