Le conoscenze sul Nuovo Mondo in Inghilterra tra cinque e seicento: la traduzione della “Historia“ di José de Acosta (1604)

In 16th-century England, translation practices, and particularly early attempts to translate from Spanish sources, fostered an interest in Spanish America and the New World. The first translations about the West Indies presented Spain as a source of inspiration, so that reading about Spain’s achievements in the New World soon excited youthful admiration, and Englishmen became eager to compete with the Spanish on the scene of their deeds. Of all English translations published in the 16 th century and dedicated to South America, José de Acosta’s “Naturall and morall historie of the East and West Indies” offered the most comprehensive overview of the mineral, botanical, and animal resources of the New World. The article shows how English attitudes towards Spain and the Catholic world were often ambivalent, as translations from Spanish not only contributed to the first circulation of global knowledge in England but rapidly became an essential tool of colonial expansion.