It strikes me as interesting that Tears of the Indians was published in London in 1656, but Casaus seems to have written the original in 1541 ("In the year 1492, the West-Indies were discovered… going about 49 years ago"). What was J.P.'s deeper motivation to translate and publish the paper about 100 years later, addressing it to not only all true Englishmen, but the King himself?
I think your question is a good one Erin, as the awareness of an author's motivation does much to illuminate their writings. I am curious how well circulated this text would have been contemporaneously? If it is disseminated on a large scale is it most basically a work of imperial propaganda?
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