Status Updates From Seven Myths of the Spanish ...

“The native borrowing of Spanish cultural elements did not represent native culture loss or decline, but rather adaptability and vitality. Natives tended to view borrowings—be they Spanish words, concepts, ways of counting, worship, of building houses, or of town planning—not as loans but as part of community practice and custom. They view them not as Spanish, nor even as native, but as local

“Only very gradually did community autonomy erode under demographic and political pressures from non-native populations. From the native perspective, therefore, the Conquest was not a dramatic singular event, symbolized by any one incident or moment, as it was for Spaniards. Rather, the Spanish invasion and colonial rule were part of a larger, protracted process of negotiation and accommodation.”

Fascinating detail from a 16th century Nahuatl song that inverts the typical narrative:

“the song’s lyrics present the war [i.e. the ‘Spanish Conquest’] as a kind of civil or local conflict, between rival city-states within the same ethnic and linguistic area. The Spaniards play important roles, but secondary ones as agents of native ambition whose eventual triumph isn’t really a triumph.”

“If we were to create [a hypothetical average conquistador], he would be a young man in his late 20s, semiliterate, from southwestern Spain, trained in a particular trade or profession, seeking opportunity through patronage networks based on family and hometown ties. Armed as well as he could afford…he would be ready to invest what he had and risk his life if absolutely necessary in order to be a member of

“As was often the case, the quick Spanish victory was a myth that masked years of conflict among Spaniards and among natives as well as between them.”