Conquest, Memory, and Material Culture in New Spain of the 16th and 17th Centuries

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18441/ibam.19.2019.71.13-33

Keywords:

Conquista, Practices of memorialization, Distributive struggle, New Spain

Abstract

During the course of the centuries, memories of the Conquest have been shaped
by various political projects, starting with those of the persons responsible for establishing a new colonial society. This article explores how inhabitants of New Spain mediated through texts, images and artifacts their own memories of the events between 1519-21 to legitimize their demands for rewards or a privileged social status. It argues that distributive struggles shaped the practices of memorialization with which the past was brought into the present and in the service of the future, as well as the interactions between a textual and material world that
shaped the memories of the Conquest.

Published

2019-07-16

Issue

Section

Dossier