Indigenous allies helped the Spanish gain a foothold in the
Americas. What did these Indian conquistadors expect from the
partnership, and what were the implications of their involvement in
Spain's New World empire? Laura Matthew's study of Ciudad Vieja,
Guatemala--the first study to focus on a single allied colony over
the entire colonial period--places the Nahua, Zapotec, and Mixtec
conquistadors of Guatemala and their descendants within a deeply
Mesoamerican historical context. Drawing on archives, ethnography,
and colonial Mesoamerican maps, Matthew argues that the conquest
cannot be fully understood without considering how these Indian
conquistadors first invaded and then, of their own accord and
largely by their own rules, settled in Central America.
Shaped by pre-Columbian patterns of empire, alliance, warfare, and
migration, the members of this diverse indigenous community became
unified as the Mexicanos--descendants of Indian conquistadors in
their adopted homeland. Their identity and higher status in
Guatemalan society derived from their continued pride in their
heritage, says Matthew, but also depended on Spanish colonialism's
willingness to honor them. Throughout
Memories of Conquest,
Matthew charts the power of colonialism to reshape and restrict
Mesoamerican society--even for those most favored by colonial
policy and despite powerful continuities in Mesoamerican
culture.