For the early portions of his work Arredondo followed closely Barcia's Ensayo Cronoldgico, which was published in Madrid in 1723. Short of going directly to the archives, he could not have done better, for Barcia's history is a sound treatise and is one of the monuments of American historiography. [Para] Arredondo cites [in his 1742 Proof] also the works of De Fer, Morery, Bernard, Buiion, Peter Martyr and other important early writers. In most of these cases it is evident that he cited them through Barcia's "Introduction," instead of consulting them himself. It is doubtful, indeed, if he had access to all of them in Havana. He did, however, use a number of books published after Barcia's Ensayo Cronoldgico. These works he supplemented in a most important way by the archives of Havana and San Agustin, and by his personal knowledge of recent and contemporary events.