Desafiando la historiografía de la conquista: la transcripción como comentario

A lecture by Heather Allen

Through marginal notations in his transcription of Francisco López de Gómara’s influential Historia de la conquista de México, Amerindian chronicler Chimalpahin amends and re-centers authoritative conquest history. He undermines Gómara’s view of the conquest as a providential victory by emphasizing the role of intercultural communication in the Spaniards’ success, highlights indigenous and European cultural parallels, and promotes Amerindian worth in opposition to Spanish contempt. Although his comments exist in the margins their visual prominence demands readers’ attention, pushing them to question the Spanish-centered historical record and incorporate Chimalpahin’s bicultural view.