The Araucana: A New Translation with Annotations and Introduction

Spain's colonizing of the Americas inspired a number of verse histories, the finest of them Alonso de Ercilla's La Araucana. Having served as a page to Philip II from the age of 15 until sailing for Chile six years later to help subdue a rebellion among the indigenous Araucans, today's Mapuche, Ercilla returned home not only with admiration for the Indians, but with serious misgivings about their mistreatment by the Spanish. The resulting account of his experiences, composed over two decade...