The History of America

Cork: Thomas White, 1778. SECOND EDITION. Folding etched map of South America, folding etched plate with a view of Mexico City, etched frontispiece portrait of the author. Contemporary mottled calf, expertly rebacked, gilt spine and labels, green edges; map with a short tear, no loss. A nice set with the ownership inscription of George Jackson dated 1788. Second edition (first printed the year before) and the first Cork printing, the “most highly regarded secondary source of its time” (Howes). This ambitious work on the Spanish colonization of the New World contains the history of the discovery of the Americas and the conquest of Mexico and Peru, with particular attention paid to Columbus and Cortez. At the end of Volume II, the author lists over 200 books and manuscripts he consulted to compile his account. The text is divided into eight books; the author eventually wrote an additional two but died before he could publish them. His son edited and released the additional material in 1796.

William Robertson (1721-1793) was a Scottish historian and minister. He made significant contributions to the study of Scottish history and Spanish America.

Brading, The First America, 432; Howes, 358, Sabin, II, 71973.