The World Divided at Tordesillas
With a line on a map, the Treaty of Tordesillas split the world between Spain and Portugal. Was it a grand refutation of papal authority or an extension of it?
Amy Fuller
Did Hernán Cortés Murder His First Wife?
Within two months of arriving in New Spain, Catalina Suárez Marcaida, first wife of the conquistador Hernán Cortés, was dead. Did she meet with foul play?
The Fall of Tenochtitlan
Was the conquest of Tenochtitlan the result of an Aztec civil war or Spanish invasion? The events in the capital are in desperate need of reappraisal.
Saving Mexico from the Devil
The Conquest of Mexico was justified by the Spanish as an evil necessary to save a people who practised human sacrifice and worshipped false gods.
The Origin of La Llarona
The legend of La Llorona has supposedly haunted Mexico since before the Conquest. The wailing woman’s story is one of violence, much like the country whose suffering she is often taken to represent. Beware the woman in white ...
A Mexican Martyr
Amy Fuller looks at the life of the Mexican nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and asks why we feel the need to kill our heroines rather than celebrate their achievements.
Mayas: Revelation of an Endless Time
Beyond the stereotypes of bloodthirsty savagery and false predictions of Armageddon.