Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance: A Case of Trans-Atlantic Bigamy

by Alexandra Parma Cook, Noble David Cook

Published on the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America, Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance uncovers from history the strange story of another, lesser-known Spanish explorer, Francisco Noguerol de Ulloa.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

206 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 1990

Reviews

[Charles Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021, 2019: Read again for undergraduate history course in Colonial Latin America.

2017: A truly remarkable social history of the conquest of Peru and those Spaniards, men and women, that participated. What was the mid-level conquistador of Peru and Chile, Francisco de Noguera's greatest legacy? Not the ingots of gold and silver from Peru, nor the lands and titles accrued on two continents. It is the documents in the Archives of the Indies that made it possible for the Cooks to bring his life story to those fortunate enough to read their work that make Noguera's legacy, though now nonexistent, still live.

2018: annual reading with students of Colonial Latin American history. This is the best social history of the post-conquest Indies and an excellent insight into the people, most often lost to obscurity, that peopled Spain and her far-flung empire. In a transatlantic case of ostensible bigamy, Francisco and his two wives, Beatriz and Catalina, and their families, all come into clear view, their posterity emerging from the scattered and fragmentary documents among the archives in Iberia. From the frontier and factional fighting in Peru after the conquest of the Inca, to the rise of Spain as first-rate power, the details of the work bring to life the personal connections forged halfway around the world, motivated by gold, glory, and God, the lives portrayed here were not unusual, but we know of them because the historical record, pieced together by the Cooks, transcended obscurity.

One of the great social histories ever.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a college class, very interesting further review will come.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book. I know it seems like it would be a dry read and while it wasn't quite a can't-put-it-down fantasy novel, it was fascinating. I watched a Peruvian history and a Spanish history class just before reading this book on Great Courses, which provided an excellent background for understanding Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance, and made me really appreciate reading the experience of an average Spanish soldier/conquistador, rather than just hearing of the Pizarros, etc. I've also personally done research in South American parroquias and legajos, and the amount of research that went into this book is astounding, it's impressive beyond words.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I had to read this for a college class; it's unlikely that I would chose this to read for any other reason. That said, it's a good read that reaches into the past to bring some of the lives of those people to our time. It's too bad that there wasn't more written at the time and preserved for us now. This illustrates the value of studying history: learning from other's mistakes, and comparing their lives to ours. We've got it pretty good!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew the dusty AGI archives could harbor such intrigue! Thoroughly enjoyed it. And I wasn’t expecting the ending.

[Victoria McMillen · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 Word Reviews:

The 1600's were lowkey shady

[Mel's Mood Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a very interesting account of sixteenth century life in Spain and the Spanish colonies.

[Ericka · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book with chapters and all

[Ellie Hime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for my Early Spanish History course! I really loved the pacing and the epilogue.

[Caity McPhe · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a textbook I had to read for my Latin American History class. It was one of the easier textbooks that I had to read and was written like a story. It was well set up and didn't give too much information away at the wrong time. It would be easy to read and understand if you knew a little bit about the history of the Conquest, but it wouldn't be necessary. Decent read overall.