Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

Historical mythmaking has generated numerous persistent and popular misconceptions about the past. Restall tackles seven myths, or historical fictions, surrounding the Spanish conquests in the Americas that are persistent, yet rooted in biased colonial sources. The history behind the construction of these myths is revealing and can shed light on people, events, and the various social, political, or cultural circumstances that led to their creation. Simultaneously, reliance on historical myths obscures other historical truths, like Indigenous and African participation in the Conquest of the Americas or the standardization of Spanish conquest procedures.

Early colonial writers thus decided what aspects of the Spanish Conquest mattered and chose to emphasize particular people and events over others. They likewise chose to present individuals and events in particular ways that were, for instance, shaped by religious ideology, political circumstances, or cultural traditions. Throughout his work, Restall attempts to redress this imbalance by considering Spanish colonial sources alongside Indigenous accounts, observing similarities and differences in their emphasis on, and interpretations of, the same historical events. What they emphasize and what they do not helps Restall provide a broader and more complete account of the Spanish Conquest: “We can compare the truths of the conquistadors to our truths about them, and as a result achieve a better understanding of the Conquest—even if that understanding does not pretend to be the truth in an absolute sense” (xvii).