But he did not live to reap the fruits of his persevering industry. The
first volume, relative to the voyages of Columbus, were scarcely finished
when he died; and his manuscripts, at least that portion of them which
have reference to Mexico and Peru, were destined to serve the uses of
another, an inhabitant of that New World to which they related.
Another scholar, to whose literary stores I am largely indebted, is Don
Martin Fernandez de Navarrette, late Director of the Royal Academy of
History. Through the greater part of his long life he was employed in
assembling original documents to illustrate the colonial annals. Many of
these have been incorporated in his great work, "Coleccion de los Viages
y Descubrimientos," which, although far from being completed after the
original plan of its author, is of inestimable service to the historian. In
following down the track of discovery, Navarrete turned aside from the
conquests of Mexico and Peru, to exhibit the voyages of his countrymen
in the Indian seas. His manuscripts, relating to the two former countries,
he courteously allowed to be copied for me. Some of them have since
appeared in print, under the auspices of his learned coadjutors, Salva and
Baranda, associated with him in the Academy; but the documents placed
in my hands form a most important contribution to my materials for the
present history.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25