The Myth Of Superiority By Matthew Restall Summary

In this groundbreaking book, Matthew Restall debunks many of the standard explanations for the success of the Spanish conquest of American societies in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. As promised in the book's title, he discusses what he judges to be key misconceptions about the conquest and its context, identifying the distortions that often characterize depictions of indigenous societies and cultures and linking them to implicit assumptions about European superiority that are equally commonplace.

After briefly explaining the origins of the book in Restall’s experience of teaching the history of the conquest period, he first addresses the notion that a few “exceptional” individuals - Christopher Columbus, Hernando Cortes, and Francisco

Pizarro - were largely responsible for the conquest. He discusses the impact of the writings of the participants themselves (Columbus and Cortes especially) and of other early chroniclers and biographers as well as that of later historians, such as William Prescott, who emphasize the heroic stature of the principal leaders. There is little here that has not been well covered by other scholars, some of whom might take issue with minor points such as the depiction (p. 24) of early interpreters that ignores the coercion the Spaniards used to acquire them: early interpreters were generally captives either held as hostages in order to gain leverage over native societies or transported back to Europe as novelties or proof of European exploits.
Restall then discusses, in “The Myth of the King's Army”, the notion that the majority of participants in the conquest were trained and paid soldiers. In counter- acting this assumption, however, he may gloss over some of the complexities of contemporary Spanish society. Although probably most conquistadors acquired their military expertise during the conquest, the conflicts in which late medieval and early modern Spain was embroiled meant that a number of conquistadors did have prior military experience.
Restall is on surer ground in his discussion of “The Myth of the White Conquistador”, which draws on his earlier work. The role of native allies in the conquest has attracted increasing attention from scholars, but the direct participation of Africans, some of whom had careers that were at least partly independent of their European masters or patrons, is a relatively neglected topic. Similarly, the following chapter, “The Myth of Completion”, makes a point frequently overlooked even by scholars of the period: that the so-called “conquest”, including the process of Christianization, was sporadic, protracted, and far from definitive or uniformly successful, not only immediately but even sometimes for generations.
“The Myth of (Mis)Communication” and “The Myth of Native Desolation”, again touch on areas in which Restall himself has made important scholarly contributions in works based principally on Yucatec Mayan texts. His familiarity with the scholarship on indigenous language records serves him well, resulting in a judicious discussion of the difficulties of translation and the underlying assumptions that have framed the interpretation of indigenous response from the time of the conquest to the present.
In the final chapter, “The Myth of Superiority”, Restall posits that Spaniards relied on what he calls “the simplest trope ever invented to explain human behavior, differences between peoples, and the outcome of historical events - the trope of superiority” (p.

132), but he may oversimplify the issue. The Spaniards' conviction of superiority was in some measure rooted in their exclusivist and intolerant religious beliefs; they frequently referred to themselves not as Castilians or Spaniards but as “we, the Christians”. That they often attributed their successes to divine providence or intervention could be seen as demonstrating not the Spaniards' sense of superiority but rather their conviction of the efficacy of their faith in the Christian God. Notwithstanding that quibble, Restall concludes with a useful discussion of what he considers to have been the major factors that ac- counted for Spanish success: the impact of epidemic disease, lack of unity among indigenous groups, the advantages conferred by European weaponry, varying understandings of the purpose and conduct of warfare, and the larger European drive for expansion. In a brief epilogue, he examines versions of the story of Cuauhtémoc as a final illustration of “the degree to which the Conquest was a far more complex and protracted affair” (p. 155) than generally thought, and of the notable persistence of “all the elements of native cultural vitality during the Conquest period” (p.

156).
This is a mostly well-written and effectively argued book that could serve to introduce students and a more general audience to many of the key issues surrounding the events of the conquest period and their implications for Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans.

Prospective readers should be warned that this is not a history of the conquest period as such, and those unfamiliar with it will need to look elsewhere for the necessary background. It also should be noted that, mainly owing to the nature of the historical literature and probably in some degree to Restall's scholarly background, the overwhelming emphasis here is on Mexico or New Spain. Nonetheless, the strength especially of those discussions that relate most directly to Restall's primary area of expertise - indigenous language and society and, more recently, the experiences of Africans in early Spanish America - make this book worthwhile reading, even for those who are well versed in the history and historiography of the period. Conceived, researched, and written, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is a valuable synthesis of this important event in human history and a good candidate for the colonial Latin American history and historiography

classroom.