Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

By: Matthew Restall

Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is an intriguing exploration of the ways in which the history of the Spanish Conquest has been misread and passed down to become popular knowledge of these events. The book offers a fresh account of the activities of the best-known conquistadors and explorers, including Columbus, Cortes, and Pizarro.

Using a wide array of sources, historian Matthew Restall highlights seven key myths, uncovering the source of the inaccuracies and exploding the fallacies and misconceptions behind each myth. This vividly written and authoritative book shows, for instance, that native Americans did not take the conquistadors for gods and that small numbers of vastly outnumbered Spaniards did not bring down great empires with stunning rapidity. We discover that Columbus was correctly seen in his lifetime - and for decades after - as a briefly fortunate but unexceptional participant in efforts involving many southern Europeans.

It was only much later that Columbus was portrayed as a great man who fought against the ignorance of his age to discover the new world. Another popular misconception - that the Conquistadors worked alone - is shattered by the revelation that vast numbers of black and native allies joined them in a conflict that pitted native Americans against each other. This and other factors, not the supposed superiority of the Spaniards, made conquests possible.

The Conquest, Restall shows, was more complex - and more fascinating - than conventional histories have portrayed it. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest offers a richer and more nuanced account of a key event in the history of the Americas.

©2003 Oxford University Press, Inc. (P)2018 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is an engaging and highly readable account of the history of the conquest of the Americas." (Jennifer Jobb, Against the Current)

A great study of the Spanish Conquest.

A matter of fact account based on existing documents and traditional folklore. I loved it.

Interesting but flawed

Restall articulates some interesting points about the realities of what really happened during the Conquest becoming “lost in translation” but he often makes expansive claims around the significance (or lack thereof) of certain technologies, tactical decisions, and behaviors of the Conquistadors and Natives in what feels like your typical neoliberal anti-colonizer narrative. Two examples: 1) downplaying the significance of massive differences in navigation tech and weaponry; and 2) bizarrely glorifying human sacrifice as a more noble and humane way of taking life.

A good book marred by awful narration

Why would the author or publisher chose someone who cannot pronounce Spanish words as the narrator? I cringed every time the narrator said conquistador and Nicaragua.

The reader is a hot mess

This book? Phenomenal, as a corrective to the way the story of Cortes was told 30 years ago (and still today).

But the audiobook is awful. The reader can’t pronounce the word “conquistador,” which shows up on every page of the book. He says “con-Kwee-stador.” As if he hadn’t attended middle school. Nicaragua, is pronounced “Nick-a-rah-goo-uh.” What?

Sometimes the pronunciations are so bad you can’t tell what he’s trying to say.

I can understand, maybe, difficulty pronouncing obscure words. But these words appear on every page of the book. They’re almost in the title. Perhaps Amazon should expect their readers to be able to actually READ the relevant book.