Understanding the Conquest of Mexico from the 21st century. Introduction

Abstract

The controversy over the conquest of Mexico is as old as this historical event and yet still today is of great relevance and actuality. In European historiography the binary vision of “victors and vanquished” still holds sway in many parts, even if the originally triumphal valuation of these events became the opposite throughout the twentieth century. One of the objectives of this dossier is to question the dichotomy between victorious Spaniards and defeated Indians. It presents fresh research on this secular event from different disciplinary and national perspectives.