Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España

work by Sahagún

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

The Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España is an encyclopedic work by Bernardino de Sahagún, a Franciscan priest who arrived in Mexico in 1529. Sahagún learned the Nahuatl language and dedicated his life to documenting Aztec culture, creating a monumental work that covers nearly all aspects of their civilization.1

The Historia includes detailed accounts of Aztec religion, ethnobotany, folk medicine, and economics, all dictated to Sahagún by Aztec noblemen and priests in Nahuatl. This invaluable resource exists in both Nahuatl and Spanish, with one of the most complete Nahuatl versions known as the Florentine Codex. The work provides a comprehensive understanding of Aztec life before and immediately after the Spanish conquest.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

encyclopaedia
Special interests
The result, the Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (“General History of the Matters of New Spain”), was a magnificent record of the Aztec culture as recounted by the American Indians of south-central Mexico. The arrangement of this work, written in pictorial language as well as…
Read More
The result, the Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (“General History of the Matters of New Spain”), was a magnificent record of the Aztec culture as recounted by the American Indians of south-central Mexico. The arrangement of this work, written in pictorial language as well as…
Read More

pre-Columbian civilizations
Postconquest ethnographic accounts written in Spanish and Nahuatl
…a real encyclopaedia called the Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (“General History of the Things of New Spain”). His work covers virtually all aspects of Aztec culture. It contains particularly detailed accounts of religion, ethnobotany, folk medicine, and economics, dictated to him in Nahuatl by Aztec noblemen…
Read More
…a real encyclopaedia called the Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (“General History of the Things of New Spain”). His work covers virtually all aspects of Aztec culture. It contains particularly detailed accounts of religion, ethnobotany, folk medicine, and economics, dictated to him in Nahuatl by Aztec noblemen…
Read More