Historia natural y moral de las Indias (vol. 2 of 2)

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Acosta, José de, 1540-1600

Language:

Spanish

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Historia natural y moral de las Indias" by José de Acosta is a historical account written in the late 16th century. The work provides a comprehensive examination of the natural history and the moral practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. In it, Acosta delves into various aspects of life, including the customs, religions, and sociopolitical structures of native societies, integrating both natural observations and moral reflections. At the start of the text, Acosta introduces the shift from discussing natural history to moral considerations, focusing on the customs and historical practices of the indigenous populations. He poses the idolatries and religious practices of these groups, attributing the roots of their beliefs to the pride and envy of the devil. The chapters summarize various forms of idol worship, emphasizing the complexity and diversity of their spiritual beliefs and practices, including reverence for natural elements and ancestors. Furthermore, Acosta indicates his intent to juxtapose these indigenous practices with Christian values, aiming to highlight the need for spiritual enlightenment through the Christian Gospel. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Giovanni Fini, Adrian Mastronardi and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Notes:

Wikipedia page about this book: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_natural_y_moral_de_las_Indias

Reading ease score: 45.3 (College-level). Difficult to read.

Release date is 2015-11-11