Conquistadors. A New History of the Discovery and Conquest of America

In the decades following Columbus's first expedition in 1492, Spain brought under its control the territories of a dozen modern states in America and subdued the two most powerful civilizations on the continent—the empires of the Aztecs and Incas. Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, and other conquistadors firmly entered history as examples of arrogance towards foreign cultures, unbridled greed, and often irrational cruelty. There was certainly a great deal of this in their actions, but what drove these first true European colonizers was not only that. They were bearers of medieval culture from chivalric romances, had complex ideas about rights, allegiance, and the limits of royal power, and would not have achieved their victories without the energetic support of many natives. Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes, a direct descendant of one of the conquistadors, aimed to discern the real context behind the stereotypes and myths surrounding Spanish colonization. By analyzing diaries, letters, chronicles, and the first human rights treatises in history, he sought to separate facts from self-promotion, the desire to slander competitors, and centuries-long efforts by foreign—primarily Dutch and English—authors to portray Spaniards in the most unfavorable light. This book prompts reflection on how history is written and sheds entirely new light on the events that transformed the personal union of small European monarchies into one of the greatest empires of all time.