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Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest
Here is an intriguing exploration of the ways in which the history of the Spanish Conquest has been misread and passed down to become popular knowledge of these events. The book offers a fresh account of the activities of the best-known conquistadors and explorers, including Columbus, Cortés,
and Pizarro.
Using a wide array of sources, historian Matthew Restall highlights seven key myths, uncovering the source of the inaccuracies and exploding the fallacies and misconceptions behind each myth. This vividly written and authoritative book shows, for instance, that native Americans did not take the
conquistadors for gods and that small numbers of vastly outnumbered Spaniards did not bring down great empires with stunning rapidity. We discover that Columbus was correctly seen in his lifetime--and for decades after--as a briefly fortunate but unexceptional participant in efforts involving many
southern Europeans. It was only much later that Columbus was portrayed as a great man who fought against the ignorance of his age to discover the new world. Another popular misconception--that the Conquistadors worked alone--is shattered by the revelation that vast numbers of black and native allies
joined them in a conflict that pitted native Americans against each other. This and other factors, not the supposed superiority of the Spaniards, made conquests possible.
The Conquest, Restall shows, was more complex--and more fascinating--than conventional histories have portrayed it. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest offers a richer and more nuanced account of a key event in the history of the Americas.
and Pizarro.
Using a wide array of sources, historian Matthew Restall highlights seven key myths, uncovering the source of the inaccuracies and exploding the fallacies and misconceptions behind each myth. This vividly written and authoritative book shows, for instance, that native Americans did not take the
conquistadors for gods and that small numbers of vastly outnumbered Spaniards did not bring down great empires with stunning rapidity. We discover that Columbus was correctly seen in his lifetime--and for decades after--as a briefly fortunate but unexceptional participant in efforts involving many
southern Europeans. It was only much later that Columbus was portrayed as a great man who fought against the ignorance of his age to discover the new world. Another popular misconception--that the Conquistadors worked alone--is shattered by the revelation that vast numbers of black and native allies
joined them in a conflict that pitted native Americans against each other. This and other factors, not the supposed superiority of the Spaniards, made conquests possible.
The Conquest, Restall shows, was more complex--and more fascinating--than conventional histories have portrayed it. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest offers a richer and more nuanced account of a key event in the history of the Americas.
218 pages, Paperback
First published July 24, 2003
127 people are currently reading
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About the author
Matthew Restall
33 books80 followersMatthew Restall is a historian of Colonial Latin America. He is an ethnohistorian and a scholar of conquest, colonization, and the African diaspora in the Americas. He is currently Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Latin American History and Anthropology, and Director of Latin American Studies, at the Pennsylvania State University. He is President of the American Society for Ethnohistory, a former editor of Ethnohistory journal, a senior editor of the Hispanic American Historical Review, editor of the book series Latin American Originals, and co-editor of the Cambridge Latin American Studies book series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
September 13, 2016
This book was a very good analysis of commonly-found misconceptions about the Conquest of America and the conquistadores, and very informative as well. In it, the author goes through existing documentation and debunks the following myths:
1. That the Conquest was the merit of exceptional Spaniards who single-handedly brought down empires on their own.
2. That the conquistadores were men of the King's Army, members of Spain's infantry and professional soldiers all.
3. That every conquistador was white and Spanish.
4. That the Conquest was achieved and completed in record time, vini, vidi, vinci style.
5. That there existed miscommunication and language barriers between the Spaniards and the Natives that often led to disastrous consequences.
6. That the Conquest resulted in the annihilation of the native population, to the point of extinction.
7. That the Conquest was largely the result of Spanish superiority over the indigenous peoples of America.
Being familiar with the history of 16th century European colonialism, I was likewise familiar with most of these arguments but one (the second, I'd been under the impression the conquistadores were professional soldiers), and even so the details added by and expanded by Restall were eye-opening, and they contradict much of what's currently taught in schools and universities. It was also interesting that Restall didn't stop at myth-busting but also included his own theory on why the Conquista was largely successful and different from other colonial enterprises in its long-term outcome. His argument (disease, native internecine rivalry, and weaponry) sounded to me rather similar to Jared Diamond's guns, germs and steel hypothesis, but to me it was way more logically explained and there were factors Diamond didn't touch on or misunderstood for taking the eyewitness and contemporary or near-contemporary accounts at face value, namely, the role of indigenous allies in the success of the pioneer colonisation attempts in Mexico and Peru by conquistadores Cortés and Pizarro. Very recommended!
1. That the Conquest was the merit of exceptional Spaniards who single-handedly brought down empires on their own.
2. That the conquistadores were men of the King's Army, members of Spain's infantry and professional soldiers all.
3. That every conquistador was white and Spanish.
4. That the Conquest was achieved and completed in record time, vini, vidi, vinci style.
5. That there existed miscommunication and language barriers between the Spaniards and the Natives that often led to disastrous consequences.
6. That the Conquest resulted in the annihilation of the native population, to the point of extinction.
7. That the Conquest was largely the result of Spanish superiority over the indigenous peoples of America.
Being familiar with the history of 16th century European colonialism, I was likewise familiar with most of these arguments but one (the second, I'd been under the impression the conquistadores were professional soldiers), and even so the details added by and expanded by Restall were eye-opening, and they contradict much of what's currently taught in schools and universities. It was also interesting that Restall didn't stop at myth-busting but also included his own theory on why the Conquista was largely successful and different from other colonial enterprises in its long-term outcome. His argument (disease, native internecine rivalry, and weaponry) sounded to me rather similar to Jared Diamond's guns, germs and steel hypothesis, but to me it was way more logically explained and there were factors Diamond didn't touch on or misunderstood for taking the eyewitness and contemporary or near-contemporary accounts at face value, namely, the role of indigenous allies in the success of the pioneer colonisation attempts in Mexico and Peru by conquistadores Cortés and Pizarro. Very recommended!
September 21, 2023
Be sure to get the updated...as in the 2021 afterword...version of this study. Restall avoids jargon, score-settling and trendy theories that say more about their makers than the materials they interpret. While certain key points seem to still merit more analysis--such as the role of the breviary in the first encounter of Pizarro and Atahuallpa, the role of ritualized sacrifice by the Mexica, and the imperial powers and slave states that oppressed millions in the Americas for before the conquests which followed in the wake of first contact with Europe--on the whole this represents a useful source for students of New Conquest History, which strives to incorporate and critique all of the evidence, from all sides.
April 17, 2014
This is a useful book, with some problems. The writing is accessible, but sometimes disjointed. In several chapters, particularly Chapter 6, most of the content is unrelated to the myth in question. His topic choices are unwieldy in some cases, such as splitting the myths of completion and desolation into two chapters and neglecting to devote a chapter to the myth of Spanish divinity on its own. The information is valuable, correcting many common misconceptions and contextualizing the 16th century for modern readers. However, his search to compensate for attention to Spanish documents by focusing on native documents may swing the pendulum too far the other way. I think you need a balanced approach, encompassing all available narratives.
Restall seems to be simultaneously addressing popular misconceptions and historical misinterpretations of the Spanish conquest. His information is generally accurate and his book provides valuable context for the interested amateur, but sometimes his tone toward those misconceptions is overly hostile and may be off-putting for those readers who legitimately wanted to correct their misconceptions. For historians, his focus on native voices may be valuable, but his bias toward them should be considered. He accurately locates his myths’ origins in the Spanish mentality of the time, but undervalues the fact that Spanish mentalities did shape the conquest’s outcomes, even if they ignored native perceptions or were immoral by modern standards.
Restall seems to be simultaneously addressing popular misconceptions and historical misinterpretations of the Spanish conquest. His information is generally accurate and his book provides valuable context for the interested amateur, but sometimes his tone toward those misconceptions is overly hostile and may be off-putting for those readers who legitimately wanted to correct their misconceptions. For historians, his focus on native voices may be valuable, but his bias toward them should be considered. He accurately locates his myths’ origins in the Spanish mentality of the time, but undervalues the fact that Spanish mentalities did shape the conquest’s outcomes, even if they ignored native perceptions or were immoral by modern standards.
September 20, 2023
This is an interesting and serious academic exploration of the common myths surrounding the Spanish conquest of Latin America. The book derives from a History Department graduate seminar taught by the author at Pennsylvania State University in 2001 and owes much to the research conducted by the students and their essays. Seven conquest myths are examined in separate chapters. In each, the origins of a particular myth are identified, its perpetuation is explained and with abundant evidence and reasoned conclusions, the myth is debunked. While this may sound simple and straight forward, it took a concerted effort by the author and the seminar students to research the archival documents and primary/secondary source materials referenced in the book and to incorporate the numerous findings into the final text. The main body of this book is only 157 pages long. The footnotes section adds 30 pages of notes. The reference section of the book, which lists the archival sources, the primary and secondary published sources, media and internet sources consulted during the research phase, as well as a list of titles of the Seminar essays, is a full 14 pages long. This may not seem like much but it would take years for one individual to read all of the sources listed therein.
I'm impressed by this book. Reading it has been a learning experience and a reminder that when reading history one should always be a bit skeptical. More often than not, histories have been written by the "victorious side"- and to their own benefit. The myths that are examined in this book are familiar and well established. They have been perpetuated for the last 500 years. Some are still being taught in our schools and commemorated in civic events. A few have been adapted and recycled by other nations to justify their own imperial and colonial policies and in particular, the subjugation of indigenous populations. I'm thinking here of Great Britain, the U.S.A., Canada and Australia - to name a few.
When one considers the centuries of harm brought by these myths and the notions of racial and cultural superiority underlying them, the importance of this book comes into focus. It's not always pleasant to re-examine our history and beliefs, as this book does. In fact it's often painful but it's clearly beneficial and something that we should all try to do.
I'm impressed by this book. Reading it has been a learning experience and a reminder that when reading history one should always be a bit skeptical. More often than not, histories have been written by the "victorious side"- and to their own benefit. The myths that are examined in this book are familiar and well established. They have been perpetuated for the last 500 years. Some are still being taught in our schools and commemorated in civic events. A few have been adapted and recycled by other nations to justify their own imperial and colonial policies and in particular, the subjugation of indigenous populations. I'm thinking here of Great Britain, the U.S.A., Canada and Australia - to name a few.
When one considers the centuries of harm brought by these myths and the notions of racial and cultural superiority underlying them, the importance of this book comes into focus. It's not always pleasant to re-examine our history and beliefs, as this book does. In fact it's often painful but it's clearly beneficial and something that we should all try to do.
September 5, 2024
El libro es muy bueno, la lectura es muy amena, los capítulos son cortos, muy pocas veces el autor se explaya en una idea, va directo al grano, por así decirlo. La verdad es que para una persona que no sabe mucho del tema de la conquista, con este libro quedarán clara algunas ideas fundamentales, así también como los mitos que se han perpetuado a los largo del tiempo.
La idea de los grandes conquistadores como Colón, Cortés y Pizarro, es algo que está muy generalizado, pero lo cierto, es que estos hombres estaban inscritos en un contexto muy amplio, sería con los siglo que se enalteceria su figura, eran muchos los conquistadores en esa época. Además que sus hazañas fueron logros colectivos, no individuales.
Siguiendo esta misma línea, los conquistadores no eran parte del ejército de España, este concepto surgió hasta el siglo XVII, los conquistadores eran "empresarios armados" jóvenes, semi-analfabetas, provenientes del sur de España, de clase media con una cierta profesión. Que lo único que buscaban en el nuevo mundo es: riqueza y ascenso social.
Los conquistadores no estuvieron solos, sino que fueron ayudados por los indígenas y esclavos, difícilmente hubieran logrado tener la superioridad que tuvieron sino fuese por esa colaboración.
Por otra parte, la conquista no fue completa, fue un proceso largo y complejo. La cultura, religión, creencias y la misma presencia indígena duro por siglos, incluso su resistencia llegó hasta los albores del siglo XX.
Los intérpretes fueron importantes para lograr alianzas y hablar entre los dos grupos en conflicto; igualmente, tampoco hubo una comunicación perfecta, ni tampoco una accidentada.
Siempre ha estado la idea de que Moctezuma creía que Cortés era un Dios, Quetzalcóatl; no empero, no hay mucha información que sustente esa idea. Lo que hubo fue hospitalidad que fue malinterpretada. Pese a la disminución de la población nativa, estos últimos supieron resistir y seguir.
Finalmente la superioridad de los españoles, era solo por la división interna de los indígenas, sus armas de acero y las enfermedades que trajeron, otros aspectos como el lenguaje, la inferioridad indígenas, las armas de pólvora o los caballos son muy debatibles.
En fin, es un excelente libro, altamente recomendado.
La idea de los grandes conquistadores como Colón, Cortés y Pizarro, es algo que está muy generalizado, pero lo cierto, es que estos hombres estaban inscritos en un contexto muy amplio, sería con los siglo que se enalteceria su figura, eran muchos los conquistadores en esa época. Además que sus hazañas fueron logros colectivos, no individuales.
Siguiendo esta misma línea, los conquistadores no eran parte del ejército de España, este concepto surgió hasta el siglo XVII, los conquistadores eran "empresarios armados" jóvenes, semi-analfabetas, provenientes del sur de España, de clase media con una cierta profesión. Que lo único que buscaban en el nuevo mundo es: riqueza y ascenso social.
Los conquistadores no estuvieron solos, sino que fueron ayudados por los indígenas y esclavos, difícilmente hubieran logrado tener la superioridad que tuvieron sino fuese por esa colaboración.
Por otra parte, la conquista no fue completa, fue un proceso largo y complejo. La cultura, religión, creencias y la misma presencia indígena duro por siglos, incluso su resistencia llegó hasta los albores del siglo XX.
Los intérpretes fueron importantes para lograr alianzas y hablar entre los dos grupos en conflicto; igualmente, tampoco hubo una comunicación perfecta, ni tampoco una accidentada.
Siempre ha estado la idea de que Moctezuma creía que Cortés era un Dios, Quetzalcóatl; no empero, no hay mucha información que sustente esa idea. Lo que hubo fue hospitalidad que fue malinterpretada. Pese a la disminución de la población nativa, estos últimos supieron resistir y seguir.
Finalmente la superioridad de los españoles, era solo por la división interna de los indígenas, sus armas de acero y las enfermedades que trajeron, otros aspectos como el lenguaje, la inferioridad indígenas, las armas de pólvora o los caballos son muy debatibles.
En fin, es un excelente libro, altamente recomendado.
January 13, 2020
The Miskito nation, my native nation, was mentioned a lot more than I expected and it was nice to read. A lot of historical texts about pre-columbian societies in the Americas seem to focus on the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas and very rarely speak of the other societies and their impact and role in the process of colonization.
December 11, 2014
Matthew Restall's "Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest" is an very fascinating introduction to understanding the Spanish Conquest, but also helps understand the many elements of historical development in the "new" world that happened with the establishment of trans-Atlantic social system. While only of a few of the myths are myths in the sense that most people think about them, but Restall does actually illustrate that a lot of the interpretations in earlier history texts, in the primary sources, and even in contemporary scholarship (he spends a lot of time talking about particular scholars such as Tzvetan Todorov's work involving Spanish conquest and semiotics) are either not naunced or actually not only false, but false in a way that silences the history of native peoples.
Restall's myth busting gives more agency and naunce to the native peoples and to the African slaves brought to fight in the Conquest. Restall clarifies the somewhat confusing relationship between the conquistadors and the Spanish crown. If read with a book like John Gibler's "Mexico Unconquered," the origins of political developments in Latin America are actually clarified even to the modern day. A very useful book.
Restall's myth busting gives more agency and naunce to the native peoples and to the African slaves brought to fight in the Conquest. Restall clarifies the somewhat confusing relationship between the conquistadors and the Spanish crown. If read with a book like John Gibler's "Mexico Unconquered," the origins of political developments in Latin America are actually clarified even to the modern day. A very useful book.
May 4, 2011
Latin America during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries has long fascinated me. The time and place offer unique opportunities for studying the processes of inter-cultural contact and the mechanisms of acculturation.
Anthropologists, archeologists, ethnographers, ethno historians, historians and linguists have all provided pieces that have advanced our understanding of the complexities of the long-term confrontations and interchanges among Europeans, Africans and the Indigenous peoples-of the Americas. In spite of that growing body of sophisticated research, however, misperceptions and inaccuracies persist, particularly in the English-speaking world.
Matthew Restall’s book is an exploration of some of the myths—he explores seven--that have grown up about the conquest, identifying their fallacies:
1) The myth of the exceptional man. Fact: The conquistadores (including Cortes and Pizarro) actually followed a pattern of conquest that was formed during the Spanish Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula and that was elaborated in the Caribbean in the decades before Cortes moved into central Mexico and Pizarro, into Peru.
2) The myth of the King’s army. Fact: The conquistadores were not professional soldiers under the employment of the monarch but rather ordinary people (artisans, low nobility, merchants, notaries, ecclesiastics, etc.) linked together contractually into entrepreneurial companies whose interests were wealth in the form of gold or land.
3) The myth of the White conquistador. Fact: Africans and Indian allies often outnumbered the White Spaniard.
4) The myth of completion. Fact: Conquest was a complex process that has continued to the present day and that has impacted all of the ethnic groups involved in the encounters.
5) The myth of (mis)communication. Fact: Language was neither a barrier to nor a determinate of the course of the conquest. Miscommunication when it existed was not imbalanced to the benefit of the Spanish.
6) The myth of Native desolation. Fact: Indigenous communities survived the conquest. The Native People ”did not sink into depression and inactivity because of the Conquest.”
7) The myth of Superiority. Fact: The Spanish were not technologically superior to the Native Americans. Other factors, in combination, explain the results of the Conquest’s outcomes.
Professor Restall, in a short, single volume, moves the English-speaking audience well along the road to a more accurate understanding of the Spanish Conquest of the New World.
Anthropologists, archeologists, ethnographers, ethno historians, historians and linguists have all provided pieces that have advanced our understanding of the complexities of the long-term confrontations and interchanges among Europeans, Africans and the Indigenous peoples-of the Americas. In spite of that growing body of sophisticated research, however, misperceptions and inaccuracies persist, particularly in the English-speaking world.
Matthew Restall’s book is an exploration of some of the myths—he explores seven--that have grown up about the conquest, identifying their fallacies:
1) The myth of the exceptional man. Fact: The conquistadores (including Cortes and Pizarro) actually followed a pattern of conquest that was formed during the Spanish Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula and that was elaborated in the Caribbean in the decades before Cortes moved into central Mexico and Pizarro, into Peru.
2) The myth of the King’s army. Fact: The conquistadores were not professional soldiers under the employment of the monarch but rather ordinary people (artisans, low nobility, merchants, notaries, ecclesiastics, etc.) linked together contractually into entrepreneurial companies whose interests were wealth in the form of gold or land.
3) The myth of the White conquistador. Fact: Africans and Indian allies often outnumbered the White Spaniard.
4) The myth of completion. Fact: Conquest was a complex process that has continued to the present day and that has impacted all of the ethnic groups involved in the encounters.
5) The myth of (mis)communication. Fact: Language was neither a barrier to nor a determinate of the course of the conquest. Miscommunication when it existed was not imbalanced to the benefit of the Spanish.
6) The myth of Native desolation. Fact: Indigenous communities survived the conquest. The Native People ”did not sink into depression and inactivity because of the Conquest.”
7) The myth of Superiority. Fact: The Spanish were not technologically superior to the Native Americans. Other factors, in combination, explain the results of the Conquest’s outcomes.
Professor Restall, in a short, single volume, moves the English-speaking audience well along the road to a more accurate understanding of the Spanish Conquest of the New World.
Read
October 2, 2015The image of the Conquest of Mexico as well as the Americas at larger has left a dramatic impression on not only world history but popular culture as well. Over the centuries a number of themes ranging from fantastically inaccurate to dangerously ahistorical have become attached to the Conquest, seven of which Restall expertly puts to rest. In the process of overturning these popular misconceptions, Restall teaches many lessons about the nature of historical inquiry and imperialism as a whole which many readers will find both thought-provoking an illuminating. Although his prose can be a bit cluttered at times, most readers will walk away from this this text with a completely different outlook on this remarkable chapter in our history and the societies - both European and American - that took part in it.
February 8, 2012
yeah, i'm rounding this up from four to five stars. it's not necessarily a life-changing book, or even the best work on the subject, but it is a deeply important - and accessible! - work in light of the enduring impact of historical distortions.
let's use jared diamond's "guns, germs, and steel" as an example. diamond relies solely on spanish accounts for one of the key pieces of narrative he presents (pizarro at cajamarca) and buys into several enduring misconceptions that severely undercut his general argument. it's not as though diamond didn't have access to the same indigenous sources restall synthesizes; diamond just doesn't bother to think critically about what he's reading.
restall does an impressive job navigating the question of how to determine what is the least subjective - or the most true - account of what happened. rather than claim that source so-and-so is the final authority and that such-and-such account is undoubtedly how it happened, he compares multiple spanish sources with multiple indigenous sources and weighs the similarities against the differences - discussing the historical importance of each all the while. his references and citations are clear and not overwhelming (commentary in the endnotes can make for interesting tidbits); the illustrations are well-chosen and fascinating in their own right; overall, it's clear restall has been careful to consider as many possibilities as he can.
there are a few places where he will mention an historical incident that (for instance) didn't take place in the americas and assume that the reader knows the background - like the spanish armada of 1588 - but these are infrequent and if a brief explanation is not in the footnotes, then there are always encyclopaedias. one might disagree with his treatment of incan and aztec religion and, in the closing paragraphs prior to the epilogue, his conclusions regarding the conquest's place in human history, but that is a different level of argument. however: he does, unfortunately, fall into the trap of associating ritual sacrifice and cannibalism with "savagery". this is something of a significant flaw, given the goal of his book, but not, i think, enough to stop me recommending this book to others.
let's use jared diamond's "guns, germs, and steel" as an example. diamond relies solely on spanish accounts for one of the key pieces of narrative he presents (pizarro at cajamarca) and buys into several enduring misconceptions that severely undercut his general argument. it's not as though diamond didn't have access to the same indigenous sources restall synthesizes; diamond just doesn't bother to think critically about what he's reading.
restall does an impressive job navigating the question of how to determine what is the least subjective - or the most true - account of what happened. rather than claim that source so-and-so is the final authority and that such-and-such account is undoubtedly how it happened, he compares multiple spanish sources with multiple indigenous sources and weighs the similarities against the differences - discussing the historical importance of each all the while. his references and citations are clear and not overwhelming (commentary in the endnotes can make for interesting tidbits); the illustrations are well-chosen and fascinating in their own right; overall, it's clear restall has been careful to consider as many possibilities as he can.
there are a few places where he will mention an historical incident that (for instance) didn't take place in the americas and assume that the reader knows the background - like the spanish armada of 1588 - but these are infrequent and if a brief explanation is not in the footnotes, then there are always encyclopaedias. one might disagree with his treatment of incan and aztec religion and, in the closing paragraphs prior to the epilogue, his conclusions regarding the conquest's place in human history, but that is a different level of argument. however: he does, unfortunately, fall into the trap of associating ritual sacrifice and cannibalism with "savagery". this is something of a significant flaw, given the goal of his book, but not, i think, enough to stop me recommending this book to others.
January 6, 2019
The result of reading this book has been positive. I have altered my thoughts on the Spanish conquest, understanding it as less black and white as I once had. The chapters lay out commonly misunderstood aspects of the invasion, myths that twist history. Firstly, it was not a conquest of a few great men, but rather, a mission of several Spaniards and thousands of native allies. The Spaniards were not paid or acting on the command of the king but rather looking for wealth and titles for themselves in exchange for this dangerous work. Most of the men working with Pizarro and Cortés were Nahua or Maya, or another group of Indigenous. African slaves played a crucial role in the conquest. This conquest was never a completed task, it was not 'successful.' La Malinche is still foggy to me, but I think that's just how she is. The natives were not exterminated in culture or population; this all survived the Spanish influence by changing. Their culture was not lost, it evolved, as did the Spanish culture once it came in contact with Indigenous cultures.
Matthew Restall has collected source information from various perspectives and the amalgamation gives clarity to the reader on what is myth and what could be true. Of course, historical research is wading through 10 sources with radically differing perspectives and assertions of events and deciding which is 'right.'
I found his arguments strong and logical but lacking in longterm focus. What have these myths being perpetuated for hundreds of years done to change how we think of Mexico, Peru, Guatemala etc. How has this changed our ideas of colonialism? I felt it needed a larger scale examination. He did discuss Far Side comics and The Road to El Dorado Disney movie, but is that really the most important show of modern impact of Spanish conquest myths?
Matthew Restall has collected source information from various perspectives and the amalgamation gives clarity to the reader on what is myth and what could be true. Of course, historical research is wading through 10 sources with radically differing perspectives and assertions of events and deciding which is 'right.'
I found his arguments strong and logical but lacking in longterm focus. What have these myths being perpetuated for hundreds of years done to change how we think of Mexico, Peru, Guatemala etc. How has this changed our ideas of colonialism? I felt it needed a larger scale examination. He did discuss Far Side comics and The Road to El Dorado Disney movie, but is that really the most important show of modern impact of Spanish conquest myths?
May 7, 2022
La lettura di questo libro è assolutamente imprescindibile per chiunque abbia interesse nel decostruire i facili miti della storiografia dozzinale che ancora pesano come un macigno sulla concezione comune della storia coloniale spagnola e non.
Non è un libro perfetto, il discorso è un po' disorganizzato e ovviamente anche con un metodo rigoroso le fonti sono molto limitate, però nel complesso questo non sminuisce l'enorme lavoro di critica storiografica dietro la sua stesura né la chiarezza dei suoi punti.
Non è un libro perfetto, il discorso è un po' disorganizzato e ovviamente anche con un metodo rigoroso le fonti sono molto limitate, però nel complesso questo non sminuisce l'enorme lavoro di critica storiografica dietro la sua stesura né la chiarezza dei suoi punti.
July 16, 2019
Libro eccezionale perchè condensa in poche pagine tantissime cose. L'approccio è quello giusto: è una storia dei vari modi con cui la conquista delle Americhe è stata raccontata. I conquistadores non erano soldati ma imprenditori privati e armati; la conquista non fu pressoché mai completa (sia in senso territoriale che culturale) e tantomeno rapida; il contributo degli indios stessi e degli schiavi africani fu volutamente sottovalutato; il mito dei grandi uomini (Colombo, Cortes, Pizarro) fu anch'esso largamente costruito a tavolino (così nacque il mito moderno della terra piatta, quando in realtà era Colombo a sbagliare i calcoli sul raggio della Terra e non i dottori dell'università di Salamanca).
Mi ha convinto solo di meno nell'ultimo capitolo, quando si analizza il mito della "superiorità" spagnola e occidentale sugli Indios. Se l'uso di questo mito per stabilire la superiorità razziale di un popolo sugli altri è sbagliato, non si può tuttavia arrivare a ridimensionare il puro fatto storico che furono gli occidentali ad andare in America e non viceversa e ad avere armi nettamente più efficienti (più che cavalli e archibugi, le spade d'acciaio). Possiamo non chiamarla superiorità per evitare derive sgradite, tuttavia cambiare il nome non cambia la sostanza.
A parte questo piccolo appunto, il libro rimane eccezionale. Si riscoprono un mucchio di cose che io (un po' digiuno di questo periodo storico, lo ammetto) ho trovato straordinarie: ad esempio il poema epico "Cantares Mexicanos" creato da Nahuatl, cioè dagli indios che aiutarono gli spagnoli. Dal loro punto di vista, la conquista spagnola non fu tale ma fu la loro ribellione contro il dominio azteco e fu quindi un periodo glorioso!
Mi ha convinto solo di meno nell'ultimo capitolo, quando si analizza il mito della "superiorità" spagnola e occidentale sugli Indios. Se l'uso di questo mito per stabilire la superiorità razziale di un popolo sugli altri è sbagliato, non si può tuttavia arrivare a ridimensionare il puro fatto storico che furono gli occidentali ad andare in America e non viceversa e ad avere armi nettamente più efficienti (più che cavalli e archibugi, le spade d'acciaio). Possiamo non chiamarla superiorità per evitare derive sgradite, tuttavia cambiare il nome non cambia la sostanza.
A parte questo piccolo appunto, il libro rimane eccezionale. Si riscoprono un mucchio di cose che io (un po' digiuno di questo periodo storico, lo ammetto) ho trovato straordinarie: ad esempio il poema epico "Cantares Mexicanos" creato da Nahuatl, cioè dagli indios che aiutarono gli spagnoli. Dal loro punto di vista, la conquista spagnola non fu tale ma fu la loro ribellione contro il dominio azteco e fu quindi un periodo glorioso!
July 22, 2024
Finally done with reading about first contact histories for awhile, someone hand me my PHD.
Matthew Restall's title pretty much explains everything about his book which is pretty straightforward. The book is composed of seven essays that deal with debunking various misconceptions that mainstream thought has latched onto to quickly explain the history surrounding the brutal events that occurred in the early 1500s in Central and South America.
Much of the book is simply ok, with a few interesting tidbits here and there. Most of the debunking would seem fairly obvious to an audience who has an interest in the history that is being discussed. It was a nice way to cap off all of the histories I read previously and leave behind the megalomaniacs that litter this era of colonialism.
Ready to quickly smash my reading goal and read trash for the rest of the year.
Matthew Restall's title pretty much explains everything about his book which is pretty straightforward. The book is composed of seven essays that deal with debunking various misconceptions that mainstream thought has latched onto to quickly explain the history surrounding the brutal events that occurred in the early 1500s in Central and South America.
Much of the book is simply ok, with a few interesting tidbits here and there. Most of the debunking would seem fairly obvious to an audience who has an interest in the history that is being discussed. It was a nice way to cap off all of the histories I read previously and leave behind the megalomaniacs that litter this era of colonialism.
Ready to quickly smash my reading goal and read trash for the rest of the year.
June 20, 2012
Restall looks at common perceptions of the Spanish conquest of Latin America that he regards as mythical. The conquests are often looked at as led by "exceptional men," as entirely carried out by white Spaniards while ignoring their African and native companions, and as carried out by the Spanish army rather than by men of many different backgrounds. Also, the conquests are often seen as establishing total Spanish dominance rather the submission of local authorities to Spanish rule, as wiping out an innocent or backward (depending on the source) native culture, and as proceeding from Spanish superiority over inferior natives. He also looks at the communication between the Spanish and the natives, arguing that it was neither perfectly mediated by translators nor totally confused. He traces each of these myths back to the 16th century and argues that they continue today.
It's a fairly short book, but he gives enough information to illustrate his points. Most helpful were the discussions of how the conquerors recruited soldiers, how native authority and culture did persist even with the political and demographic disasters that came upon them, and how Africans often participated in the conquests.
It's a fairly short book, but he gives enough information to illustrate his points. Most helpful were the discussions of how the conquerors recruited soldiers, how native authority and culture did persist even with the political and demographic disasters that came upon them, and how Africans often participated in the conquests.
December 18, 2007
You know I had my theories all bunched up and carried on my shoulder like a heavy chip and for what? To have them tumble like snow flakes on hot asphalt. That's why we read and learn and and learn and read some more. It starts off fantastic, non-apolegetic and demistifying both sides of historical assumtions and a curriculum thats long overdue for an update. You know you have to appreciate Anthropology and relentless research. the author doesn't have conclusion to the defifinative colonisation of these conquerors. he summarises with a great example told by three points of view wich made the book well worth the read. It emcompasses the seven myhts.
June 17, 2017
Chiaro, sintetico, evocativo e puntuale. Un bel colpo per 21 Editore.
Parecchie e continue le chicche sulla cultura coloniale e l'incredibilmente moderna controguerriglia spagnola.
Un saggio storico che tranquillamente poteva uscire con Il Saggiatore.
Parecchie e continue le chicche sulla cultura coloniale e l'incredibilmente moderna controguerriglia spagnola.
Un saggio storico che tranquillamente poteva uscire con Il Saggiatore.
Read
August 27, 2018η διαφορά ανάμεσα στην ιστορία και τη μυθολογία βρίσκεται στο ότι η πρώτη πλάθει τους δικούς της μύθους.
May 28, 2019
Argumentación floja y que no aporta nada nuevo a lo ya sabido.
Desmiente algunos mitos, pero tampoco aclara como pudo suceder.
Lo mejor el epílogo.
Desmiente algunos mitos, pero tampoco aclara como pudo suceder.
Lo mejor el epílogo.
October 29, 2024
Very interesting take on history. Would read again.
February 10, 2018
I had purchased and started reading this book about eight years ago or so, and, for some reason I put it down about a third of the way through. That said, I am glad that it was dusted off the shelf and read from start to finish just recently. Restall’s “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest” proved to be very informative. As the title implies, or overtly states, he covers the myths of the Spanish conquest of the “new world.” For someone who has studied history and the colonization of the Americas, a lot of this information will not be new, but the way he formulates his arguments and theories is well-done. For the other type of reader, one who has not looked moderately or extensively at the conquest and colonization, this book will be essential to gain a well-rounded view of the complicated issue of the conquest of the Americas.
For this review I won’t cover all of the myths, as it is better to read that for yourself and the author does a much better job than I. However, parts which I do think were important were pieces such as the myth of exceptional men. This is important in that Columbus, Cortes, Pizarro, et al, are, in general taught history, often made out to be clairvoyant conquerors advancing Spanish civilization. The reality, however, is that despite the importance historically of their exploits, they were more or less ‘accidental’ conquerors, and with a misstep here or there, history could have been profoundly different.
Another important myth that was debunked or elaborated on was that the conquest was not a whole Spanish armada led by the aforementioned exceptional men. These explorations did not use soldiers; the participants were men who, through systems of patronage, were looking for opportunities to improve their social standing by way of the encomienda system. Those who did have military type experience had often gained it through conquest, for example, the conquest of the Caribbean allowed those members to obtain knowledge and skills which were then used on the conquest of the Mexica empire, then the Quechua (Inca) empire, and the various powerful tribes and territories in between those larger exploits.
The reality of native disunity is covered, which is an oft-overlooked aspect of the conquest. It seems that today, many like to think of natives of the Americas as monolithic groups that were overran by the conquistadors in a genocidal campaign. Of course that is a generality, but much is often left out about the native allies to the conquistadors who were able to assist in subduing the large empires of the Aztecs and Quechua (Inca). In addition, Mayas were not acting as one group and Mayas were fighting Mayas, as they had before the Spanish had arrived. Another aspect of the disunity is that, had the Spanish not conquered the different parts of the Americas, who is not to say the Aztecs would have done similar? They most likely would have attempted to do just that, considering that is how they gained their empire.
In the end, the book’s brevity, my edition was only 157 pages, make it a quick read, but don’t let that dissuade you into thinking that not enough evidence or information will be laid out. The author adeptly and efficiently lays out the myths and provides appropriate detail for discernment, and by the end, the book feels as though it were a much longer work.
For this review I won’t cover all of the myths, as it is better to read that for yourself and the author does a much better job than I. However, parts which I do think were important were pieces such as the myth of exceptional men. This is important in that Columbus, Cortes, Pizarro, et al, are, in general taught history, often made out to be clairvoyant conquerors advancing Spanish civilization. The reality, however, is that despite the importance historically of their exploits, they were more or less ‘accidental’ conquerors, and with a misstep here or there, history could have been profoundly different.
Another important myth that was debunked or elaborated on was that the conquest was not a whole Spanish armada led by the aforementioned exceptional men. These explorations did not use soldiers; the participants were men who, through systems of patronage, were looking for opportunities to improve their social standing by way of the encomienda system. Those who did have military type experience had often gained it through conquest, for example, the conquest of the Caribbean allowed those members to obtain knowledge and skills which were then used on the conquest of the Mexica empire, then the Quechua (Inca) empire, and the various powerful tribes and territories in between those larger exploits.
The reality of native disunity is covered, which is an oft-overlooked aspect of the conquest. It seems that today, many like to think of natives of the Americas as monolithic groups that were overran by the conquistadors in a genocidal campaign. Of course that is a generality, but much is often left out about the native allies to the conquistadors who were able to assist in subduing the large empires of the Aztecs and Quechua (Inca). In addition, Mayas were not acting as one group and Mayas were fighting Mayas, as they had before the Spanish had arrived. Another aspect of the disunity is that, had the Spanish not conquered the different parts of the Americas, who is not to say the Aztecs would have done similar? They most likely would have attempted to do just that, considering that is how they gained their empire.
In the end, the book’s brevity, my edition was only 157 pages, make it a quick read, but don’t let that dissuade you into thinking that not enough evidence or information will be laid out. The author adeptly and efficiently lays out the myths and provides appropriate detail for discernment, and by the end, the book feels as though it were a much longer work.
October 16, 2019
Solid corrective
July 25, 2019
**This review has also been posted to https://edwardrickford.com/ and to Amazon**
I majored in history at George Washington University and had to read a number of history texts for my studies. Some of them were incredibly dry, like Death Valley dry, and rather forgettable but some of those texts hold an honored place on my bookshelf to this day. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest was definitely the latter.
There’s quite a bit I like about this book, but what I really enjoy about this book is the engaging prose. Matthew Restall is extremely well-versed on matters related to the Spanish invasion of the Americas, as one would expect for the Director of Latin American studies at Penn State University, but he never comes across as pedantic or self-absorbed in his writing. Rather, he comes across as conversational and earnest and I imagine there are a great many readers who could appreciate this. But putting aside Restall’s talent for wordplay, I think readers will also be able to appreciate the historical argument that undergirds Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest.
The answer will probably differ from person to person, but I personally believe the reason we study history is to challenge our assumptions and broaden our horizons. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is a great resource in this regard and I would encourage anyone interested in learning more about the European colonization of the Americas, a monumental event that reshaped the global balance of power for centuries to come, or anyone interested in learning more about the way that history is remembered to consult this book. My strong suspicion is that readers who give this book a whirl will discover that the version of events they learn in school—whether it’s Cortes being perceived as a god or the idea that the locals were simply passive victims—bears little resemblance to truth.
I have a very strong interest in the “Spanish conquest,” I wrote my undergraduate thesis on the Spanish-Mexica war and I am writing historical series on the subject, but I think the book will appeal to a wide variety of readers. The book explores a number of issues related to race, gender, and class that are still very much relevant today and since 2019 is the five hundred year anniversary of Cortes first landing in Mexico, I think the book is especially relevant today. But for anyone not convinced they should check out the book, I would like to offer seven reasons worth considering:
1. It’s a good read
2. It’s an informative read
3. It’s an easy read
4. It’s a short read
5. It’s a timely read
6. Reasons 1-5
7. Reasons 1-6
If those reasons aren’t good enough, I suppose nothing is. In any case, happy reading everyone!
I majored in history at George Washington University and had to read a number of history texts for my studies. Some of them were incredibly dry, like Death Valley dry, and rather forgettable but some of those texts hold an honored place on my bookshelf to this day. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest was definitely the latter.
There’s quite a bit I like about this book, but what I really enjoy about this book is the engaging prose. Matthew Restall is extremely well-versed on matters related to the Spanish invasion of the Americas, as one would expect for the Director of Latin American studies at Penn State University, but he never comes across as pedantic or self-absorbed in his writing. Rather, he comes across as conversational and earnest and I imagine there are a great many readers who could appreciate this. But putting aside Restall’s talent for wordplay, I think readers will also be able to appreciate the historical argument that undergirds Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest.
The answer will probably differ from person to person, but I personally believe the reason we study history is to challenge our assumptions and broaden our horizons. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is a great resource in this regard and I would encourage anyone interested in learning more about the European colonization of the Americas, a monumental event that reshaped the global balance of power for centuries to come, or anyone interested in learning more about the way that history is remembered to consult this book. My strong suspicion is that readers who give this book a whirl will discover that the version of events they learn in school—whether it’s Cortes being perceived as a god or the idea that the locals were simply passive victims—bears little resemblance to truth.
I have a very strong interest in the “Spanish conquest,” I wrote my undergraduate thesis on the Spanish-Mexica war and I am writing historical series on the subject, but I think the book will appeal to a wide variety of readers. The book explores a number of issues related to race, gender, and class that are still very much relevant today and since 2019 is the five hundred year anniversary of Cortes first landing in Mexico, I think the book is especially relevant today. But for anyone not convinced they should check out the book, I would like to offer seven reasons worth considering:
1. It’s a good read
2. It’s an informative read
3. It’s an easy read
4. It’s a short read
5. It’s a timely read
6. Reasons 1-5
7. Reasons 1-6
If those reasons aren’t good enough, I suppose nothing is. In any case, happy reading everyone!
December 1, 2025
The Spanish invasion and rapid conquest of the Americas is one of the most incredible and consequential events in human history. As everyone knows, a few small bands of intrepid Spanish soldiers quickly toppled the great indigenous empires, wiping out most of their peoples and imposing new religions and cultures on the survivors. This all happened because Spanish weaponry, horses, and advanced tactics overawed the indigenous nations. It is truly an incredible story, unparalleled in any other realm of history — the only trouble with it is that almost everything I just wrote above is wrong.
‘Seven Myths’ presents a more nuanced history of the Spanish conquest by demolishing a series of widely held beliefs — the seven myths of the title — partially contained in the outline above. While this could a prove gimmicky approach (like ‘100 Lies My Teacher Told Me’ or some such book), Restall has the material to back up each revisionist claim, and the revelations completely change the picture of the conquest sketched above.
He begins with Columbus. By now, I hope, most people know that the old legend about his unique insight into the roundness of the earth is entirely false. Europeans knew very well that the earth was round and actually had a very accurate idea of its size; indeed, it was Columbus who was incorrect because he thought the earth smaller than it is. Restall situates his voyage into broader context, showing how it was really just another step in the gradual Atlantic expansion that had occurred over the previous century as Portuguese and Genoese sailors discovered and settled various island chains. Queen Isabella of Castile, desperate to catch up with Portugal in the race to chart a path to India, gambled on a lesser known Genoese navigator and ignored the advice of her officials, who warned that his claims about the earth were incorrect. She — and Columbus — got extraordinarily lucky when he stumbled onto a new, unknown island chain in 1492 that proved the gateway to a new world.
Yet Columbus continued to claim that he had found a path to the Indies, even as evidence from further Spanish and Portuguese explorers mounted against him. The reason lay in the terms of his contract: Isabella had granted him trade rights and honors conditional on the discovery of a path to the *Indies* — not this mysterious new land. When his prevarications were discovered by further exploration, he ended up in serious trouble with the Castilian crown and spent much of his life in ignominy.
But the pattern was to hold. Many of the myths highlighted in this book originate from Spanish exaggerations, which owed to the conquistadores’ need to justify their deeds and fulfill legal/contractual terms set by the Crown. Spaniards claimed a greater share of glory and pacification, minimized their indigenous alliances, and attributed their victories to God and the superiority of Spanish arms — all to magnify themselves in the eyes of their king. Restall surveys and summarizes this pattern across hundreds of letters and petitions, from famous leaders like Cortes down to obscure drifters and tag-alongs.
So what really happened? Briefly, the story that Restall tells goes something like this:
Spanish adventurers, mostly craftsmen and minor gentry bound together in patron-client networks, sought opportunities for titles and rewards on the Caribbean islands discovered and seized by Columbus and his immediate successors. Becoming aware of the larger continent nearby, a few renegade bands broke with their patron in Cuba and landed in Mexico. There, through a mixture of luck, daring, and diplomatic skill, they forged alliances with several powerful indigenous tribes who were seeking to throw off the yoke of the Aztec (Triple Alliance) Empire. These tribes, most notably the Tlaxcala, were using the Spaniards to accomplish their own ends — they saw them as strange new allies in longstanding native disputes. The combined forces of Cortes and his native allies eventually overwhelmed Tenochtitlan and forced the Mexica to compromise, which allowed Cortes to become the head of an uneasy, unstable new force. With indigenous warriors and whatever Spaniards and African slaves he could find, he launched a series of further invasions into other parts of Central America (e.g. Oaxaca). Often these were just continuations of ongoing native disputes that he was able to exploit — and in one prominent case (Guatemala) the objective was actually to punish a renegade Spanish lieutenant, who was trying to do to Cortes what Cortes had done to his own patron!
Pizarro’s expedition, modeled heavily on that of Cortes, was similarly lucky. Pizarro walked into the middle of an Incan civil war precipitated by the death of their emperor from a new disease, likely smallpox. These diseases ran ahead of the Spanish and wreaked havoc across the continents, which opened up space for the waves of Europeans who followed the conquistadores.
The Spaniards weren’t soldiers in any sense of the word, and they weren’t sent by order of Emperor Charles V or any other official leader. Restall describes them as ‘armed entrepreneurs,’ and the term is fitting: they had more in common with hungry and amoral Silicon Valley startups or private equity corporate raiders than any professional army. The goal of these men was, above all, to receive an encomienda, a grant to a chunk of land and the output of the indigenous people living on it, reminiscent of feudal rights. To do so, they had to win the approval of the crown and at least pretend to fulfill its legal requirements.
Of course, most of us are only familiar with the dramatic encounters of Cortes and Pizarro, but these give a false illusion of rapid completeness of conquest. Lines on maps deceive further; it was very easy for the Spanish or later Europeans to draw boundaries and claim territories, but they often had little effect on the ground-level reality. Indigenous communities in “Spanish” land adapted and persevered for centuries, often retaining considerable autonomy, and some areas remained entirely under native control well into the 19th century (e.g. the Mayan kingdoms of the Yucatán or the Yaquis of Sonora). The newly independent states of Latin America in the 19th century, like the United States to the north, were often the agents of final indigenous conquest and enclosure.
Restall expounds how and why the various myths emerged and persisted, which often tells us more about the contemporary politics in which they were propagated than about historical reality. He shows how these myths are being demolished in modern historiography, largely through the expanded inclusion of native sources. As in the (U.S.) American West, there are many layers of false beliefs, propaganda, and misunderstandings that must be scraped away for a comprehensive account of the actual history, and this book goes a long way toward that end.
A wonderful, quick read that I highly recommend for anybody with an interest in Mesoamerican history.
‘Seven Myths’ presents a more nuanced history of the Spanish conquest by demolishing a series of widely held beliefs — the seven myths of the title — partially contained in the outline above. While this could a prove gimmicky approach (like ‘100 Lies My Teacher Told Me’ or some such book), Restall has the material to back up each revisionist claim, and the revelations completely change the picture of the conquest sketched above.
He begins with Columbus. By now, I hope, most people know that the old legend about his unique insight into the roundness of the earth is entirely false. Europeans knew very well that the earth was round and actually had a very accurate idea of its size; indeed, it was Columbus who was incorrect because he thought the earth smaller than it is. Restall situates his voyage into broader context, showing how it was really just another step in the gradual Atlantic expansion that had occurred over the previous century as Portuguese and Genoese sailors discovered and settled various island chains. Queen Isabella of Castile, desperate to catch up with Portugal in the race to chart a path to India, gambled on a lesser known Genoese navigator and ignored the advice of her officials, who warned that his claims about the earth were incorrect. She — and Columbus — got extraordinarily lucky when he stumbled onto a new, unknown island chain in 1492 that proved the gateway to a new world.
Yet Columbus continued to claim that he had found a path to the Indies, even as evidence from further Spanish and Portuguese explorers mounted against him. The reason lay in the terms of his contract: Isabella had granted him trade rights and honors conditional on the discovery of a path to the *Indies* — not this mysterious new land. When his prevarications were discovered by further exploration, he ended up in serious trouble with the Castilian crown and spent much of his life in ignominy.
But the pattern was to hold. Many of the myths highlighted in this book originate from Spanish exaggerations, which owed to the conquistadores’ need to justify their deeds and fulfill legal/contractual terms set by the Crown. Spaniards claimed a greater share of glory and pacification, minimized their indigenous alliances, and attributed their victories to God and the superiority of Spanish arms — all to magnify themselves in the eyes of their king. Restall surveys and summarizes this pattern across hundreds of letters and petitions, from famous leaders like Cortes down to obscure drifters and tag-alongs.
So what really happened? Briefly, the story that Restall tells goes something like this:
Spanish adventurers, mostly craftsmen and minor gentry bound together in patron-client networks, sought opportunities for titles and rewards on the Caribbean islands discovered and seized by Columbus and his immediate successors. Becoming aware of the larger continent nearby, a few renegade bands broke with their patron in Cuba and landed in Mexico. There, through a mixture of luck, daring, and diplomatic skill, they forged alliances with several powerful indigenous tribes who were seeking to throw off the yoke of the Aztec (Triple Alliance) Empire. These tribes, most notably the Tlaxcala, were using the Spaniards to accomplish their own ends — they saw them as strange new allies in longstanding native disputes. The combined forces of Cortes and his native allies eventually overwhelmed Tenochtitlan and forced the Mexica to compromise, which allowed Cortes to become the head of an uneasy, unstable new force. With indigenous warriors and whatever Spaniards and African slaves he could find, he launched a series of further invasions into other parts of Central America (e.g. Oaxaca). Often these were just continuations of ongoing native disputes that he was able to exploit — and in one prominent case (Guatemala) the objective was actually to punish a renegade Spanish lieutenant, who was trying to do to Cortes what Cortes had done to his own patron!
Pizarro’s expedition, modeled heavily on that of Cortes, was similarly lucky. Pizarro walked into the middle of an Incan civil war precipitated by the death of their emperor from a new disease, likely smallpox. These diseases ran ahead of the Spanish and wreaked havoc across the continents, which opened up space for the waves of Europeans who followed the conquistadores.
The Spaniards weren’t soldiers in any sense of the word, and they weren’t sent by order of Emperor Charles V or any other official leader. Restall describes them as ‘armed entrepreneurs,’ and the term is fitting: they had more in common with hungry and amoral Silicon Valley startups or private equity corporate raiders than any professional army. The goal of these men was, above all, to receive an encomienda, a grant to a chunk of land and the output of the indigenous people living on it, reminiscent of feudal rights. To do so, they had to win the approval of the crown and at least pretend to fulfill its legal requirements.
Of course, most of us are only familiar with the dramatic encounters of Cortes and Pizarro, but these give a false illusion of rapid completeness of conquest. Lines on maps deceive further; it was very easy for the Spanish or later Europeans to draw boundaries and claim territories, but they often had little effect on the ground-level reality. Indigenous communities in “Spanish” land adapted and persevered for centuries, often retaining considerable autonomy, and some areas remained entirely under native control well into the 19th century (e.g. the Mayan kingdoms of the Yucatán or the Yaquis of Sonora). The newly independent states of Latin America in the 19th century, like the United States to the north, were often the agents of final indigenous conquest and enclosure.
Restall expounds how and why the various myths emerged and persisted, which often tells us more about the contemporary politics in which they were propagated than about historical reality. He shows how these myths are being demolished in modern historiography, largely through the expanded inclusion of native sources. As in the (U.S.) American West, there are many layers of false beliefs, propaganda, and misunderstandings that must be scraped away for a comprehensive account of the actual history, and this book goes a long way toward that end.
A wonderful, quick read that I highly recommend for anybody with an interest in Mesoamerican history.
October 31, 2020
Christopher Columbus, Francisco Pizarro, and Hernándo Cortés will forever be remembered as explorers who made significant marks in discovery and conquest of the New World. Their motivations and justifications to sail west into these new lands are solidified in historical books and well known to those taught about colonial expansion. In Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, Matthew Restall, a professor at Pennsylvania State University who specializes in Colonial Latin American history, contributes to the discussion of exactly how perpetuated myths dominate modern thought of the Conquest while offering clarity to readers that may have false notions of the seven myths analyzed in the book. He defines "myth" as a fictitious idea that is commonly taken to be true, partially or absolutely. Restall argues that these myths surrounding the Spanish Conquest have been mistakenly adopted as truths and seeks to clarify the historical accounts of these three men and, more importantly, other European and native participants. The purpose behind Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is to establish alternative understandings to curious readers and offer a middle ground to the complex causes and effects of European and Native American interactions. The author attempts to prove through different perspectives of historical figures and paintings that these three explorers were not "exceptional" in their successes, the men-at-arms accompanying them were not soldiers of the Spanish crown, and, also, these conquistadors were not all fair-skinned individuals. In addition, Restall challenges the idea of Spanish completion of the conquest, miscommunication between Native and Spanish leaders, and Native desolation. The myth of Spanish superiority is addressed lastly in this historical piece. This work is decisively enlightening to those who hold contradictory contemporary understandings of these events, people, and places.
April 1, 2022
As one of important events in History of man, Spanish Conquest of America, which began with Colombus' trip to what he believed to be India, was riddled with myths that makes it hard to sift the truth from the myth. In this book, the author discussed various myths and legends that are commonly associated with both (although mostly) the Spanish conquerors and the conquered Americans, that the Spanish managed to conquer the vast swathes of American land with a handful of conquistadors, that the natives were childlike savages that need to be brought into civilized world, so on and so on.
In the end, I found the author's assertion of why the spanish won to be most agreeable: they won due to three factors: first, the natives were ravaged by diseases the Europeans brought from the old world, which traveled faster than the conquistadors themselves. second, rather than being one united force, the natives consisted of fragmented city-states, who more often than not happily allied with the spanish to advance their interests, just like Tlaxcalans who were among the staunchest native allies of Hernan Cortes during his conquest of the Aztecs. And third factor was the spanish steel sword, which in close-quarter fight proven to be more durable and deadlier than the natives' obsidian clubs. In the end, I found this book fair enough in unmasking the myths that sorrounded the Spanish Conquest, be it the myth of European Supremacy or The Natives' gullibility myth, to cite example from both spectrums.
In the end, I found the author's assertion of why the spanish won to be most agreeable: they won due to three factors: first, the natives were ravaged by diseases the Europeans brought from the old world, which traveled faster than the conquistadors themselves. second, rather than being one united force, the natives consisted of fragmented city-states, who more often than not happily allied with the spanish to advance their interests, just like Tlaxcalans who were among the staunchest native allies of Hernan Cortes during his conquest of the Aztecs. And third factor was the spanish steel sword, which in close-quarter fight proven to be more durable and deadlier than the natives' obsidian clubs. In the end, I found this book fair enough in unmasking the myths that sorrounded the Spanish Conquest, be it the myth of European Supremacy or The Natives' gullibility myth, to cite example from both spectrums.
April 27, 2025
Pros :: Such an interesting way to look at a slice of history that literally changed the world. Seven myths explored (no pun intended) include :: 1. Exceptional Men “the most exceptional thing about Columbus’s geographical vision was that it was wrong.” page 25 2. The King’s Army :: That the conquistadors that traveled to America were not soldiers, they were men looking for wealth and status (like an entrepreneur would) 3. White Conquistadors:: Africans — free and enslaved — accompanied Spanish invaders and the Spanish invaders had many native allies that aided them. 4. Completion :: Spanish America was rife with native revolts against Colonial rule. 5. Mis Communication:: translators aided and abetted the Spanish. 6. Native desolation and 7. Superiority :: in its most extreme form, indigenous inferiority was expressed in terms that denied Native Americans there humanity page 165.
Sum of Spanish conquest activity in the Americas was from 1492 to about 1700.
Smallpox spread into South America faster than the Europeans did. The disease proceeded Pizarro into the Andes.
Cons :: None
Cover art :: 5 out of 5
Sum of Spanish conquest activity in the Americas was from 1492 to about 1700.
Smallpox spread into South America faster than the Europeans did. The disease proceeded Pizarro into the Andes.
Cons :: None
Cover art :: 5 out of 5
December 19, 2014
My Young Adult novel Teresa of the New World is about the fictional daughter of Cabeza de Vaca, a sixteenth-century Spanish conquistador shipwrecked near present-day Tampa in 1528 and living the next eight years among the Native Americans of coastal Texas as a slave, trader, and shaman. I knew most of the material in this book but he put the ideas together with enthusiasm and flair. And I took out the word soldier from my novel, based on his research that this word--our idea of soldiers as paid and organized by a national entity--did not appear until the later sixteenth century. The men who first came to the New World were volunteers and adventurers, not soldiers. Interestingly that changed the tone of a few paragraphs, especially when the Spanish were slave-hunting for the silver mines.
April 9, 2021
This was very informative. There were so many facts that were mentioned that differed from what I was taught all through school. This part of history has played a major part of shaping the life we know now. Some of the more interesting parts of this narrative was the major part the African American slaves played in the Conquest. They were not just crucial in the Conquest, not just in supporting the Conquistadors, but some were sent across the world with a notarized paper from the owners back in Spain, and they were responsible for bringing back to Spain anything that they gained in the Conquest. African Americans were very important in the constant battles that had to be fought with the Natives. These are only some of the things that one can learn when you read this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2021
Este libro --que forma parte de una corriente afortunadamente más popular-- busca reinterpretar la historiografía de la conquista de América. Restall es muy conciso y claro al momento de presentar sus argumentos y articula con mucha habilidad las refutaciones de varios mitos que rodean la conquista de México. Además, argumenta y derriba varios de estos mitos incorporando fuentes de las exploraciones y conquistas en América central y América del Sur.
Creo que es un libro fundamental para quien le interesa el tema. 4.5/5
Creo que es un libro fundamental para quien le interesa el tema. 4.5/5
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