Rethinking Colonialism in Mexico and the Americas: Past, Present and Future

Framed by centuries-old documents providing first-hand narratives of events that occurred from the Spanish arrival to the Americas, including a letter hand-written by the son of Christopher Columbus, “Rethinking Colonialism in Mexico and the Americas: Past, Present and Future” will explore the Spanish Colonial Period from multiple perspectives and expand on historical narratives.

The Spanish Colonial Manuscript Collection contains an estimated 26,000 pages of original documents from Mexico dating from 1512 to 1857, with one of the earliest being a letter written by the son of Christopher Columbus. With records documenting blasphemy, misconduct in office, bigamy, astrology, theft, debt, personal lawsuits over property and inheritance, and some aimed at securing a title of nobility by proving family descent.

Keynote speaker Matt Restall, the director of Latin American studies at Pennsylvania State University will explore the relationship between Hernán

Cortés and Aztec emperor Montezuma in his talk “When Montezuma Met Cortés: The True Story Behind the Meeting that Changed History.”

This lecture, based on Restall’s book by the same name, will revisit the meeting between Montezuma and Cortés that occurred almost 500 years prior. Based on his examination of rare primary sources and overlooked accounts by conquistadors and Aztecs alike, Restall’s talk will explore Cortés’ and Montezuma’s legacies, reputations and will call into question the conventional view of the history of the Americas.

The conference will take place on Friday,

November 1, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

If you would like to attend this one-of-akind event, register at gilcrease.org/rethinkcolonialism by October 25.

Tickets are $25 for members, $35 for notyet-members, and $10 for students/educators.