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Osvaldo Gervasi · Beniamino Murgante
Sanjay Misra · Ana Maria A.C. Rocha
Carmelo M. Torre · David Taniar
Bernady O. Apduhan · Elena Stankova
Shangguang Wang (Eds.)
Computational Science
LNCS 9789
123
Lecture Notes in Computer Science 9789
Commenced Publication in 1973
Founding and Former Series Editors:
Gerhard Goos, Juris Hartmanis, and Jan van Leeuwen
Editorial Board
David Hutchison
Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
Takeo Kanade
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Josef Kittler
University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Jon M. Kleinberg
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Friedemann Mattern
ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
John C. Mitchell
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Moni Naor
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
C. Pandu Rangan
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
Bernhard Steffen
TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
Demetri Terzopoulos
University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Doug Tygar
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Gerhard Weikum
Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7407
Osvaldo Gervasi Beniamino Murgante
•
Computational Science
and Its Applications –
ICCSA 2016
16th International Conference
Beijing, China, July 4–7, 2016
Proceedings, Part IV
123
Editors
Osvaldo Gervasi David Taniar
University of Perugia Monash University
Perugia Clayton, VIC
Italy Australia
Beniamino Murgante Bernady O. Apduhan
University of Basilicata Kyushu Sangyo University
Potenza Fukuoka
Italy Japan
Sanjay Misra Elena Stankova
Covenant University Saint Petersburg State University
Ota Saint Petersburg
Nigeria Russia
Ana Maria A.C. Rocha Shangguang Wang
University of Minho Beijing University of Posts
Braga and Telecommunications
Portugal Beijing
China
Carmelo M. Torre
Polytechnic University
Bari
Italy
These multi-volume proceedings (LNCS volumes 9786, 9787, 9788, 9789, and 9790)
consist of the peer-reviewed papers from the 2016 International Conference on
Computational Science and Its Applications (ICCSA 2016) held in Beijing, China,
during July 4–7, 2016.
ICCSA 2016 was a successful event in the series of conferences, previously held in
Banff, Canada (2015), Guimares, Portugal (2014), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2013),
Salvador, Brazil (2012), Santander, Spain (2011), Fukuoka, Japan (2010), Suwon,
South Korea (2009), Perugia, Italy (2008), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2007), Glasgow,
UK (2006), Singapore (2005), Assisi, Italy (2004), Montreal, Canada (2003), (as ICCS)
Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2002), and San Francisco, USA (2001).
Computational science is a main pillar of most present research as well as industrial
and commercial activities and it plays a unique role in exploiting ICT innovative
technologies. The ICCSA conference series has been providing a venue to researchers
and industry practitioners to discuss new ideas, to share complex problems and their
solutions, and to shape new trends in computational science.
Apart from the general tracks, ICCSA 2016 also included 33 international work-
shops, in various areas of computational sciences, ranging from computational science
technologies to specific areas of computational sciences, such as computer graphics and
virtual reality. The program also featured three keynote speeches and two tutorials.
The success of the ICCSA conference series, in general, and ICCSA 2016, in
particular, is due to the support of many people: authors, presenters, participants,
keynote speakers, session chairs, Organizing Committee members, student volunteers,
Program Committee members, Steering Committee members, and many people in
other various roles. We would like to thank them all.
We would also like to thank our sponsors, in particular NVidia and Springer for
their very important support and for making the Best Paper Award ceremony so
impressive.
We would also like to thank Springer for their continuous support in publishing the
ICCSA conference proceedings.
General Chairs
Shangguang Wang Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications,
China
Osvaldo Gervasi University of Perugia, Italy
Bernady O. Apduhan Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan
Award Chair
Wenny Rahayu La Trobe University, Australia
Workshop Organizers
Agricultural and Environment Information and Decision Support Systems
(AEIDSS 2016)
Sandro Bimonte IRSTEA, France
André Miralles IRSTEA, France
Thérèse Libourel LIRMM, France
François Pinet IRSTEA, France
ICT and Remote Sensing for Environmental and Risk Monitoring (RS-Env 2016)
Rosa Lasaponara Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis,
National Research Council, Italy
Weigu Song University of Science and Technology of China, China
Eufemia Tarantino Polytechnic of Bari, Italy
Bernd Fichtelmann DLR, Germany
Program Committee
Jemal Abawajy Deakin University, Australia
Kenny Adamson University of Ulster, UK
Hartmut Asche University of Potsdam, Germany
Michela Bertolotto University College Dublin, Ireland
Sandro Bimonte CEMAGREF, TSCF, France
Rod Blais University of Calgary, Canada
Ivan Blečić University of Sassari, Italy
Giuseppe Borruso University of Trieste, Italy
Yves Caniou Lyon University, France
Organization XIII
Reviewers
Abawajy, Jemal Deakin University, Australia
Abuhelaleh, Mohammed Univeristy of Bridgeport, USA
Acharjee, Shukla Dibrugarh University, India
Andrianov, Sergei Universitetskii prospekt, Russia
Nikolaevich
Aguilar, José Alfonso Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mexico
Ahmed, Faisal University of Calgary, Canada
Alberti, Margarita University of Barcelona, Spain
Amato, Alba Seconda Universit degli Studi di Napoli, Italy
Amorim, Ana Paula University of Minho, Portugal
Apduhan, Bernady Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan
Aquilanti, Vincenzo University of Perugia, Italy
Asche, Hartmut Posdam University, Germany
Athayde Maria, Emlia University of Minho, Portugal
Feijão Queiroz
Attardi, Raffaele University of Napoli Federico II, Italy
Azam, Samiul United International University, Bangladesh
Azevedo, Ana Athabasca University, USA
Badard, Thierry Laval University, Canada
Baioletti, Marco University of Perugia, Italy
Bartoli, Daniele University of Perugia, Italy
Bentayeb, Fadila Université Lyon, France
Bilan, Zhu Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology,
Japan
Bimonte, Sandro IRSTEA, France
Blecic, Ivan Università di Cagliari, Italy
Bogdanov, Alexander Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
Borruso, Giuseppe University of Trieste, Italy
Bostenaru, Maria “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism,
Romania
Braga Ana, Cristina University of Minho, Portugal
Canora, Filomena University of Basilicata, Italy
Cardoso, Rui Institute of Telecommunications, Portugal
Ceppi, Claudia Polytechnic of Bari, Italy
Cerreta, Maria University Federico II of Naples, Italy
Choo, Hyunseung Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea
Coletti, Cecilia University of Chieti, Italy
Correia, Elisete University of Trás-Os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
Correia Florbela Maria, da Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Cruz Domingues
Costa, Fernanda University of Minho, Portugal
Crasso, Marco National Scientific and Technical Research Council,
Argentina
Crawford, Broderick Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Chile
Organization XVII
Sponsoring Organizations
ICCSA 2016 would not have been possible without the tremendous support of many
organizations and institutions, for which all organizers and participants of ICCSA 2016
express their sincere gratitude:
Cap Rate and the Historic City. Past and Future of the Real Estate
of Noto (Italy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Salvatore Giuffrida, Salvatore Di Mauro, and Alberto Valenti
Trusted Social Node: Evaluating the Effect of Trust and Trust Variance
to Maximize Social Influence in a Multilevel Social Node Influential
Diffusion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Hock-Yeow Yap and Tong-Ming Lim
Abstract. Street names provide important insights into the local cul-
ture, history, and politics of places. Linked open data provide a wealth
of knowledge that can be associated with street names, enabling novel
ways to explore cultural geographies. This paper presents a three-fold
contribution. We present (1) a technique to establish a correspondence
between street names and the entities that they refer to. The method is
based on Wikidata, a knowledge base derived from Wikipedia. The accu-
racy of this mapping is evaluated on a sample of streets in Rome. As this
approach reaches limited coverage, we propose to tap local knowledge
with (2) a simple web platform. Users can select the best correspon-
dence from the calculated ones or add another entity not discovered by
the automated process. As a result, we design (3) an enriched Open-
StreetMap web map where each street name can be explored in terms of
the properties of its associated entity. Through several filters, this tool
is a first step towards the interactive exploration of toponymy, showing
how open data can reveal facets of the cultural texture that pervades
places.
1 Introduction
All web maps show street names, supporting us in wayfinding. What is over-
looked is that, behind each street name, that there is a rich and complex story.
Street names are dedicated to notable people, places or events. They are fre-
quently used to honor notable citizens or celebrate events and revolutions. There-
fore, they often provide important insights into the culture, politics, and history
of a locale.
In this pilot project we aim at creating an interactive web application where
users can trace the stories behind street names, relying on OpenStreetMap1 and
1
http://www.openstreetmap.org.
c Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
O. Gervasi et al. (Eds.): ICCSA 2016, Part IV, LNCS 9789, pp. 1–12, 2016.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-42089-9 1
2 P.D. Almeida et al.
other open data sources. As a first step, users can explore streets named after
individuals, filtering them by gender, date of birth, and profession. Wikipedia
is used as an information source. More specifically, we use Wikidata2 and
DBpedia3 , two knowledge bases designed to extract structured information from
Wikipedia, to link the street name with the corresponding resource described in
the knowledge bases. To show the potential of linked open data, the process will
be as automated as possible.
This paper describes the automatic mapping of street names with resources
from these knowledge bases and rank those resources according to their relevance.
The preliminary results, obtained on a sample of streets in Rome, show that there
are many missing relations. To increase the coverage, we propose a web tool to
that knowledge from human contributors.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. We start by presenting
related work in Sect. 2. We then elaborate on our approach in Sect. 3. Section 4
evaluates our automated solution, and the preliminary results are discussed in
Sect. 5. The design proposal for the web platform that expands and complements
the automated solution is presented in Sect. 6. Finally, we present our conclusions
in Sect. 7.
2 Related Work
To link street names to the relevant entities, we adopt concepts and techniques
from a variety of research areas, including toponymy, geographic information
science (GISc), and Semantic Web and Linked Open Data research.
FOOTNOTES
[959] ‘Con este ... vino vn Francisco Lopez, vezino, y Regidor que fue de
Guatimala.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 113. Vetancurt assumes that Pedro del
Castillo—Diaz calls him ‘el Almirante Pedro Cauallero’—secured Barba and his
vessel. Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 148; Cortés, Residencia, ii. 165.
[960] ‘El capitã Diego de Camargo,’ says Herrera; but Bernal Diaz explains that
this man stepped into the captaincy on the murder of ‘fulano Alvarez Pinedo,’ at
Pánuco. ‘Dixeron, que el Capitan Camargo auia sido Fraile Dominico, e que auia
hecho profession.’ Hist. Verdad., 114.
[962] ‘Muerto diez y siete ó diez y ocho cristianos, y herido otros muchos.
Asimismo ... muerto siete caballos.’ Cortés, Cartas, 144. Bernal Diaz assumes
that the whole attacking force was killed and some vessels destroyed. ‘Dexaron
vna carauela,’ says Herrera.
[963] Herrera states that hunger caused the land expedition to abandon the
vessels some twenty leagues above Almería. The people from the wrecked
caravel were taken on board the last vessel. dec. ii. lib. x. cap. xviii. Cortés leaves
the impression that both vessels arrived at Villa Rica, perhaps because the one
was wrecked so near it. ‘Vn nauio ... y traia sobre sesenta soldados.’ Bernal Diaz,
Hist. Verdad., 114. This may include the land party, but not the sailors.
[964] ‘Con hasta treinta hombres de mar y tierra.’ Cortés, Cartas, 154. ‘Sus
soldados, que eran mas de cincuenta, y mas siete cauallos,’ says Bernal Diaz,
Hist. Verdad., 114; and, since Cortés would be less apt to indicate large
accessions, he may be correct.
[965] ‘Este fue el mejor socorro.... Diaz de Auz sirvió muy bien a su Magestad en
todo lo que se ofreciò en las guerras, ... traxo pleyto despues, sobre el pleyto de
la mitad de Mestitan, ... conque le den la parte de lo que rentare el pueblo mas de
dos mil y quinientos pesos.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 114-15. He was excluded
from the town itself, owing to cruel treatment of Indians.
[966] ‘El señor de aquel rio y tierra, que se dice Pánuco, se habia dado por vasallo
de V. M., en cuyo reconocimiento me habia enviado á la ciudad de Tenuxtitan, con
sus mensajeros, ciertas cosas.’ Cortés, Cartas, 144-5. But this is probably a mere
assertion, since the Spanish expeditions had never been higher than Almería, and
the cacique could have had no inducement for submitting.
[967] Bernal Diaz refers to the last accession from Garay’s expeditions as 40
soldiers and 10 horses, under an old man named Ramirez. Protected by heavy
cotton armor they were nicknamed the ‘albardillas.’ Hist. Verdad., 115.
[968] ‘Si todos ó algunos dellos se quisiesen volver en los navíos que allí estaban,
que les diese licencia.’ Cortés, Cartas, 163.
[969] Oviedo, iii. 335; and so Herrera also intimates in reference to Camargo’s
only remaining vessel, ‘la qual se anegò tãbien dẽtro de 10. dias en el puerto.’
dec. ii. lib. x. cap. xviii.
[970] The last two vessels bring 150 men and 16 horses, probably over 20, to
which must be added Camargo’s force, amounting no doubt to 50 effective men,
for Bernal Diaz admits 60 soldiers, not counting sailors; and Herrera intimates that
over 100 men must have reached Villa Rica of the total force on board Camargo’s
three vessels. Bernal Diaz’ estimates for the five vessels which he enumerates
exceed 170 soldiers and 20 horses; on fol. 115 he contradicts several points,
including the total, to which the sailors may be added, while a small reduction is to
be made for deaths among Camargo’s men. Vetancurt follows Bernal Diaz, and so
does Prescott, who assumes that full 150 men and 20 horses must have been
obtained. Mex., ii. 438. Robertson raises this nearer to the truth by saying 180
men, Hist. Am., ii. 104, as does Brasseur de Bourbourg, who nevertheless, on an
earlier page, adds Sahagun’s fanciful reinforcement of 300 men. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv.
371, 387. While the Spaniards were curing themselves, ‘llegó á Tlaxcala un
Francisco Hernandez, español, con 300 soldados castellanos y con muchos
caballos y armas.’ Sahagun, Hist. Conq., i. 37. The later edition does not give the
number. Gomara merely states that numerous small parties came over from the
Antilles, attracted by Cortés’ fame, through Aillon’s reports, he seems to say. Many
of them were murdered on the way, but sufficient numbers reached him to restore
the army and encourage the prosecution of the conquest. Hist. Mex., 173.
[971] Said to have been named Francisco Eguia. Sahagun, Hist. Conq., i. 39, 66,
and Chimalpain, Hist. Conq., i. 278. Herrera writes that many assumed the malady
to have been one of the periodical scourges that used to fall on the country. ‘Y el
no auer tocado a los Castellanos, parece que trae aparencia de razon.’ dec. ii. lib.
x. cap. iv. But it appears to have been wholly a new disease to the natives.
[972] ‘En el mes que llamaban Tepeilhuitl que es al fin de setiembre,’ as Sahagun
assumes. Hist. Conq., i. 39.
[973] Motolinia, Hist. Ind., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 14-15; Sahagun, Hist.
Conq., i. 39, 66; Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 514; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 101; Id.
(Paris ed. 1837), iv. 460 (a chapter omitted in the original); Gomara, Hist. Mex.,
148; Chimalpain, Hist. Conq., i. 279; Torquemada, i. 489; Tezcoco en los ultimos
tiempos, 273.
[974] ‘Vivió despues de su elecçion solos sessenta dias.’ Cano, in Oviedo, iii. 549.
The election having taken place twenty days after Montezuma’s death, according
to Ixtlilxochitl, who assumes that he ruled only 40 or 47 days. Hist. Chich., 304; Id.,
Relaciones, 413. Others extend the rule to 80 days, both as leader and king,
perhaps, which would agree with Cano’s version.
[975] Such characteristics may be seen in Spanish as well as native records; yet
Solis writes, ‘su tibieza y falta de aplicacion dexáse poco menos que borrada
entre los suyos la memoria de su nombre.’ Hist. Mex., 372. Sufficient proof of his
energy is found in the siege resulting in the expulsion from Mexico.
[976] The native authorities incline to Quauhtemoc, but the Spanish generally add
the ‘tzin,’ the ‘c’ being elided, and the ‘Q’ changed to ‘G,’ making the name
Guatemotzin. ‘Quauhtemoc, que significa Aguila que baja.’ Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex.,
pt. iii. 51.
[977] Bernal Diaz describes him about a year later as 23 or 24 years old, while on
another occasion he alludes to him as 25. Hist. Verdad., 112, 155. Ixtlilxochitl
makes him 18. Hist. Chich., 304.
[978] ‘Por muerte de su Padre gobernaba el Tlatelulco.’ Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., ii.
479. ‘Sobrino de Monteçuma, que era papa ó saçerdote mayor entre los indios.’
Cano, in Oviedo, iii. 549; Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. vi. ‘Cuauhtemotctzin hijo del
rey Ahuitzotzin y de la heredera de el Tlatelulco.’ Ixtlilxochitl, Relaciones, 413.
This incorrect view is adopted by Brasseur de Bourbourg and many others.
[979] ‘Moglie già del suo Zio Cuitlahuatzin,’ is the supposition of Clavigero, Storia
Mess., iii. 160. ‘Se hizo temer de tal manera, que todos los suyos temblauan dél.’
Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 112. For fanciful portraits of these last two emperors,
see Frost’s Pict. Hist. Mex., 104, 114.
[981] ‘Al que solo fue causa q̄ los Christianos se conseruassen en aquella tierra.’
Herrera, dec. ii. lib. x. cap. xix.
[983] During the absence of the troops, says Herrera, a part of the Tepeacans had
formed a plot to surprise them when divided; but some women informed Marina in
time to prevent trouble. Cortés inflicted on them severe chastisement. dec. ii. lib. x.
cap. xvi. xviii.
[984] The reports and other papers by Cortés, written during a period of nearly
three decades in connection with New Spain, are both numerous and lengthy, but
only the five letters relating to the actual conquest of Mexico and Central America
have achieved bibliographic celebrity, under the title of Cortés’ Letters or
Relations. Although the first letter has been lost, and the companion letter long
missing, yet an allusion to the expedition against Mexico appeared as early as
1520 in Ein auszug ettlicher sendbrieff dem aller durchleüchtigisten
grossmechtigistẽ Fürsten ... von wegen einer new gefundẽ Inseln. Nürmberg
durch Fryderichen Peypus am. 17. tag Marcij MDXX., wherein the voyages of
Córdoba and Grijalva are also described. Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., 179, assumes
that the information is taken from Peter Martyr’s Decades. A later brief reference
to the city of Mexico itself is given in Translationuss hispanischer sprach zü
Frantzösisch gemacht so durch dẽ Vice Rey in Neapole fraw Margareten
Hertzogiñ iñ Burgundi zü geschrieben, published in 1522. On folio A. iii. is written:
Not far from the same island they have conquered a city called Tenustitan,
wherein 60,000 hearths have been counted, within a good wall. The letter of the
ayuntamiento was first published in Col. Doc. Inéd., i., 1842.
By the time of the receipt in Spain of Cortés’ second letter, of October 30,
1520, the general and his conquest had become so famous that his
communications were not likely to be lost sight of. The incidents treated of were
besides highly enticing, particularly the victories in Tlascala, the entry into
Montezuma’s wonderful island city, the disastrous expulsion, and the renewal of
the campaign, and Cromberger had it printed in 1522 under the title of Carta de
relaciõ ẽbiada a su. S. majestad del ẽpador nt̃o señor por el capitã general dela
nueua spaña: llamado fernãdo cortes, etc. Seuilla: por Jacobo crõberger aleman.
A viii. dias de Nouiẽbre. Año de M. d. y xxij. ‘Fué las Primicias de el Arte de la
Imprenta en Sevilla, y acaso de toda España,’ observes Lorenzana, in Cortes,
Hist. N. España, 171, but this is a great mistake, for printing had been done
already for several decades in Spain. An Italian abstract of the letter appeared
immediately after, as Noue de le Isole & Terra ferma Nouamente trouate In India
per el Capitaneo de larmata de la Cesarea Maiestate. Mediolani decimosexto
calẽ. Decembris M.D.XXII. A reprint of the Seville text was issued at Saragossa in
January, 1523. A later abridged account of the conquest is given in Ein schöne
Newe zeytung so Kayserlich Mayestet auss India yetz newlich zükommen seind,
ascribed to Sigmund Grimm of Augsburg, about 1522. Bibliotheca Grenvilliana
and Harrisse. Ternaux-Compans wrongly supposes the narrative to extend only to
1519, instead of 1522, and assumes the imprint to be Augsburg, 1520. Bibl.
Amér., 5. Perhaps 1523 is the more correct date, which may also be ascribed to
Tres sacree Imperiale et catholique mageste ... eust nouuelles des marches ysles
et terre ferme occeanes. Colophon, fol. 16. Depuis sont venues a sa mageste
nouuelles de certaīes ysles trouuez par les espagnolz plaines despecerie et
beaucoup de mines dor, lesquelles nouuelles il receupt en ceste ville de vailladolid
le primier doctobre xv. cent. xxij. This is a book noticed by no bibliographer except
Sabin, who believes that it contains only the second letter, although the holder
supposes the third letter to be also used. In 1524 appeared the first Latin version
of the second letter, by Savorgnanus, Praeclara Ferdinãdi Cortesii de Noua maris
Oceani Hyspania Narratio, Norimberga. M.D.XXIIII., which contains a copy of the
now lost map of the Gulf of Mexico, and also a plan of Mexico City. In the same
year two Italian translations of this version, by Liburnius, La Preclara Narratione,
were printed at Venice, one by Lexona, the other by Sabio, yet both at the
instance of Pederzani. The plan and map are often missing. Antonio, Bib. Hisp.
Nova, iii. 375, mentions only Lexona’s issue. A translation from Flavigny appeared
in the Portfolio, Philadelphia, 1817. The originals of the second and other letters
were, in the early part of the eighteenth century, ‘en la Libreria de Don Miguel
Nuñez de Rojas, del Consejo Real de las Ordenes,’ says Pinelo, Epitome, ii. 597.
Much of the vagueness which involves the narrative of events previous to the flight
from Mexico may be due to the loss of diary and documents during that episode.
The loss was convenient to Cortés, since it afforded an excuse for glossing over
many irregularities and misfortunes.
The third letter, dated Coyuhuacan, May 15, 1522, and relating the siege and
fall of Mexico, was first published at Seville, on Cromberger’s press, March 30,
1523, as Carta tercera de relaciõ: embiada por Fernãdo cortes capitan y justicia
mayor del yucatan llamado la nueua espana del mar oceano. It received a
reproduction in Latin by the same hand and at the same time as the second letter.
Both were reprinted, together with some missionary letters and Peter Martyr’s De
Insulis, in De Insvlis nuper Inventis Ferdinandi Cortesii. Coloniæ, M.D.XXXII. The
title-page displays a portrait of Charles V., and is bordered with his arms. Martyr’s
part, which tells rather briefly of Cortés, found frequent reprint, while the second
and third letters were republished, with other matter, in the Spanish Thesoro de
virtudes, 1543; in the German Ferdinandi Cortesii. Von dem Newen Hispanien.
Augspurg, 1550, wherein they are called first and second narratives, and divided
into chapters, with considerable liberty; in the Latin Novus Orbis of 1555 and 1616;
and in the Flemish Nieuwe Weerelt of 1563; while a French abridgment appeared
at Paris in 1532. The secret epistle accompanying the third letter was first printed
in Col. Doc. Inéd., i., and afterward by Kingsborough and Gayangos.
The fourth letter, on the progress of conquest after the fall of Mexico, dated at
Temixtitan (Mexico), October 15, 1524, was issued at Toledo, 1525, as La quarta
relacion, together with Alvarado’s and Godoy’s reports to Cortés. A second edition
followed at Valencia the year after. The secret letter accompanying it was not
published till 1865, when Icazbalceta, the well known Mexican collector,
reproduced it in separate black-letter form, and in his Col. Doc., i. 470-83.
The substance of the above three relations has been given in a vast number
of collections and histories, while in only a limited number have they been
reproduced in a full or abridged form, the first reproduction being in the third
volume of Ramusio Viaggi, of 1556, 1565, and 1606, which contains several other
pieces on the conquest, all supplied with appropriate headings and marginals.
Barcia next published them direct from the manuscript, in the Historiadores
Primitivos, i. This collection bears the imprint Madrid, 1749, but the letters had
already been printed in 1731, as Pinelo affirms, Epitome, ii. 597. Barcia died a few
years before his set was issued. From this source Archbishop Lorenzana took the
version published by him under the title of Historia de Nueva-España, Mexico,
1770, which is not free from omissions and faults, though provided with valuable
notes on localities and customs, and supplemented with illustrated pieces on
routes and native institutions, a map of New Spain by Alzate, an article on the
Gobierno Politico by Vetancurt, a copy of a native tribute-roll from picture records,
not very accurately explained, and the first map of Lower California and adjoining
coast, by Castillo, in 1541. This version of the letters was reproduced in New York,
1828, with a not wholly successful attempt by Del Mar to introduce modern
spelling. The work is also marked by a number of omissions and blunders, and the
introductory biographic sketch by Robert Sands adds little to its value. An
abridgment from Lorenzana appeared as Correspondance de Fernand Cortés, par
le Vicomte de Flavigny, Paris, 1778, which obtained three reprints during the
following year at different places. A great many liberties are taken with facts, as
may be imagined; and the letters are, beside, misnamed first, second, and third.
From the same source, or perhaps from Flavigny, of whom they savor, are Briefe
des Ferdinand Cortes, Heidelberg, 1779, with several reproductions, and with
notes; and the corrected Brieven van Ferdinand Cortes, Amsterdam, 1780-1. The
first edition in English, from Lorenzana, was issued by Folsom, as Despatches of
Hernando Cortes, New York, 1843, also with notes.
The fifth letter of the conqueror, on the famous expedition to Honduras, dated
at Temixtitan, September 3, 1526, lay hidden in the Vienna Imperial Library till
Robertson’s search for the first letter brought it to light. Hist. Am., i. xi. He made
use of it, but the first complete copy was not published till of late, in Col. Doc.
Inéd., iv. 8-167, reprinted at New York, 1848, and, in translation, in the Hakluyt
Society collection, London, 1868. It bore no date, but the copy found at Madrid has
that of September 3, 1526, and the companion letter printed in Col. Doc. Inéd., i.
14-23, that of September 11th. This, as well as the preceding letters, was issued
by Vedia, in Ribadeneyra’s Biblioteca de Autores Españoles, xxii.; the first three
letters being taken from Barcia, and the fifth from its MS. The letter of the
ayuntamiento is given and a bibliographic notice of little value. A very similar
collection is to be found in the Biblioteca Historica de la Iberia, i. But the most
complete reproduction of the principal writings by Cortés, and connected with him,
is in the Cartas y Relaciones de Hernan Cortés, Paris, 1866, by Gayangos, which
contains 26 pieces, beside the relations, chiefly letters and memorials to the
sovereign, a third of which are here printed for the first time. Although a few of
Lorenzana’s blunders find correction, others are committed, and the notes of the
archbishop are adopted without credit, and without the necessary amendment of
date, etc., which often makes them absurd. The earliest combined production of
Cortés’ relations, and many of his other writings, may be credited to Peter Martyr,
who in his Decades gave the substance of all that they relate, although he also
mingled other versions. Oviedo, in the third volume of his Hist. Gen., gives two
versions of the conquest, the first, p. 258 et seq., almost a reproduction of Cortés’
letters, and the other, p. 506 et seq., from different sources.
Beside the relations, there are a number of miscellaneous letters, petitions,
orders, instructions, and regulations, by Cortés, largely published in Navarrete,
Col. de Viages; Col. Doc. Inéd.; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc.; Icazbalceta,
Col. Doc.; Kingsborough’s Mex. Antiq.; Alaman, Disert., and as appendices to
histories of Mexico. A special collection is the Escritos Sueltos de Hernan Cortés,
Mex., 1871, forming vol. xii. of the Bib. Hist. de la Iberia, which presents 43
miscellaneous documents from various printed sources, instructions, memorials,
and brief letters, nearly all of which are filled with complaints against ruling men in
Mexico.
Cortés’ letters have not inaptly been compared by Prescott to the
Commentaries of Cæsar, for both men were military commanders of the highest
order, who spoke and wrote like soldiers; but their relative positions with regard to
the superior authorities of their states were different, and so were their race
feelings, and their times, and these features are stamped upon their writings.
Cortés was not the powerful consul, the commander of legions, but the leader of a
horde of adventurers, and an aspirant for favor, who made his narrative an
advocate. The simplicity and energy of the style lend an air of truth to the
statements, and Helps, among others, is so impressed thereby as to declare that
Cortés ‘would as soon have thought of committing a small theft as of uttering a
falsehood in a despatch addressed to his sovereign.’ Cortés, ii. 211. But it requires
little study of the reports to discover that they are full of calculated misstatements,
both direct and negative, made whenever he considered it best for his interest to
conceal disagreeable and discreditable facts, or to magnify the danger and the
deed. They are also stamped with the religious zeal and superstition of the age,
the naïve expressions of reliance on God being even more frequent than the
measured declarations of devotedness to the king; while in between are calmly
related the most cold-blooded outrages on behalf of both. There is no apparent
effort to attract attention to himself; there is even at times displayed a modesty
most refreshing in the narrative of his own achievements, by which writers have as
a rule been quite entranced; but this savors of calculation, for the general tone is
in support of the ego, and this often to the exclusion of deserving officers. Indeed,
generous allusions to the character or deeds of others are not frequent, or they
are merged in the non-committing term of ‘one of my captains.’ Pedro de Alvarado
complains of this in one of his Relaciones, in Barcia, Hist. Prim., i. 165-6. In truth,
the calculating egotism of the diplomate mingles freely with the frankness of the
soldier. Cortés, however, is ever mindful of his character as an hidalgo, for he
never stoops to meanness, and even in speaking of his enemies he does not
resort to the invectives or sharp insinuations which they so freely scatter. His style
bears evidence of training in rhetoric and Latin, yet the parade of the latter is not
so frequent as might be expected from the half-bred student and zealot. Equally