This volume contains the first publication of the Nahuatl and Spanish parallel accounts of the conquest of Mexico as they appear in Book 12 of the Florentine Codex, each with an English translation. Previously the Nahuatl account with an English translation has been available as the final volume of the University of Utah/School of American Research publication of the entire FC, edited and translated by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble (1970-81). The Spanish text was published in 1988 by Alianza Editorial Mexicana as Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, 1, 2: primera versión íntegra del texto castellano del manuscrito conocido como Códice florentino, edited by Alfredo López Austin and Josefina García Quintana. The 1956 edition by Angel María Garibay of the Historia general is based not on the FC but on the Tolosa manuscript, also prepared under the direction of and probably authored by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún.
The differences between the Tolosa and the FC are minor, but the differences between these two Spanish accounts and the Nahuatl account in the FC are significant. In We People Here, the differences are plain to see as one compares the columns of text set side by side. The Spanish text sometimes omits sections of the Nahuatl. For example, in chapter 19, beginning on page 54, while the Nahuatl runs on for paragraphs, the Spanish dismisses the text as saying nothing more than how a statue of dough was made and decorated. At other times, the Spanish adds an explication for readers who might not understand vocabulary and arcane references in the Nahuatl text. The Nahuatl and Spanish texts diverge, moreover, in tone and interpretation of the events. Sahagún, surely aware of the differences, let them stand.
James Lockhart’s English translation differs from that of Anderson and Dibble without contradicting or taking issue with their work. Some differences have to do with paleographic resolution of the text, and most notes in the commentary deal with textual difficulties. Differences also derive from choice of tone and style; Lockhart’s English is less archaic and ceremonial than the earlier translation. He also brings to his task vast recent experience with other Nahuatl texts.
Five other documents with translations accompany the FC text, providing regional perspectives on the conquest. Although none is as comprehensive, each overlaps the FC account. Lockhart facilitates a comparative reading of the six documents through his tripartite introduction, which the wise reader will not bypass. The title of the first section is self-explanatory: “Perceptual-Expressive Modes, Group Consciousness, and General View in the Texts.” The section on “Conventions and Procedures” introduces some important Nahuatl vocabulary. “Particulars About the Texts” places each of the six documents in its historical and geographical context. We People Here sets a high standard for the Repertorium Columbianum series.
