A Hearth Library collection
Early Americas
First contact and clashes of peoples, about 1000 to 1800
Writing and pictures by and about the peoples of the Americas, from the Norse voyages around 1000 to the last first meetings of the late 1700s, read in the original languages and in English. A companion to our game The Lost Settlement, set in the Americas in 1500.
Sources
Literature
Karlsefni and Gudrid in Vinland
Saga of the Greenlanders, events of about 1000–1010; written down in the 1300s; copied in 1387, Vinland
Old NorseEarly version
Voyages and sea travelColonies and settlementsFirst contact in the Americas
Literature
Trade and Battle at Hóp
Saga of Erik the Red, events of about 1005–1010; written in the later 1200s; the oldest copy about 1310, Hóp, in Vinland
Old NorseEarly version
First contact in the AmericasTrade and marketsColonies and settlements
Letter
News of the First Voyage
Columbus, dated February 15, 1493, At sea, off the Azores
SpanishChecked
First contact in the AmericasVoyages and sea travelCaribbean and Isthmus
Letter
The Second Voyage Reaches the Islands of the Caribs
Chanca, written on Hispaniola, probably early 1494, Guadeloupe (the Spaniards’ Guadalupe; Karukera)
SpanishEarly version
First contact in the AmericasCaribbean and IsthmusSlavery and forced labor
Treatise
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (Opening)
Las Casas, written 1542, printed 1552, Hispaniola (La Española)
SpanishEarly version
Conquest and resistance in the AmericasSlavery and forced laborCaribbean and Isthmus
Report
The Images in the Field
Pané, written about 1496–1498 (events of about 1495–1497); printed in Italian, 1571, Hispaniola (La Española)
ItalianEarly version
Indigenous American beliefsChristianityCaribbean and Isthmus
Letter
The First Meeting at Porto Seguro, 1500
Caminha, written April 26 to May 1, 1500, Porto Seguro
PortugueseChecked
First contact in the AmericasAmazon and OrinocoTrade and markets
History
The Gilded Chief of Lake Guatavita
Rodríguez Freyle, written in 1636, Lake Guatavita
SpanishEarly version
Caribbean and IsthmusIndigenous American beliefsRulers and courts
Natural history
Maize and Cassava Bread
Oviedo, printed 1526, Hispaniola (La Española)
SpanishChecked
Food, farming and hungerCaribbean and Isthmus
Letter
The Great Market of Tenochtitlan
Cortés, dated October 30, 1520; printed at Seville, 1522, Mexico-Tenochtitlan
SpanishChecked
Conquest and resistance in the AmericasMesoamericaTrade and markets
History
The Mexica Embassy and the Smallpox in Michoacán
Relación de Michoacán, compiled about 1539–1541, Tzintzuntzan
SpanishEarly version
MesoamericaRulers and courtsConquest and resistance in the Americas
Annals
The Pestilence at Iximche
Xahil family annals, events of the early 1520s (Brinton dates the king’s death to 1521); written down later in the sixteenth century, Iximche
KaqchikelEarly version
Epidemics in the Americas after 1492Death and burialFamily and loss
History
The Smallpox in Mexico, 1520
Sahagún, compiled from the 1550s to the 1570s, Mexico-Tenochtitlan
SpanishEarly version
Epidemics in the Americas after 1492SmallpoxFirst contact in the Americas
Narrative
Naked and Starving on the Gulf Coast
Cabeza de Vaca, printed 1542, Malhado (“Isle of Misfortune”)
SpanishEarly version
Voyages and sea travelFirst contact in the AmericasFood, farming and hunger
History
Inca Storehouses and the Palaces of Tumebamba
Cieza de León, printed at Seville, 1553, Tumebamba
SpanishEarly version
AndesFood, farming and hungerRulers and courts
Travel account
Winter at Stadacona and the Cedar Cure
Cartier, events of December 1535 to April 1536; printed 1545, Stadacona, and the French fort on the Sainte-Croix River
FrenchEarly version
First contact in the AmericasNortheast WoodlandsDoctors and medical ideas
History
The Lady of Cofitachequi, 1540
Gentleman of Elvas, printed 1557, Cofitachequi (Cutifachiqui)
PortugueseEarly version
Southeast and MississippianConquest and resistance in the AmericasFood, farming and hunger
History
The Bison Plains and the People Who Follow the Herds
Castañeda, written in the 1560s, more than twenty years after the events; surviving copy dated 1596, The Llano Estacado and the southern plains
SpanishChecked
Southern Plains and prairie farmersSouthwest and PueblosFirst contact in the Americas
Description
Maize, Markets and Books in Yucatán
Landa, written about 1566, Yucatán
SpanishEarly version
MesoamericaFood, farming and hungerTrade and markets
Literature
The People Made of Maize
Popol Vuh, a creation story; written down in Latin letters probably in the 1500s; the surviving copy made about 1700–1715, K’iche’ kingdom, highland Guatemala
K’iche’Early version
MesoamericaIndigenous American beliefsFood, farming and hunger
Poem
The Unconquered People of Arauco
Ercilla, printed 1569, Arauco
SpanishEarly version
Southern ConeConquest and resistance in the AmericasRulers and courts
Memoir
Brought to Ubatuba as a Captive, 1554
Staden, printed 1557, Uwattibi (Ubatuba)
GermanEarly version
Amazon and OrinocoConquest and resistance in the AmericasHomes, towns and building
Travel account
Making Manioc Flour in a Tupinambá Village
Léry, printed 1578, revised 1580, Guanabara Bay
FrenchEarly version
Amazon and OrinocoFood, farming and hungerLanguages and words
Travel account
Bloody Point and the Two Captives
Best, events of late July and early August 1577; printed 1578, Frobisher's "strait" (Frobisher Bay), Meta Incognita
EnglishEarly version
Arctic coastsFirst contact in the AmericasVoyages and sea travel
Report
The Sickness That Followed the English
Harriot, events of 1585–1586; first printed London 1588, reprinted Frankfurt 1590, Roanoke Island and the towns around it
EnglishEarly version
Northeast WoodlandsColonies and settlementsEpidemics in the Americas after 1492
Travel account
Into the Orinoco Delta
Raleigh, events of May 1595; printed London 1596, The mouths of the Orinoco
EnglishEarly version
Amazon and OrinocoVoyages and sea travelTrade and markets
Treatise
How the Angola Trade Fed Cartagena
Sandoval, first printed 1627; this text from the second edition, 1647, Cartagena de Indias
SpanishEarly version
Slavery and forced laborTrade and marketsCaribbean and Isthmus
Travel account
Champlain Fights beside the Algonquin and Wendat
Champlain, events of late July 1609; printed 1613, The western shore of Lake Champlain, near Ticonderoga
FrenchEarly version
Northeast WoodlandsConquest and resistance in the AmericasColonies and settlements
Travel account
The Mi'kmaq and the French, and the Sickness among Them
Biard, printed 1616, Port-Royal, Acadia
FrenchEarly version
Northeast WoodlandsEpidemics in the Americas after 1492Food, farming and hunger
History
The First Winter and Squanto's Corn
Bradford, events of the winter and spring of 1620–1621; written about 1630–1650, New Plymouth (Patuxet)
EnglishChecked
Northeast WoodlandsColonies and settlementsFood, farming and hunger
Dictionary
Corn, Land, and the Women's Fields
Williams, printed London 1643, from Williams's years among the Narragansett from the early 1630s, Narragansett country
EnglishChecked
Northeast WoodlandsLanguages and wordsFood, farming and hunger
Travel account
The Wendat Feast of the Dead
Brébeuf, events of spring 1636 (the Monday after Pentecost); written 1636, printed 1637, Ossossané, in Wendake (the Huron country)
FrenchEarly version
Northeast WoodlandsIndigenous American beliefsDeath and burial
Report
Food from the Great River, 1639
Acuña, printed 1641, The Amazon River
SpanishEarly version
Amazon and OrinocoFood, farming and hungerHomes, towns and building
Travel account
A Winter of Famine by Lake Superior
Radisson, events of the winter of 1659–1660; written about 1668–1669, The country southwest of Lake Superior
EnglishEarly version
Northeast WoodlandsFood, farming and hungerTrade and markets
History
The Death of the Tattooed Serpent
Le Page du Pratz, printed 1758, The Natchez villages, near Fort Rosalie
FrenchEarly version
Southeast and MississippianRulers and courtsIndigenous American beliefs
Journal
A Visit to the Great Camp on the Plains
Henday, October 13–16, 1754, The great Archithinue camp
EnglishEarly version
Northern PlainsFirst contact in the AmericasTrade and markets
Memoir
Peace in the Town-House at Chota
Timberlake, events of December 1761; printed at London, 1765, Chote (Chota), Overhill Cherokee towns
EnglishEarly version
Southeast and MississippianHomes, towns and buildingConquest and resistance in the Americas
Travel account
Trading with the Tlingit at Lituya Bay
La Pérouse, written 1786, printed 1797, Port des Français (Lituya Bay)
FrenchEarly version
Northwest CoastFirst contact in the AmericasTrade and markets
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