Written over a seven-year period to Charles V of Spain, Hernan Cortes's letters provide a narrative account of the conquest of Mexico from the founding of the coastal town of Veracruz until Cortes's journey to Honduras in 1525. The two introductions set the letters in context.

Excerpt from The Fifth Letter of Hernan Cortes: To the Emperor Charles V Containing an Account of His Expedition to Honduras But if objections have been raised against the text of the first Relacion, it is not so with regard to the fifth, the most important of all in a geographical point of view; for if we only cast a glance at the map of that portion of central America traversed by Cortes In his route to Honduras, we cannot but ad mire his chivalrous spiritr - not uncommon in that age - his undaunted and patient courage in moments Of danger and privation, his aptitude for command and other qualifications for such an adventurous undertaking. With a handful of men, with no other assistance but that of a small compass, and of a very imperfect map furnished him by the natives of Ta basco, marking the principal places visited by Indian traders in their wanderings over those wild regions with such guides as from time to time he could pick up in his journey, Cortes traversed that broad and level tract which forms the base of Yucatan, and spreads from the Coatzacoalco river to the head of the gulf, called by the Spaniards of those times Golfo de las Hibueras, and now known as Bay of Honduras - thus performing one of the longest and most perilous marches ever attempted in ancient or modern times. Gonzalez Barcia, who was the first to reprint the three letters (second, third, and fourth), was of opinion that the one written by Cortes after his landing at Veracruz was perhaps the same that the Council of the Indies is said to have suppressed at the request of Pamphilo de Narvaez, or that which Juan de Flores took from Alonso de Avila. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Translated from the Original Spanish. The letter is dated 1526. The supplementary material consists of the 1868 annual report. First published: 1868.