History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic, vol 1 | Page 2

as well as its intrinsic merits, which led me, ten years since, to select it;
and surely no subject could be found more suitable for the pen of an
American, than a history of that reign, under the auspices of which the
existence of his own favored quarter of the globe was first revealed. As
I was conscious that the value of the history must depend mainly on
that of its materials, I have spared neither pains nor expense, from the
first, in collecting the most authentic. In accomplishing this, I must
acknowledge the services of my friends, Mr. Alexander H. Everett,
then minister plenipotentiary from the United States to the court of
Madrid, Mr. Arthur Middleton, secretary of the American legation, and,
above all, Mr. O. Rich, now American consul for the Balearic Islands, a
gentleman, whose extensive bibliographical knowledge, and unwearied
researches, during a long residence in the Peninsula, have been liberally
employed for the benefit both of his own country and of England. With
such assistance, I flatter myself that I have been enabled to secure
whatever can materially conduce to the illustration of the period in
question, whether in the form of chronicle, memoir, private
correspondence, legal codes, or official documents. Among these are
various contemporary manuscripts, covering the whole ground of the
narrative, none of which have been printed, and some of them but little
known to Spanish scholars. In obtaining copies of these from the public
libraries, I must add, that I have found facilities under the present
liberal government, which were denied me under the preceding. In
addition to these sources of information, I have availed myself, in the
part of the work occupied with literary criticism and history, of the
library of my friend, Mr. George Ticknor, who during a visit to Spain,
some years since, collected whatever was rare and valuable in the
literature of the Peninsula. I must further acknowledge my obligations
to the library of Harvard University, in Cambridge, from whose rich
repository of books relating to our own country I have derived material
aid. And, lastly, I must not omit to notice the favors of another kind for
which I am indebted to my friend, Mr. William H. Gardiner, whose
judicious counsels have been of essential benefit to me in the revision
of my labors.
In the plan of the work, I have not limited myself to a strict

chronological narrative of passing events, but have occasionally paused,
at the expense, perhaps, of some interest in the story, to seek such
collateral information as might bring these events into a clearer view. I
have devoted a liberal portion of the work to the literary progress of the
nation, conceiving this quite as essential a part of its history as civil and
military details. I have occasionally introduced, at the close of the
chapters, a critical notice of the authorities used, that the reader may
form some estimate of their comparative value and credibility. Finally,
I have endeavored to present him with such an account of the state of
affairs, both before the accession, and at the demise of the Catholic
sovereigns, as might afford him the best points of view for surveying
the entire results of their reign.
How far I have succeeded in the execution of this plan, must be left to
the reader's candid judgment. Many errors he may be able to detect.
Sure I am, there can be no one more sensible of my deficiencies than
myself; although it was not till after practical experience, that I could
fully estimate the difficulty of obtaining anything like a faithful
portraiture of a distant age, amidst the shifting hues and perplexing
cross lights of historic testimony. From one class of errors my subject
necessarily exempts me; those founded on national or party feeling. I
may have been more open to another fault; that of too strong a bias in
favor of my principal actors; for characters, noble and interesting in
themselves, naturally beget a sort of partiality akin to friendship, in the
historian's mind, accustomed to the daily contemplation of them.
Whatever defects may be charged on the work, I can at least assure
myself, that it is an honest record of a reign important in itself, new to
the reader in an English dress, and resting on a solid basis of authentic
materials, such as probably could not be met with out of Spain, nor in it
without much difficulty.
I hope I shall be acquitted of egotism, although I add a few words
respecting the peculiar embarrassments I have encountered, in
composing these volumes. Soon after my arrangements were made,
early in 1826, for obtaining the necessary materials from Madrid, I was
deprived of the use of my eyes for all purposes of reading and writing,