Spanish Conquistadors Myths

The Spanish Conquests were led and completed by extraordinary, Spanish soldiers that received no help from translators as they obliterated the inferior, native culture! Right? Well, not quite. In fact, these are the very myths that Restall’s book sets out to disprove. From the time they were recorded in ink as primary sources to even now when historians heatedly debate historic events, facts have been misconstrued. For hundreds of years, stories of what took place during the conquest have been twisted, edited, and misunderstood to the point they give false recounts of History. Nevertheless, these charlatan stories have been blindly accepted as truth because sources were not cross-checked, inaccurate primary sources were accepted, and later

To conquer other lands, Spanish conquistadors gained permission from the crown and entered an agreement that primarily states the adelantado, invaders, must share the wealth with the Spanish monarchy. (65) Many times, there would be strict rules on the adelantado contracts that not only made it harder to keep the license, but also made it easier to fine or arrest the conquistadors if they were to violate the agreement. (65) With so much pressure from their rulers, conquistadors would often paint pictures of subdued lands with obedient natives willing to give their abundant natural resources to the crown. (66) One such explorer guilty of stretching the truth was Christopher Columbus. To keep his contract, Capitulaciones de Santa Fe, Columbus often told Ferdinand and Isabella that the terms of their agreement were being fulfilled and more. He suggested that he not only did he discovered a more efficient trade route to Asia, per the agreement, but he also found new lands. (66) These deceptive letters are an example of how even primary sources can be misleading due to the motives of the person writing them. Christopher Columbus tried covering up his inadequate journeys thus far, and he is not the only one to in Spanish Conquests to spin white lies of completion to fulfill Spanish

This misunderstanding stems from many primary sources excluding Native and African allies when speaking of victory. For reference, Ilarione da Bergamo wrote accounts of his battles in Mexico, and he credited Spanish wins to excellent swordplay when outnumbered by his enemies. There was no mention of Native or African allies helping them defeat enemy natives, no, it was all due to the Spanish’s impressive skills. (45) Despite many conquistadors leaving out their critical military allies in references of victory, heavily combed sources of the Mexican conquest find men in passing mention the support of natives and Africans. One such letter from Alavarado to Cortes states there were 250 Spaniards and at least 5,000 natives in their unit. (45) For every primary source that mentions external help, there’s another that doesn’t acknowledge the critical role Africans and natives played in keeping the Spanish conquests thriving. The myth that it was only Spaniards partially originates from people not cross referencing sources and just believing historic figures like Ilarione da Bergamo when speaking of Spanish