Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

Posted on 20 May 2018 by Matthew Restall

Here is an intriguing exploration of the ways in which the history of the Spanish Conquest has been misread and passed down to become popular knowledge of these events The book offers a fresh account of the activities of the best known conquistadors and explorers, including Columbus, Cortes, and Pizarro.Using a wide array of sources, historian Matthew Restall highlights seven key myths, uncovering the source of the inaccuracies and exploding the fallacies and misconceptions behind each myth This vividly written and authoritative book shows, for instance, that native Americans did not take the conquistadors for gods and that small numbers of vastly outnumbered Spaniards did not bring down great empires with stunning rapidity We discover that Columbus was correctly seen in his lifetime and for decades after as a briefly fortunate but unexceptional participant in efforts involving many southern Europeans It was only much later that Columbus was portrayed as a great man who fought against the ignorance of his age to discover the new world Another popular misconception that the Conquistadors worked alone is shattered by the revelation that vast numbers of black and native allies joined them in a conflict that pitted native Americans against each other This and other factors, not the supposed superiority of the Spaniards, made conquests possible.The Conquest, Restall shows, was complex and fascinating than conventional histories have portrayed it Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest offers a richer and nuanced account of a key event in the history of the Americas. New Download Books Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest By Matthew Restall – kino-fada.fr This book was a very good analysis of commonly found misconceptions about the Conquest of America and the conquistadores, and very informative as well In it, the author goes through existing documentation and debunks the following myths 1 That the Conquest was the merit of exceptional Spaniards who single handedly brought down empires on their own.2 That the conquistadores were men of the King s Army, members of Spain s infantry and professional soldiers all.3 That every conquistador was whi This book was a very good analysis of commonly found misconceptions about the Conquest of America and the conquistadores, and very informative as well In it, the author goes through existing documentation and debunks the following myths 1 That the Conquest was the merit of exceptional Spaniards who single handedly brought down empires on their own.2 That the conquistadores were men of the King s Army, members of Spain s infant...yeah, i m rounding this up from four to five stars it s not necessarily a life changing book, or even the best work on the subject, but it is a deeply important and accessible work in light of the enduring impact of historical distortions.let s use jared diamond s guns, germs, and steel as an example diamond relies solely on spanish accounts for one of the key pieces of narrative he presents pizarro at cajamarca and buys into several enduring misconceptions that severely undercut his yeah, i m rounding this up from four to five stars it s not necessarily a life changing book, or even the best work on the subject, but it is a deeply important and accessible work in light of the enduring impact of historical distortions.let s use jared diamond s guns, germs, and steel as an example diamond relies solely on spanish accounts for one of the key pieces of narrative he presents pizarro at cajamarca and buys into several enduring misconceptions that severely undercut his general argument it s not as though diamond didn t have access to the same indigenous sources restall synthesizes diamond just doesn t bother to think critically about what he s reading.restall does an impressive job navigating the question of how to determine wha...Chiaro, sintetico, evocativo e puntuale Un bel colpo per 21 Editore.Parecchie e continue le chicche sulla cultura coloniale e l incredibilmente moderna controguerriglia spagnola.Un saggio storico che tranquillamente poteva uscire con Il Saggiatore.Latin America during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries has long fascinated me The time and place offer unique opportunities for studying the processes of inter cultural contact and the mechanisms of acculturation.Anthropologists, archeologists, ethnographers, ethno historians, historians and linguists have all provided pieces that have advanced our understanding of the complexities of the long term confrontations and interchanges among Europeans, Africans and the Indigenous peo Latin America during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries has long fascinated me The time and place offer unique opportunities for studying the processes of inter cultural contact and the mechanisms of acculturation.Anthropologists, archeologists, ethnographers, ethno historians, historians and linguists have all provided pieces that have advanced our understanding of the complexities of the long term confrontations and interchanges among Europeans, Africans and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas In spite of that growing body of sophisticated research, however, misperceptions and inaccuracies persist, particularly in the English speaking world.Matthew Restall s book is an exploration of some of the myths he explores seven that have grown up about the conquest, identifyi...Matthew Restall s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is an very fascinating introduction to understanding the Spanish Conquest, but also helps understand the many elements of historical development in the new world that happened with the establishment of trans Atlantic social system While only of a few of the myths are myths in the sense that most people think about them, but Restall does actually illustrate that a lot of the interpretations in earlier history texts, in the primary sources Matthew Restall s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is an very fascinating introduction to understanding the Spanish Conquest, but also helps understand the many elements of historical development in the new world that happened with the establishment of trans Atlantic social system While only of a few of the myths are myths in the sense that most people think about them, but Restall does actually illustrate that a lot of the interpretations in earlier history texts, in the primary sources, and even...My Young Adult novel Teresa of the New World is about the fictional daughter of Cabeza de Vaca, a sixteenth century Spanish conquistador shipwrecked near present day Tampa in 1528 and living the next eight years among the Native Americans of coastal Texas as a slave, trader, and shaman I knew most of the material in this book but he put the ideas together with enthusiasm and flair And I took out the word soldier from my novel, based on his research that this word our idea...You know I had my theories all bunched up and carried on my shoulder like a heavy chip and for what To have them tumble like snow flakes on hot asphalt That s why we read and learn and and learn and read someIt starts off fantastic, non apolegetic and demistifying both sides of historical assumtions and a curriculum thats long overdue for an update You know you have to appreciate Anthropology and relentless research the author doesn t have conclusion to the defifinative colonisation o You know I had my theories all bunched up and carried on my shoulder like a heavy chip and for what To have them tumble like snow flakes on hot asphalt That s why we read and learn and and learn and read someIt starts off fantastic, non apolegetic and demistifying both sides of historical assumtions and a curriculum thats long overdue for an update You know you have to appreciate Anthropology and relentless research the author doesn t have conclusion to the defifinative ...I had purchased and started reading this book about eight years ago or so, and, for some reason I put it down about a third of the way through That said, I am glad that it was dusted off the shelf and read from start to finish just recently Restall s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest proved to be very informative As the title implies, or overtly states, he covers the myths of the Spanish conquest of the new world For someone who has studied history and the colonization of the Americas, I had purchased and started reading this book about eight years ago or so, and, for some reason I put it down about a third of the way through That said, I am glad that it was dusted off the shelf and read from start to finish just recently Restall s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest proved to be very informative As the title implies, or overtly states, he covers the myths of the Spanish conquest of the new world For someone who has studied history and the colonization of the Americas, a lot of this information will not be new, but the way he formulates his arguments and theories is well done For the other type of reader, one who has not looked moderately or extensively at the conquest and colonization, this book will be essential to gain a well rounded view of the complicated issue of the conquest of t...This was an excellent read for anyone curious about the Spanish conquest of the Americas Restall clears the air about many of our popular misconceptions about the Spanish invasion of the Americas and the supposed superiority of the Spaniards technology and cunning This book shows that the conquest of the Americas wasn t really that simple military and cultural conquest that many assume based on the s...One of the reasons that history still has relevance is how we often base history on myth rather than fact Herodotus started it that way, but this generation of historians will attempt to make itscience than storytelling That makes it a bit less interesting and why it took me forever to finish it , but at least it will beaccurate and sympathetic to people whose voices were silenced It isn t revisionism, which is an annoying word laymen use to justify their sacred myths, it is rese One of the reasons that history still has relevance is how we often base history on myth rather than fact Herodotus started it that way, but this generation of historians will attempt to make itscience than storytelling That makes it a bit less interesting and why it took me forever to finish it , but at least it will beaccurate and sympathetic to people whose voices were silenced It isn t revisionism, which is an annoying word laymen use to jus...

English
20 May 2018

Matthew Restall