The History of America.

3 volumes, 8vo, period leather with partial morocco lettering and numbering pieces, lettering mostly gone on thrid volume, illustrated with 4 folding copper engraved maps and a folding plate of Mexican hieroglyphics. Spines very rubbed, and covers also show some wear, hinges tender, and top cover of volume one is partially detached, corners showing, minor foxing and aging, some foxing of map of Mexico, maps with some mild offsetting, preface misbound with some leaves at the end of volume one; contents generally clean; about very good. William Robertson (1721-1793) was a highly respected Scottish historian, clergyman and writer. He wrote a number of pamphlets and shorter articles, including articles for the Edinburgh Review, but in 1759 he published his very successful and first major work, The History of Scotland. The current title was first published in 1777, and went through several editions. It proved to be another success for Robertson, and is considered his most interesting book. However, despite the considerable scholarship, his rather unsympathetic view of Native Americans shows he was a man of his times. He begins, not surprisingly, with the discovery of America, and spends a good deal of time with the Spanish conquest. Considerable information on the American Indian is provided, including facts about their customs and manners, numbers, and missionary efforts. The work includes folding maps of South America, Countries in the South Seas, Mexico and New Spain, and the Gulf of Mexico. ODNB.