Uses and Abuses of the Conquista
Book Review of Conquistadores: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest, by Fernando Cervantes (Penguin Random House, 2020) & ¿Quién conquistó México? [Who conquered Mexico], by Federico Navarrete (Debate, 2019)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31273/an.v11i1.1691Keywords:
conquista, colonialism, critical historyAbstract
Spanish people can detect my Mexican accent as soon as I open my mouth, and it’s interesting to see their reactions during my travels through that country. Most Spaniards are kind and curious. But I do remember a taxi driver who convivially told me that, to be sure, Spain had done horrible things to Mexico, but that I should still think of Spain like a father — a drunk and abusive father, in his words, but a father nonetheless.
One can take such remarks about colonialism in stride and with good humor when they come from a taxi driver. But it is difficult to swallow similar arguments when they come from historians like Fernando Cervantes, author of Conquistadores: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest.
References
Cervantes, F. (2021). Conquistadores: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest. Viking.
Cooper, F. (2005). Colonialism in Question: Theory, Knowledge, History. University of California Press.
Hanke, L. (1985). La Humanidad es Una. Fondo de Cultura Economica.
Howe, S. (2010). Introduction. In S. Howe (Ed.), The New Imperial Histories Reader (pp. 21–74). Routledge.
Navarrete, F. (2019). ¿Quién conquistó México? DEBATE.
Rosaldo, R. (1993). Culture & Truth: The Remaking of Social Analysis. Beacon Press.
Weld, K. (2020, Spring). Holy War: Latin America’s Far Right. Dissent Magazine. https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/holy-war-latin-americas-far-right/
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