Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest - Softcover

Restall, Matthew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195176111 ISBN 13: 9780195176117

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2004

Synopsis

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. Restall also shows that the Spanish Conquest relied heavily on black and native allies, who provided many thousands of fighters, vastly outnumbering the conquistadors. In fact, the native perception of the Conquest differed sharply from the Spanish version―they saw it as a native civil war in which the Spaniards played an important but secondary role.
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.

About this title

Review:

Written in an accessible style, the book targets the well-educated general reader. Chosen Best Book of the Year by the Economist in 2005... (Hispanic American Historical Review)

About the Author:

Matthew Restall is Associate Professor of Latin American History, Women's Studies, and Anthropology, and Director of Latin American Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of five books, including Maya Conquistador and The Maya World. He lives in State College, Pennsylvania.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0195176111
• ISBN 13: 9780195176117
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240