The Broken Spears
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico is a book by Miguel León-Portilla, translating selections of Nahuatl-language accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. It was first published in Spanish in 1959, and in English in 1962. The most recent English edition was published in 2007.
The English-language title, "The Broken Spears", comes from a phrase in one version of the Annals of Tlatelolco, xaxamatoc omitl. According to historian James Lockhart, this is a mistranslation resulting from confusion between the Nahuatl words mitl "arrow", "dart" or "spear", and omitl "bone"; an alternative translation is thus "broken bones".
Synopsis
The monograph Broken Spears is structured through three distinct sections: the first is the overall introduction that León-Portilla uses to provide background for the content of the book. He describes Aztec cultural life amongst the Nahua peoples, the importance of translators that spoke Nahuatl, and the struggle of accounts that were written by eyewitnesses well after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. León-Portilla prefaces the sources he chose for the book with not only background on the events but descriptions and background information on the sources themselves. While the second and third sections follow chronologically, the first section depicts the Azteca and their initial reactions to the omens that are attributed to local Aztec mystics after the conquest that heralded the Spanish arrival.The following sections break down the role of the proceeding war, then the effect of disease and war upon the Aztecs. León-Portilla's concise historical context and Ángel María Garibay's translations of Nahuatl passages lead into the second section of the monograph: the Aztec’s campaign against the Spanish and their defeat by a wide variety of causes, from both military conquest and disease, that is portrayed from the point of view of the natives. A notable example of Broken Spears narrative is the exclusion of native forces allied with the Spanish Conquistadores in Mexico, as well as the influence and importance of translators, such as La Malinche.
Following these accounts, the monograph and its translated work concludes in the Aftermath, where León-Portilla highlights the "difficult relations that have always existed between the descendants of the Aztecs and their "others" – the colonial Spaniards and contemporary Mexicans." These relations are marked by letters written to the Spanish Crown, notably Philip II of Spain, directly from native individuals. The accounts vary from pleading to King Philip II for audiences, to fears manifesting in later centuries for Nahua identity clashing with colonial Spain.
Reception
Written in the expanded foreword of the recent English edition, it is credited to the author that "Miguel León-Portilla has been at the forefront of the struggle to bring the voices of past and present indigenous peoples of Mexico within hearing distance of the rest of the world. And no book has contributed more to this effort than this one. From the time The Broken Spears was first published in 1959... hundreds of thousands of copies have appeared in Spanish alone, and many tens of thousands have been printed in French, Italian, German, Hebrew, Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Catalan. The present English edition, which first came out in 1962, has gone through numerous printings, with tens of thousands of copies sold since 1974."Popular enough to be translated into several different languages, León-Portilla’s work is regarded academically as sound and well written, particularly with the context in the original Spanish edition. Ángel María Garibay's translation is described as "subtle" and "unique and powerful: he should ideally be read in Spanish, not English." Miguel León-Portilla’s summarization of the Aztec Empire is described as "masterful" and the compilation between the translator and historian was given credit for working well together.
The opposition to the book says it is "intended for a non-expert readership" and "does not, itself, give the material for answers." Other historians give detrimental marks to the work through the elimination of accent marks and the structure of the references at the end of each chapter. Still, among its negative remarks from fellow historians, The Broken Spears is regarded as "well-organized" and is "a useful introduction and point of departure for the student interested in further research" on the subject matter.
Translations
Due to the popularity and influence of The Broken Spears, several translations were made and released well after the original publication:| Year | Language | Title | Translator | Location/Publisher |
| 1959 | Spanish | Visión de los vencidos: Relaciones indígenas de la conquista | México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México | |
| 1962 | English | The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico | Lysander Kemp | London: Constable Boston: Beacon Press |
| 1962 | German | Rückkehr der Götter: Die Aufzeichnungen der Azteken über den Untergang ihres Reiches | Renate Heuer | Köln: Middelhauve |
| 1965 | French | Le Crépuscule des Aztèques: Récits indigènes de la Conquête | Madeleine Folque | Tournai, Belgium: Casterman |
| 1967 | Polish | Zmierzch Azteków: Kronika Zwyciężonych: Indiańskie relacje o podboju | María Sten, Jerzy Ficowski | Warszawa: Państ. Instytut Wydawniczy |
| 1987 | Catalan | Visió dels vençuts: relacions indígenes de la conquesta | Josep M. Murià | Barcelona: Llamp |
| 2009 | Otomi | Ra nthandi to'o bi b'edi ya njondahmä ya mudimehai dig'a ra ts'okat'ot amfeni | Raymundo Isidro Alavez | Hidalgo, Mex.: UNAM, Coordinación Humanidades |