Conquest of Mexico (Latin American Studies)

Introduction

The conquest of Mexico has fascinated the world for many generations. Most works have focused on the Spaniards’ defeat of the so-called Aztecs (or more properly, the Nahuas, and those who spoke the Nahuatl language, in particular those who inhabited the city of Tenochtitlan and dominated the Central Basin and surrounding areas). However, Spanish wars against the Maya and other groups have also received their share of attention. Until quite recently, classic works underscored European superiority, but in the second half of the 20th century, scholars’ approaches shifted dramatically. Presently, many scholars work on what they call the “New Conquest History,” meaning that they take indigenous agency seriously and recognize that although Cortés’s most famous deeds all occurred between 1519 and 1521, the conquest of Mexico actually took much longer than those dates imply. The conquest was an uneven process, with victory much more difficult for the Spaniards to achieve in isolated or remote areas. Everywhere cultural hegemony remained an elusive goal. In short, the “conquest of Mexico” no longer refers merely to the toppling of Moctezuma but to a much broader and more complex process. In this bibliography, for the sake of organization only, we categorize studies pertaining to the initial military invasion by the Spaniards in any one area as “the conquest” and the negotiations that continued in ensuing generations as “the aftermath of conquest.”

General Overviews

The story of the fall of the Aztec empire to a group of Spaniards led by Hernando Cortés has been the subject of many grand syntheses. On the eve of the Mexican-American War, William H. Prescott published his three-volume work (Prescott 1843), the central narrative of which has in many ways dominated the popular literature ever since. Reincarnations of that story of Western glory and native shame have appeared as recently as Thomas 1993 and Levy 2008. It subtly influences even brilliant scholarship that privileges the Western imagination (Gruzinski 1993). Hassig 1994 broke with the narrative, and Elliott 2006 moved away from traditional assumptions in important ways in a widely read work. Thus far only Townsend 2006 attempts to tell the whole story of the conquest from an indigenous perspective. Brienen and Jackson 2008 puts together a wide-ranging collection of short pieces, giving readers efficient access to the much more complex work on the subject by specialists in the late 20th and early 21st centuries—work that allows for more agency on the part of indigenous people. For an overview of the many types of native-language sources, see Lockhart, et al. 2007.

Brienen, Rebecca P., and Margaret A. Jackson, eds. Invasion and Transformation: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico. Boulder: University of Colorado Press, 2008.
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Provides a suggestive sampling of the high-quality work being done by scholars in the field.
Brienen, Rebecca P., and Margaret A. Jackson, eds. Invasion and Transformation: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico. Boulder: University of Colorado Press, 2008.
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Elliott, John. Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492–1830. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006.
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Only the first few chapters pertain directly to the conquest of Mexico, but they are well worth reading in that they contextualize all the events and thus demystify them.
Elliott, John. Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492–1830. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006.
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Gruzinski, Serge. The Conquest of Mexico: The Incorporation of Indian Societies into the Western World, 16th–18th Centuries. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1993.
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Probably the leading work in a subfield of literary theorists who have focused on the subtle cultural domination exerted by the West over indigenous peoples. Translated from the original French.
Gruzinski, Serge. The Conquest of Mexico: The Incorporation of Indian Societies into the Western World, 16th–18th Centuries. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1993.
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Hassig, Ross. Mexico and the Spanish Conquest. London and New York: Longman, 1994.
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In a crowded subfield, this remains the best study of the military history of the invasion.
Hassig, Ross. Mexico and the Spanish Conquest. London and New York: Longman, 1994.
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Levy, Buddy. Conquistador: Hernán Cortés, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs. New York: Bantam, 2008.
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A highly readable modernized version of what is essentially Prescott’s story.
Levy, Buddy. Conquistador: Hernán Cortés, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs. New York: Bantam, 2008.
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Lockhart, James, Lisa Sousa, and Stephanie Wood, eds. Sources and Methods for the Study of Postconquest Mesoamerican Ethnohistory. 2007.
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An invaluable guide for those seeking an overview of the types of native-language sources known to exist and the ways they have been studied thus far.
Lockhart, James, Lisa Sousa, and Stephanie Wood, eds. Sources and Methods for the Study of Postconquest Mesoamerican Ethnohistory. 2007.
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Prescott, William H. History of the Conquest of Mexico. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1843.
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A classic work republished dozens of times, most recently in a 2009 edition edited by J. H. Elliott.
Prescott, William H. History of the Conquest of Mexico. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1843.
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Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
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The author attempts to move beyond Prescott by taking greater account of the native perspective, but his own limited knowledge of that area causes that aspect of the work to fail.
Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
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Townsend, Camilla. Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.
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Though the book specifically treats the figure of Malinche, it also provides a narrative of the classic drama that diverges from prior accounts in that the indigenous peoples are consistently a point of reference.
Townsend, Camilla. Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.
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Textbooks

Virtually all textbooks on US and Latin American history treat the conquest of Mexico as an opening salvo. Teachers and researchers would do best to go the Latin American route if they are looking for more detail; however, even most of the Latin American history textbooks have completed their brief treatment of the subject by the end of the second chapter. See Burkholder and Johnson 2010 and Meyer, et al. 2011 for good examples. Of the standard textbooks, Martin and Wasserman 2008 gives the most thorough, highly contextualized treatment. Carmack, et al. 2007 and Kicza 2003 in their nontraditional textbooks, grounded in deep knowledge of the indigenous, lay out the most-helpful schemas for novices interested in the relevance of Native American actions to the events.

Burkholder, Mark, and Lyman Johnson. Colonial Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
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Because this text focuses on the colonial era, it provides a more in-depth treatment of the Mexican conquest than many books.
Burkholder, Mark, and Lyman Johnson. Colonial Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
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Carmack, Robert, Janine Gasco, and Gary H. Gossen, eds. The Legacy of Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007.
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Provides the grand sweep of Mesoamerican history, with the conquest appearing in the middle rather than as a launching pad.
Carmack, Robert, Janine Gasco, and Gary H. Gossen, eds. The Legacy of Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007.
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Kicza, John. Resilient Cultures: America’s Native Peoples Confront European Colonization, 1492–1800. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.
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The only comparative textbook, analyzing the conquest of Mexico alongside the conquest of each region of the Americas. Highly readable.
Kicza, John. Resilient Cultures: America’s Native Peoples Confront European Colonization, 1492–1800. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.
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Martin, Cheryl, and Mark Wasserman. Latin America and Its People. Vol. 1. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008.
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Because it focuses on the diversity of Latin America’s peoples, this textbook gives fuller treatment of Mexico’s native peoples before, during, and after the conquest than any other standard Latin American history text.
Martin, Cheryl, and Mark Wasserman. Latin America and Its People. Vol. 1. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008.
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Meyer, Michael, William Sherman, and Susan Deeds. The Course of Mexican History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
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Because it treats only Mexico, the book can allot more pages to the conquest than other texts. Recent updates have shifted the tone of a book that was a product of a much-earlier era.
Meyer, Michael, William Sherman, and Susan Deeds. The Course of Mexican History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
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Published Primary Sources

Because the meeting of Cortés and Moctezuma on the causeway and the other events of the conquest were of worldwide import, many firsthand testimonies have been published; today, many people learn about the conquest directly from these texts. It is thus important to understand which translations and editions are the most trustworthy. In some cases, different editions of the same work are so unlike each other (even their titles) that readers can become lost in the bibliography.

Spanish Texts

In Spanish, literally most accounts were written under the direct influence of the letters to Charles V written by Hernando Cortés during the course of the conquest, because they are the only extant documents produced during the events, as opposed to years later; see Cortés 1986 for a recent edition. For examples of texts subject to such influence, see Díaz del Castillo 1908–1916, Fuentes 1963, and López de Gómara 1964. Accounts by some churchmen were produced independently: for example, Durán 1994, Landa 1975, and Motolinía 1951. A crucial text from the northern reaches of New Spain (Núñez Cabeza de Vaca 2003) was written without any reference to events in Tenochtitlan, as were the descriptions of the invasion of Guatemala to the south (see Restall and Asselbergs 2007).

Cortés, Hernando. Letters from Mexico. Edited by Anthony Pagden. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986.
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The five letters to Charles V written during the conquest have been published dozens of times. This edition offers by far the best translation and explanatory notes. The introduction is a must-read even if you have access to another edition of the letters.
Cortés, Hernando. Letters from Mexico. Edited by Anthony Pagden. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986.
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Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain. 5 vols. Edited by Genaro García and translated by Alfred P. Maudslay. London: Hakluyt Society, 1908–1916.
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Bernal Díaz wrote the most colorful account. Maudslay’s English translation has never been surpassed, and numerous abridged versions have appeared. A translation that takes more liberties but is more modern and readable is J. M. Cohen’s, first published by Penguin in 1963. Translated from the original Spanish.
Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain. 5 vols. Edited by Genaro García and translated by Alfred P. Maudslay. London: Hakluyt Society, 1908–1916.
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Durán, Fray Diego. The History of the Indies of New Spain. Edited by Doris Heyden. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
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Durán grew up with Nahuatl-speaking playmates during the years immediately after the conquest and used native informants as his sources. Doris Heyden’s is the only English translation. Translated from the original Spanish.
Durán, Fray Diego. The History of the Indies of New Spain. Edited by Doris Heyden. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
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Fuentes, Patricia, ed. The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. New York: Orion, 1963.
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Fuentes collected the texts of all the Europeans who claimed to have been present at the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Some are abridged. A student-friendly edition was published by University of Oklahoma Press in 1993.
Fuentes, Patricia, ed. The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. New York: Orion, 1963.
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Landa, Diego de. The Maya: Diego de Landa’s Account of the Affairs of Yucatán. Edited by Anthony Pagden. Chicago: J. P. O’Hara, 1975.
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Landa actually had very little to say about the conquest itself, but because he recorded notable ethnographic detail in his account, several editions are available. Translated from the original Spanish.
Landa, Diego de. The Maya: Diego de Landa’s Account of the Affairs of Yucatán. Edited by Anthony Pagden. Chicago: J. P. O’Hara, 1975.
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López de Gómara, Francisco. Cortés: The Life of the Conqueror by His Secretary. Edited by Lesley Byrd Simpson. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1964.
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Gómara never went to Mexico, but he worked closely with Cortés once he was back in Spain and had access to his notes when he wrote this book. Simpson’s translation and presentation have never been superseded. Translated from the original Spanish.
López de Gómara, Francisco. Cortés: The Life of the Conqueror by His Secretary. Edited by Lesley Byrd Simpson. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1964.
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Motolonía, Fray Toribio. History of the Indians of New Spain. Washington, DC: Academy of American Franciscan History, 1951.
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The friar whose real name was Toribio de Benevente wrote this account, which has traditionally been used by scholars studying the spread of Christianity after the conquest. Readers should look skeptically on his euphoric statements that thousands at a time converted. Translated from the original Spanish.
Motolonía, Fray Toribio. History of the Indians of New Spain. Washington, DC: Academy of American Franciscan History, 1951.
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Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar. The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca. Edited by Rolena Adorno and Patrick Charles Pautz. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
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There has been much recent interest in the figure of Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions. In the 1520s they were shipwrecked in the Gulf of Mexico and eventually walked down into northern Mexico, where the Spaniards were engaged in a war of conquest. Of the several editions available, this one is the best.
Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar. The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca. Edited by Rolena Adorno and Patrick Charles Pautz. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
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Restall, Matthew, and Florine Asselbergs, eds. Invading Guatemala: Spanish, Nahua and Maya Accounts of the Conquest Wars. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007.
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Though this collection also includes the accounts of Nahuas and Mayas, it places most prominently the 1524 letters of Pedro de Alvarado to Hernando Cortés as he ventured south. The publication of this book demonstrates the burgeoning interest in studies of the conquest that go beyond the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
Restall, Matthew, and Florine Asselbergs, eds. Invading Guatemala: Spanish, Nahua and Maya Accounts of the Conquest Wars. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007.
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Indigenous Texts

In Nahuatl, the longest and best-known account of the conquest was Book 12 of the “Florentine Codex,” which consisted of the memories of elders written down by aides working for the Franciscan friars. This text forms the backbone of most publications of the Indian view of conquest, as seen in this section; see Léon Portilla 1962, Lockhart 1993, and Restall, et al. 2005. Translations vary significantly and have been assessed in the individual commentaries. For example, in what is probably the best-known edition (Léon Portilla 1962), the title phrase “Broken Spears” reflects an inaccurate translation and should actually read “Broken Bones.” Readers must understand that after the conquest, the indigenous wrote not with pictoglyphs, but rather phonetically in their own language by sounding it out using the Roman alphabet they had been taught by the friars. Most such texts were produced in Nahuatl, the Aztec language (see Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin 1997, Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin 2010, and Zapata y Mendoza 1995), but there are representative documents in other languages as well (Restall, et al. 2005; Scholes and Roys 1948; and Tedlock 2010). Numerous indigenous or indigenous-identified mestizos also wrote about the conquest in Spanish, the most notable example being Ixtlilxochitl. (Ixtlilxochitl 1969).

Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, Don Domingo Francisco. Codex Chimalpahin. 2 vols. Edited by Arthur J. O. Anderson, Susan Schroeder, and Wayne Ruwet. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
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An early-17th-century indigenous historian keeping traditional Nahuatl annals included extensive materials about the period of conquest.
Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, Don Domingo Francisco. Codex Chimalpahin. 2 vols. Edited by Arthur J. O. Anderson, Susan Schroeder, and Wayne Ruwet. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
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Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, Don Domingo Francisco. Chimalpahin’s Conquest: A Nahua Historian’s Rewriting of Francisco López de Gómara’s “La Conquista de México.” Edited by Susan Schroeder, Anne J. Cruz, Cristián Roa-de-la-Carrera, and David Tavárez. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010.
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In the very early 17th century, an indigenous historian living in Mexico City read López de Gómara’s book (see Spanish Texts) and translated it into Nahuatl, annotating as he went.
Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, Don Domingo Francisco. Chimalpahin’s Conquest: A Nahua Historian’s Rewriting of Francisco López de Gómara’s “La Conquista de México.” Edited by Susan Schroeder, Anne J. Cruz, Cristián Roa-de-la-Carrera, and David Tavárez. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010.
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Ixtlilxochitl, Don Fernando de Alva. Ally of Cortés: Account 13, of the Coming of the Spaniards and the Beginning of the Evangelical Law. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1969.
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Ixtlilxochitl was a wealthy mestizo who wrote in Spanish in the early 17th century; nevertheless, he spoke Nahuatl, identified as a Nahua, and clearly had access to community elders with long memories. Most of his works pertain to preconquest history and have been translated into French but rarely English. This segment on the arrival of the Spaniards is to date (2011) the only piece available in English.
Ixtlilxochitl, Don Fernando de Alva. Ally of Cortés: Account 13, of the Coming of the Spaniards and the Beginning of the Evangelical Law. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1969.
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Léon Portilla, Miguel, ed. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Boston: Beacon, 1962.
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This classic work became an international bestseller when it appeared in Spanish in 1959 as La Visión de los Vencidos. It includes various indigenous writings on the conquest, unfortunately not always distinguished. Spanish 17th-century writings were treated as the equivalent of 16th-century eyewitness reports in Nahuatl.
Léon Portilla, Miguel, ed. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Boston: Beacon, 1962.
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Lockhart, James, ed. We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.
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This work provides state-of-the-art translations of all texts written in their own language by Nahuas, who survived the conquest. It includes some of the same texts as Léon Portilla 1959 but without elision and with full accuracy.
Lockhart, James, ed. We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.
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Restall, Matthew, Lisa Sousa, and Kevin Terraciano, eds. Mesoamerican Voices: Native-Language Writings from Colonial Mexico, Oaxaca, Yucatan and Guatemala. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
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This collection of documents translated from Nahua, Maya, and Mixtec includes Lockhart’s translation of some of the conquest accounts (see Lockhart 1993, this section) as well as legal records dating from not long after the conquest. Perfect for classroom use.
Restall, Matthew, Lisa Sousa, and Kevin Terraciano, eds. Mesoamerican Voices: Native-Language Writings from Colonial Mexico, Oaxaca, Yucatan and Guatemala. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
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Scholes, France, and Ralph L. Roys. The Maya Chontal Indians of Acalan-Tixchel. Washington, DC: Carnegie Institute of Washington, 1948.
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Includes as an appendix a long and rich account by Acalan Mayas of the violent passage of Cortés through their kingdom on his way to Honduras; it was here that the Spaniards executed Cuauhtemoc.
Scholes, France, and Ralph L. Roys. The Maya Chontal Indians of Acalan-Tixchel. Washington, DC: Carnegie Institute of Washington, 1948.
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Tedlock, Dennis. 2000 Years of Mayan Literature. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010.
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One of the field’s leading experts on Mayan texts guides readers through the longue durée. Some of the material pertains directly to the conquest and to Diego de Landa (see Spanish Texts).
Tedlock, Dennis. 2000 Years of Mayan Literature. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010.
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Zapata y Mendoza, Juan Buenaventura. Historia cronológica de la Noble Ciudad de Tlaxcala. Edited by Luis Reyes García and Andrea Martínez Baracs. Tlaxcala, Mexico: Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, 1995.
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Few of the historical Nahuatl annals kept by indigenous people (other than Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin 1997 and Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin 2010), are known to readers today. This text is one of the most deserving of our attention, certainly the longest, and contains several descriptions of the arrival of the Spaniards that reveal details found nowhere else. In Spanish only.
Zapata y Mendoza, Juan Buenaventura. Historia cronológica de la Noble Ciudad de Tlaxcala. Edited by Luis Reyes García and Andrea Martínez Baracs. Tlaxcala, Mexico: Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, 1995.
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The Debate on Causes

Scholars do not agree on why the conquest occurred: this scholarly disagreement is found not only in Mexico but also throughout the Americas. For many decades, European superiority was taken for granted as the explanation. In the 1970s and 1980s a more relativistic attitude emerged among scholars, but it was still assumed that indigenous culture, although equally as valuable as European culture, had left the people tradition bound and vulnerable (see Todorov 1984, and for a critique, Clendinnen 1991). In the 1990s some scholars began to appreciate the significance of the fact that greater advances in technology stemmed not from differences in intelligence but from the length of time a sedentary farming lifestyle had been prevalent in a region. These scholars asserted that the issue of technology should not be treated as a taboo subject, but as a significant factor. (see Diamond 1997, and on Mexico specifically, Townsend 2003). Others, in the meantime, focused on the myriad ways the indigenous did exercise power (see especially Restall 2003), despite their ultimate losses—the explanation being largely left to contingency. Throughout, the specific question of whether the indigenous gave up because they perceived the Spanish to be gods has remained vibrant in all the works mentioned here. Gillespie 1989 demonstrates that the idea of the Nahuas awaiting the return of the god called Quetzalcoatl was a construct of the latter part of the 16th century, and Fernández-Armesto 1992 demonstrated that most of the omens later touted were actually inspired by classical sources known to the writers.

Clendinnen, Inga. “Fierce and Unnatural Cruelty: Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico.” Representations 33 (1991): 65–100.
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Clendinnen places Aztec culture at the heart of her analysis of causes, without any condescension and with a great deal of actual knowledge.
Clendinnen, Inga. “Fierce and Unnatural Cruelty: Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico.” Representations 33 (1991): 65–100.
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Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997.
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Section 2 is a must-read for scholars interested in the debate on causes. Despite Diamond’s Pulitzer Prize and wide acclaim, many scholars have dismissed him—but usually without having carefully read his section on the reasons farming became a full-time activity several millennia earlier in the Old World than in the New World.
Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997.
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Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. “Aztec Auguries and Memories of the Conquest of Mexico.” Renaissance Studies 6 (1992): 287–305.
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A great thinker chimes in on an aspect of the explanation for the conquest.
Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. “Aztec Auguries and Memories of the Conquest of Mexico.” Renaissance Studies 6 (1992): 287–305.
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Gillespie, Susan. The Aztec Kings: The Construction of Rulership in Mexica History. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1989.
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Much of this anthropological work is of limited interest to historians, because it focuses on structural elements of the Aztec imagination, but the author’s careful study of the gradual emergence of the Quetzalcoatl story over the course of the 16th century is considered definitive.
Gillespie, Susan. The Aztec Kings: The Construction of Rulership in Mexica History. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1989.
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Restall, Matthew. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
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A fine study of the many myths that have dominated studies of the conquest of Mexico. The author does not merely trace myths but also substitutes verified facts.
Restall, Matthew. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
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Todorov, Tzvetan. The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other. New York: Harper & Row, 1984.
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This book was beloved for years and has appeared in several editions and languages. It struck a chord in its time and allowed readers to be “multicultural” and respectful of the indigenous without challenging long-held notions that indigenous culture produced people who were less rational and proactive than Europeans.
Todorov, Tzvetan. The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other. New York: Harper & Row, 1984.
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Townsend, Camilla. “Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico.” American Historical Review 108 (2003): 659–687.
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This article is addressed to historians who are not specialists in Mexican history. The author outlines the debate and offers some conclusions.
Townsend, Camilla. “Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico.” American Historical Review 108 (2003): 659–687.
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The Conquistadors

This topic has been less than fashionable of late, but it remains important nonetheless. All treatments of the conquistadors revolve around Hernando Cortés. Madariaga 1941 dominated the literature for decades, but Martínez 1990 and then Miralles 2002 finally changed that, at least for readers of Spanish. Innes 1969 became a classic text due to its stunning visual representation of the world of the conquistadors. The best scholarship on this subject has assessed the ways in which the conquistadors, not only Cortés but also the famous Bernal Díaz, positioned themselves in their writings (see Adorno 1992, Brooks 1995, and Elliott 1986). For those seeking information about specific individuals who participated in the conquest, Himmerich y Valencia 1991 and also Thomas 2000 are valuable references.

Adorno, Rolena. “The Discursive Encounter of Spain and America: The Authority of Eye Witness Testimony in the Writing of History.” William & Mary Quarterly 49 (1992): 210–228.
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The best entrée into the debate about the role of Bernal Díaz in the conquest and the use he made of it.
Adorno, Rolena. “The Discursive Encounter of Spain and America: The Authority of Eye Witness Testimony in the Writing of History.” William & Mary Quarterly 49 (1992): 210–228.
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Brooks, Francis. “Motecuzoma Xocoyotl, Hernán Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo: The Construction of an Arrest.” Hispanic American Historical Review 75 (1995): 164–191.
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An important article demonstrating that the conquistadors probably lied about placing Moctezuma under house arrest as soon as they entered the city and explaining why they would have done so.
Brooks, Francis. “Motecuzoma Xocoyotl, Hernán Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo: The Construction of an Arrest.” Hispanic American Historical Review 75 (1995): 164–191.
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Elliott, John. “Introduction.” In Hernán Cortés: Letters from Mexico. By Hernán Cortés; translated and edited by Anthony Pagden. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986.
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Absolutely the best short explanation of the tactics employed by Cortés in his letters to the Crown. A must-read for anyone making use of the letters.
Elliott, John. “Introduction.” In Hernán Cortés: Letters from Mexico. By Hernán Cortés; translated and edited by Anthony Pagden. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986.
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Himmerich y Valencia, Robert. The Encomenderos of New Spain, 1521–1555. Austin: University of Texas, 1991.
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Every conqueror of the first and second wave who received an encomienda is detailed here. Based on extraordinarily thorough research.
Himmerich y Valencia, Robert. The Encomenderos of New Spain, 1521–1555. Austin: University of Texas, 1991.
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Innes, Hammond. The Conquistadors. New York: Knopf, 1969.
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This book still holds its own as a synthesis of the story of Cortés and his cohort. It includes an excellent collection of powerful images, and because so many copies were printed, it is still widely available.
Innes, Hammond. The Conquistadors. New York: Knopf, 1969.
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Madariaga, Salvador. Hernán Cortés, Conqueror of Mexico. New York: Macmillan, 1941.
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First appearing in English, this biography was reissued dozens of times in both English and Spanish in many countries.
Madariaga, Salvador. Hernán Cortés, Conqueror of Mexico. New York: Macmillan, 1941.
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Martínez, José Luis. Hernán Cortés. Mexico City: Universidad Autónoma de México, 1990.
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Based on more detailed research than Madariaga’s book. Available only in Spanish.
Martínez, José Luis. Hernán Cortés. Mexico City: Universidad Autónoma de México, 1990.
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Miralles Ostos, Juan. Hernán Cortés: Inventor de México. Mexico City: Turquets Editores, 2002.
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Written in a more politically sensitive era than the earlier biographies, this study frames Cortés as a forger of a multiracial modern world rather than as a conqueror; it still lionizes its protagonist, however. In Spanish.
Miralles Ostos, Juan. Hernán Cortés: Inventor de México. Mexico City: Turquets Editores, 2002.
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Thomas, Hugh. Who’s Who of the Conquistadors. London: Cassell, 2000.
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A good reference work for those pursuing individual conquistadors.
Thomas, Hugh. Who’s Who of the Conquistadors. London: Cassell, 2000.
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Indigenous Experiences

Studies of the roles that the indigenous played in the conquest currently (2011) constitute a rich and growing field. The Nahuas of central Mexico left us the richest written sources to work with, and therefore, probing research on the ways they understood what happened has been possible (see Gibson 1952, Schroeder 2010, and Wood 2003). Yet the literature has not been dominated by the Central Basin but includes valuable works on the Maya such as Cecil and Pughes 2009, Clendinnen 1987, Jones 1998, and Restall 1998, as well as works on other regions that proved difficult for the Spanish to conquer (see Altman 2010). A number of scholars have focused on the ways in which indigenous allies of the Spanish played determining roles. An anthology of some of their contributions is found in Matthew and Oudijk 2007.

Altman, Ida. The War for Mexico’s West: Indians and Spaniards in New Galicia, 1524–1550. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2010.
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The Mixton War has been known for years as being what prevented Cortés and his peers from completing their conquest of Mexico. Before this book, no one had studied this war in any real depth.
Altman, Ida. The War for Mexico’s West: Indians and Spaniards in New Galicia, 1524–1550. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2010.
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Cecil, Leslie, and Timothy Pughes, eds. Maya Worldviews at Conquest. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2009.
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The editors of this anthology attempt to add richness and depth to our conception of what was likely in the minds of the Maya in their earliest experiences with the Spaniards.
Cecil, Leslie, and Timothy Pughes, eds. Maya Worldviews at Conquest. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2009.
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Clendinnen, Inga. Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517–1570. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
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A classic work, recently reprinted, approaching events in the Yucatan from the multiple perspectives of the Franciscans, the encomenderos, and the different Maya communities.
Clendinnen, Inga. Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517–1570. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
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Gibson, Charles. Tlaxcala in the Sixteenth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1952.
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A classic work, reprinted by Stanford in 1967, demonstrating how much can be learned about indigenous perspectives on events from minute readings of sources in Spanish and Nahuatl.
Gibson, Charles. Tlaxcala in the Sixteenth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1952.
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Jones, Grant. The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998.
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A study of Itza-Spanish encounters, demonstrating that conquest was a long, drawn-out affair.
Jones, Grant. The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998.
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Matthew, Laura, and Michel Oudijk, eds. Indian Conquistadors: Indigenous Allies in the Conquest of Mesoamerica. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.
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A rich anthology including (but not limited to) the city-state of Tlaxcala, which played a crucial role in the conquest when it chose to fight with the Spaniards.
Matthew, Laura, and Michel Oudijk, eds. Indian Conquistadors: Indigenous Allies in the Conquest of Mesoamerica. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.
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Restall, Matthew. Maya Conquistador. Boston: Beacon, 1998.
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A study of the many different accounts of conquest penned by Mayas during the colonial period. Demonstrates that they were not pure victims but made the best of the events that befell them.
Restall, Matthew. Maya Conquistador. Boston: Beacon, 1998.
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Schroeder, Susan, ed. The Conquest All Over Again: Nahuas and Zapotecs Thinking, Writing, and Painting Spanish Colonialism. Brighton, UK: Sussex Academic Press, 2010.
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An anthology of articles about the many Nahuas (and some Zapotecs) who wrote or painted their reflections on the conquest or on life under the Spaniards.
Schroeder, Susan, ed. The Conquest All Over Again: Nahuas and Zapotecs Thinking, Writing, and Painting Spanish Colonialism. Brighton, UK: Sussex Academic Press, 2010.
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Wood, Stephanie. Transcending Conquest: Nahua Views of Spanish Colonial Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2003.
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This work treats the entire colonial era, but the earliest chapters delve into the Nahuas’ conflicting memories of the conquest itself.
Wood, Stephanie. Transcending Conquest: Nahua Views of Spanish Colonial Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2003.
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Women’s Experiences

The concomitant rise of the fields of women’s history and the history of indigenous peoples has yielded many recent works on native women in the conquest and in colonial Mexico. Some, such as Powers 2005, have emphasized the loss and desolation they experienced. Kellogg 2005 and Schroeder, et al. 1997 emphasize resilience and continuity. Still others, such as Socolow 2000, have simply attempted to incorporate them as equal figures in a wider account of all women’s activities. Yet we must not imagine that an interest in women in the conquest is entirely recent or comes only from women historians in the United States. Octavio Paz (in Paz 1961) wrote of the huge psychological significance the rape of indigenous women during the conquest had on the collective psyche of posterity. Mexican theorists and others have spent decades engaging with him, as discussed in Gallo 2010. See also Malinche / Doña Marina.

Gallo, Rubén. Freud’s Mexico. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010.
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Contains an excellent discussion of responses over time to Octavio Paz’s assertion (see below) that Mexico has been profoundly affected by consciousness of the rape of indigenous women.
Gallo, Rubén. Freud’s Mexico. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010.
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Kellogg, Susan. Weaving the Past: A History of Latin American Indigenous Women from the Pre-Hispanic Period to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
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Although Kellogg sees indigenous women’s stature as having been eroded under the Spanish, she nevertheless writes a history of resilience. Mexican women are treated together with other Latin American indigenous women.
Kellogg, Susan. Weaving the Past: A History of Latin American Indigenous Women from the Pre-Hispanic Period to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
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Paz, Octavio. The Labyrinth of Solitude. New York: Grove Press, 1961.
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This classic has been published dozens of times in a number of countries and languages. The earlier sections specifically treat Mexican notions of Malinche and other native women who were bent to the conquistadors’ will. Translated from the original Spanish.
Paz, Octavio. The Labyrinth of Solitude. New York: Grove Press, 1961.
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Powers, Karen Vieira. Women in the Crucible of Conquest: The Gendered Genesis of Spanish-American Society, 1500–1600. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.
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Powers documents the many ways in which women suffered the brunt of the conquest not only in Mexico but throughout Latin America.
Powers, Karen Vieira. Women in the Crucible of Conquest: The Gendered Genesis of Spanish-American Society, 1500–1600. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.
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Schroeder, Susan, Stephanie Wood, and Robert Haskett, eds. Indian Women of Early Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
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This anthology includes a sampling of pieces by the leading scholars researching in this area, most of whom document cultural survivalism.
Schroeder, Susan, Stephanie Wood, and Robert Haskett, eds. Indian Women of Early Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
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Socolow, Susan. The Women of Colonial Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
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Not limited to indigenous women, this work nevertheless places them at center stage in its account of colonial Latin American women’s history, at least in the earlier sections on conquest.
Socolow, Susan. The Women of Colonial Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
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Malinche / Doña Marina

Malinche, the indigenous woman who translated for Hernando Cortés, has been a central figure in many writings about the conquest, whether approached from the point of view of the Spanish, the indigenous peoples, or women in general. Her reputation in Mexico began to sink after independence, as exemplified in Varela 1999, the novel by Félix Varela originally published in 1824. There is an extensive literature on the shifting image of Malinche. An excellent entrée is Cypess 1991, but see also Barjau 2009. Only more recently have scholars attempted to tell the story from her own point of view, acknowledging the complexities of her situation. See Lanyon 1999 and especially Karttunen 1994 and Townsend 2006. With facts at their disposal, theorists have begun the work of doing comparative history, an example being Scully 2005.

Barjau, Luis. La Conquista de la Malinche. Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2009.
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Since the early 19th century, works purporting to be biographies of Malinche have appeared regularly in Mexico. This is the most recent and probably the best, including a study of her life and the imaginary version of her life. In Spanish only.
Barjau, Luis. La Conquista de la Malinche. Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2009.
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Cypess, Sandra Messinger. La Malinche in Mexican Literature: From History to Myth. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991.
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This work is not about Malinche herself but about the use that has been made of her image, beginning at the time of conquest and continuing to the 21st century. The positive image of her prevalent in the colonial period gives way to the sneaky “traitor” more familiar to us in modern times.
Cypess, Sandra Messinger. La Malinche in Mexican Literature: From History to Myth. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991.
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Karttunen, Frances. Between Worlds: Interpreters, Guides and Survivors. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994.
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This collection of short biographies includes a chapter on Malinche, placing her in the context of other native women go-betweens (currently a popular topic) throughout the Americas in the era of conquest.
Karttunen, Frances. Between Worlds: Interpreters, Guides and Survivors. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994.
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Lanyon, Anna. Malinche’s Conquest. St. Leonards, Australia: Allen and Unwin, 1999.
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A fascinating travel narrative, in which the author follows the paths trodden by Malinche. Highly readable.
Lanyon, Anna. Malinche’s Conquest. St. Leonards, Australia: Allen and Unwin, 1999.
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Scully, Pamela. “Malintzin, Pocahontas, and Krotoa: Indigenous Women and Myth Models of the Atlantic World.” Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History 6 (2005).
DOI: 10.1353/cch.2006.0022Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Launches us in the direction of critical analysis of Malinche, taking us beyond Mexico and placing her on the world stage. Comparative work has thus far been rare, but this article may well mark a turning point. Available online only, by subscription.
Scully, Pamela. “Malintzin, Pocahontas, and Krotoa: Indigenous Women and Myth Models of the Atlantic World.” Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History 6 (2005).
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Townsend, Camilla. Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.
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To date (2011) this is the only full biography of Malinche based solely on detailed research in Spanish and Nahuatl sources and fully committed to the avoidance of anachronistic assumptions.
Townsend, Camilla. Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.
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Varela, Félix. Xicoténcatl: An Anonymous Historical Novel about the Events Leading up to the Conquest of the Aztec Empire. Edited by Guillermo Castillo-Feliú. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999.
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This work appeared in the earliest years of independence and became a model for the fictional treatment of the conquest in Mexico in the future. Native women, and especially Malinche, were vilified. Translated from the original Spanish.
Varela, Félix. Xicoténcatl: An Anonymous Historical Novel about the Events Leading up to the Conquest of the Aztec Empire. Edited by Guillermo Castillo-Feliú. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999.
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Africans in the Era of Conquest

The study of people of African descent in Latin America is presently a burgeoning field. Most of the literature is only tangentially related to the original conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, but there are some notable exceptions. Studies such as Palmer 1976 or Bennett 2009 have assumed that the African experience is directly tied to the inception of New Spain in blood and conquest. Others such as Restall 2005 have tried to trace actual interactions between indigenous people and African people in the early generations. The first man of African descent who explored the Americas and about whom we know a great deal was “Esteban,” a Moor who accompanied Cabeza de Vaca (see Adorno 2003).

Adorno, Rolena. “Introduction.” In The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca. Edited by Rolena Adorno and Patrick Charles Pautz, 1–37. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
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The enslaved North African known as “Esteban” is the only black conquistador in Mexico whose name and life history we know something of. The author introduces us to the primary source text in which he figures prominently. This work will direct readers to the author’s more complete three-volume study.
Adorno, Rolena. “Introduction.” In The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca. Edited by Rolena Adorno and Patrick Charles Pautz, 1–37. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
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Bennett, Herman. Colonial Blackness: A History of Afro-Mexico. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009.
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The author is interested in the interior lives of Africans in the Americas, and thus the inception of the society in which they lived is highly relevant. He is especially interested in the ways his subjects used Christianity, supposedly the religion of conquest, to forge their own identities and lives.
Bennett, Herman. Colonial Blackness: A History of Afro-Mexico. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009.
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Palmer, Colin. Slaves of the White God: Blacks in Mexico, 1570–1650. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976.
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A classic that helped launch the field.
Palmer, Colin. Slaves of the White God: Blacks in Mexico, 1570–1650. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976.
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Restall, Matthew, ed. Beyond Black and Red: African-Native Relations in Colonial Latin America. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.
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This anthology faces the reality that in certain other areas, such as Florida, Africans were a crucial component of the military success of the Spanish conquest. Four articles included in the collection trace the complex relations between Africans and the Nahuas and Mayas in the early Mexican colony.
Restall, Matthew, ed. Beyond Black and Red: African-Native Relations in Colonial Latin America. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.
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Aftermath

The consensus view among scholars is that the conquest, in effect, took many generations for the Spanish to accomplish. Thus, perhaps the works treating the military phase of conquest in the 16th century and those that treat the long-term cultural consequences should not be separated. For organizational purposes, however, we have chosen to do so. Over the years, scholars have refined their understanding of the colonial experiences of Nahuatl speakers of the Central Basin (see Gibson 1964 and Lockhart 1992) and of the Maya (Farriss 1984, Jones 1989, and Restall 1997), and most recently they have begun to move beyond, to the study of people of other language groups (Terraciano 2001, for example). Other historians have focused on the evolution of indigenous relations with Spaniards in particular locales (see Local Studies for some fine examples). All of these works, both broad based and regional, treat political, social, and cultural relations, including religious pressures, though some, such as Ruiz Medrano and Kellogg 2010, do explicitly prioritize the political realm. A distinct subfield (see Studies of Religions), on the other hand, delves into the question of the meaning of the indigenous people’s conversion to Catholicism throughout Mexico.

Farriss, Nancy. Maya Society under Colonial Rule: The Collective Enterprise of Survival. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
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A classic work and the first to challenge the understanding of the Mayas as pure victims.
Farriss, Nancy. Maya Society under Colonial Rule: The Collective Enterprise of Survival. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
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Gibson, Charles. The Aztecs under Spanish Rule. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1964.
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Though he could not use Nahuatl-language sources, Gibson nevertheless wrote the book that changed the field, proving that Mexican history could (and should) be written with the indigenous at center stage.
Gibson, Charles. The Aztecs under Spanish Rule. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1964.
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Jones, Grant. Maya Resistance to Spanish Rule: Time and History on a Colonial Frontier. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1989.
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This book makes an excellent pairing with Farriss 1984 (above), demonstrating active resistance on the part of the Maya.
Jones, Grant. Maya Resistance to Spanish Rule: Time and History on a Colonial Frontier. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1989.
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Lockhart, James. The Nahuas after the Conquest. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1992.
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After decades of studying Nahuatl-language sources, Lockhart produced the definitive study of indigenous life in central Mexico during the colonial era. His work launched a subfield of inquiry often known as the “New Philology.” See Indigenous Texts.
Lockhart, James. The Nahuas after the Conquest. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1992.
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Restall, Matthew. The Maya World: Yucatec Culture and Society, 1550–1850. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997.
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Restall used extensive native-language sources and thus brought work on the Maya up to date with ongoing work on the Nahuas.
Restall, Matthew. The Maya World: Yucatec Culture and Society, 1550–1850. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997.
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Ruiz Medrano, Ethelia, and Susan Kellogg, eds. Negotiation within Domination: New Spain’s Indian Pueblos Confront the Spanish State. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2010.
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This recent edited collection highlights continuing research into indigenous efforts to defend their communities in the aftermath of conquest.
Ruiz Medrano, Ethelia, and Susan Kellogg, eds. Negotiation within Domination: New Spain’s Indian Pueblos Confront the Spanish State. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2010.
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Terraciano, Kevin. The Mixtecs of Colonial Oaxaca: Ňudzahui History, Sixteenth through Eighteenth Centuries. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001.
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Terraciano’s use of Mixtec-language sources extends scholarship to new frontiers.
Terraciano, Kevin. The Mixtecs of Colonial Oaxaca: Ňudzahui History, Sixteenth through Eighteenth Centuries. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001.
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Local Studies

In recent decades scholars have illuminated the nature of conquest by studying specific local areas over time. The best of these have relied on both Spanish and indigenous sources. Horn 1997 and Martínez Baracs 2008 explore the early interactions between natives and newcomers, while others (such as Haskett 2005) study shifting communal memories and understandings of the process of conquest. Recently, Oaxaca has been the subject of much vigorous study. See, for example, Oudijk 2000 and Yannakakis 2008.

Haskett, Robert. Visions of Paradise: Primordial Titles and Mesoamerican History in Cuernavaca. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005.
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Later colonial documents written in Nahuatl reveal the people’s sense of themselves and collective memory of conquest.
Haskett, Robert. Visions of Paradise: Primordial Titles and Mesoamerican History in Cuernavaca. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005.
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Horn, Rebecca. Postconquest Coyoacan: Nahua-Spanish Relations in Central Mexico, 1519–1650. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997.
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Using both Spanish and Nahuatl sources, Horn is able to demonstrate the nature of the often-complex interplay between natives and newcomers.
Horn, Rebecca. Postconquest Coyoacan: Nahua-Spanish Relations in Central Mexico, 1519–1650. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997.
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Martínez Baracs, Andrea. Un gobierno de indios: Tlaxcala, 1519–1750. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultural Económica, 2008.
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Use of Nahuatl language sources reveals how much more can be learned about the inner workings of the important ethnic state of Tlaxcala, which played a crucial role in the conquest. A number of Mexican scholars have produced high-quality community studies for other regions. In Spanish only.
Martínez Baracs, Andrea. Un gobierno de indios: Tlaxcala, 1519–1750. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultural Económica, 2008.
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Oudijk, Michel. Historiography of the Bénizáa: The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods. Leiden, The Netherlands: Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies, Universiteit Leiden, 2000.
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Represents some of the best work from Europe, relying on pre-Columbian as well as colonial-era alphabetic texts—in this case, in the Oaxaca region.
Oudijk, Michel. Historiography of the Bénizáa: The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods. Leiden, The Netherlands: Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies, Universiteit Leiden, 2000.
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Yannakakis, Yanna. The Art of Being In-Between: Native Intermediaries, Indian Identity and Local Rule in Colonial Oaxaca. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008.
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Though primarily a study of the long 18th century, this work skillfully situates local interactions in the broader context of long-term conquest.
Yannakakis, Yanna. The Art of Being In-Between: Native Intermediaries, Indian Identity and Local Rule in Colonial Oaxaca. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008.
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Studies of Religion

Ricard 1982 (originally published in 1933) laid the groundwork for studies of religion in the conquest of Mexico. Work quarreling with his notion of a “spiritual conquest” of indigenous people crystallized in the now-classic Burkhart 1989. Since then, besides the work of historians (for example, Osowski 2010), we have seen important contributions by literary scholars (Díaz Balsera 2005) and art historians (Lara 2008 and Wake 2010). There is clear consensus among scholars that the integration of Christianity into indigenous life is by no means proof of a spiritual conquest.

Burkhart, Louise. The Slippery Earth: Nahua-Christian Moral Dialogue in Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1989.
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A vitally important work demonstrating beyond doubt that the Nahuas’ understanding of Christianity was different and more complex than had often been believed.
Burkhart, Louise. The Slippery Earth: Nahua-Christian Moral Dialogue in Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1989.
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Díaz Balsera, Vivian. The Pyramid under the Cross: Franciscan Discourses of Evangelization and the Nahua Christian Subject in Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2005.
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Represents the valuable contributions of literary scholars to our increasingly complex understanding of native-Spanish interactions regarding religion.
Díaz Balsera, Vivian. The Pyramid under the Cross: Franciscan Discourses of Evangelization and the Nahua Christian Subject in Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2005.
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Lara, Jaime. Christian Texts for Aztecs: Art and Liturgy in Colonial Mexico. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008.
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A widely cited recent work bringing art history into the debate on religion in colonial Mexico.
Lara, Jaime. Christian Texts for Aztecs: Art and Liturgy in Colonial Mexico. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008.
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Osowski, Edward. Indigenous Miracles: Nahua Authority in Colonial Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2010.
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The author argues that indigenous acceptance of Christianity, far from demonstrating the nature of conquest, was actually a tool useful in gaining and holding power.
Osowski, Edward. Indigenous Miracles: Nahua Authority in Colonial Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2010.
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Ricard, Robert. The Spiritual Conquest of Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982.
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Established the idea that the Spaniards had obliterated the religious identities of the indigenous: it took decades for scholars to deconstruct this myth. Translated from the original French volume, La conquête spirituelle du Mexique, published in 1933.
Ricard, Robert. The Spiritual Conquest of Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982.
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Wake, Eleanor. Framing the Sacred: The Indian Churches of Early Colonial Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2010.
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Demonstrates how the early churches built by indigenous workers and artisans were products of their own preexisting cultural beliefs as well as Christian teachings.
Wake, Eleanor. Framing the Sacred: The Indian Churches of Early Colonial Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2010.
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Pictorials and Visual Culture

The Lienzo de Tlaxcala is the best known of indigenous pictorial representations of conquest. Excellent studies including reproductions of the images are García Quintana and Martínez Marín 1983 and Mesolore. Recently, influenced by Boone 2000, another type of study has taken center stage: art historians (such as Diel 2008, Douglas 2010, and Leibsohn 2009) are now looking at a wide variety of other early colonial indigenous-produced images—not merely representations of the actual invasion—to consider what they reveal about cultural shifts induced by conquest as well as cultural survivalism, in mixed degrees. Other scholars such as Mundy 1996 and Peterson 1993 have worked on the complex cultural interactions visible in the material culture produced in the postconquest era. A theoretical treatment of that issue is Dean and Leibsohn 2003.

Boone, Elizabeth Hill. Stories in Red and Black: Pictorial Histories of the Aztecs and Mixtecs. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000.
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The leading overview of the subject. A must-read for anyone planning to consult or teach Aztec pictorials, as it places Mesoamerican visual references in full context.
Boone, Elizabeth Hill. Stories in Red and Black: Pictorial Histories of the Aztecs and Mixtecs. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000.
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Dean, Carolyn Sue, and Dana Leibsohn. “Hybridity and Its Discontents: Considering Visual Culture in Spanish America.” Colonial Latin American Review 12.1 (June 2003): 5–35.
DOI: 10.1080/10609160302341Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors argue that we make a mistake to seek “Indian” and “Spanish” influence or traces of identity in postconquest visual culture. The reality was that multiple elements were internalized in indigenous artisans, for example.
Dean, Carolyn Sue, and Dana Leibsohn. “Hybridity and Its Discontents: Considering Visual Culture in Spanish America.” Colonial Latin American Review 12.1 (June 2003): 5–35.
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Diel, Lori Boornazian. The Tira de Tepechpan: Negotiating Place under Aztec and Spanish Rule. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2008.
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A detailed study of a typical Nahua timeline, in which the Spanish conquest is envisioned as only one event in an ongoing stream. These historical annals make an interesting counterpoint to alphabetic texts listed under Published Primary Sources.
Diel, Lori Boornazian. The Tira de Tepechpan: Negotiating Place under Aztec and Spanish Rule. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2008.
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Douglas, Edouard de J. In the Palace of Nezahualcoyotl: Painting Manuscripts, Writing the Pre-Hispanic Past in Early Colonial Period Tetzcoco, Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010.
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A careful and pictorially lavish study of the Nahua city-state, which produced more early colonial pictorials than any other.
Douglas, Edouard de J. In the Palace of Nezahualcoyotl: Painting Manuscripts, Writing the Pre-Hispanic Past in Early Colonial Period Tetzcoco, Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010.
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García Quintana, Josefina, and Carlos Martínez Marín, eds. El Lienzo de Tlaxcala. Mexico City: Cartón y Papel de México, 1983.
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An excellent reproduction of the images known as the “Lienzo de Tlaxcala,” with commentary, showing the arrival of Cortés in Tlaxcala and then his progress through Mexico with Tlaxcalan aid.
García Quintana, Josefina, and Carlos Martínez Marín, eds. El Lienzo de Tlaxcala. Mexico City: Cartón y Papel de México, 1983.
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Leibsohn, Dana. Script and Glyph: Pre-Hispanic History, Colonial Bookmaking and the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 2009.
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An exploration of what Nahua historians wanted known and remembered before conquest and after, the changing significance of the past.
Leibsohn, Dana. Script and Glyph: Pre-Hispanic History, Colonial Bookmaking and the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 2009.
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Mesolore.
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A website from Brown University designed for advanced teaching of Mesoamerican history. Includes a number of relevant pictorials, including a study of the Lienzo de Tlaxcala.
Mesolore.
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Mundy, Barbara. The Mapping of New Spain: Indigenous Cartography and the Maps of the Relaciones Geográficas. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1996.
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In response to a questionnaire sent out to local officials by the Spanish Crown, many indigenous peoples were drafted to produce maps of their local areas; the author explores their contributions to a project conceived and edited by Spaniards.
Mundy, Barbara. The Mapping of New Spain: Indigenous Cartography and the Maps of the Relaciones Geográficas. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1996.
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Peterson, Jeanette. Paradise Garden Murals of Malinalco: Utopia and Empire in Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993.
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With great sensitivity, the author explores the work of indigenous painters working for the Spanish Church.
Peterson, Jeanette. Paradise Garden Murals of Malinalco: Utopia and Empire in Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993.
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