Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

European colonial observers’ writings, like those of Bernal Díaz, have shaped the modern view of the Spanish Conquest of the Americas that took place between 1492 and approximately 1700. The conquistador, Hernán Cortés, is one of the most heroic and celebrated figures in the Conquest’s history, and the seven myths Matthew Restall highlights grew out of the legendary history centered on this historical figure. Restall assesses historical sources and addresses modern scholarly debates surrounding The Persistence of Historical Myths concerning the Conquest and their representations in art, film, and popular culture.

Modern analysis of Spanish and Indigenous primary sources from colonial Latin America provides new insight into the Conquest’s history. Restall argues that complete objectivity in historical analysis is impossible because subjectivity provides unique opportunities for insight into the ways culture and context shape memory and history. Subjectivity “can lead to genuine insight into an historical phenomenon such as the Spanish Conquest—and a better understanding of how such a phenomenon has been understood over the centuries” (xv).

The book’s first chapter interrogates the “myth of exceptional men” and centers upon three interconnected sub-myths. First is the notion that Europe’s “discovery” of the American continents was a remarkable feat of history.