HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST OF YUCATAN AND OF THE ITZAS

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                 THE ITZAS OF TAYASAL, 1695-1696


It has been pointed out in the Introduction that Avendano's Relacion is
of very great value as a first-hand account of the conquest of the
Itzas. But we must not lose sight of the fact that that same Relacion
is also a wonderful, though unconscious, testimony to the piety,
unselfishness, and bravery of him who wrote it. Undoubtedly the priests
of the Roman Catholic Church did many unjust things during the period
of Spanish domination in the New World, but the number of good and
noble deeds done by them (deeds the bulk of which is unrecorded)
completely dwarfs the evil. Avendano was a type of the best sort of
priest in the New World. Impelled by no other motive than sheer faith
and an ardent desire to do the duty of his office, he went through the
events which we will leave him to relate.