XX. Prescott and the Conquest
Original Publication: Novedades — Editorial Section, May 24, 1948.
Author: LIC. OSCAR MÉNDEZ CERVANTES.
Topics: History and the Hispanic World.
Fragments of the Epic
By LIC. OSCAR MÉNDEZ CERVANTES
XX
PRESCOTT AND THE CONQUEST.
The justly celebrated American historian Prescott could never entirely free himself from the prejudices that Anglo-Saxons and Protestants tend to hold concerning the historical role of Spain and Catholicism. Nevertheless, Prescott’s mastery of the disciplines of history, when he specifically studied the Conquest of Mexico, inevitably impressed upon his mind much of the radiance of truth. The expression of that truth on his lips acquires an exceptional value of objectivity, because revealing it is not the result of looking at things from positions adopted before the investigation, but quite the contrary. Indeed, we must acknowledge that the interests of the race and religion predominant in the psychology of the people to whom Prescott belonged required him to conceal, within the impenetrable realm of his conscience, certain truths he uttered. Yet it turns out that, once he had seen at close quarters the powerless material and moral grandeur of the hero and the feat of the Conquest, Prescott’s inevitable prejudices—which darken the text of his work here and there—were unable to silence the enthusiasm necessarily aroused by contemplating a magnificent and heroic reality, and the great desire to affirm and proclaim it that springs spontaneously from anyone who wishes to be an investigator of actual facts rather than a propagandist for a political interest.
This explains, among other things, certain remarkably notable judgments by Prescott concerning Cortés and his works. The true substance of these judgments is shared by all who have no cobwebs over their eyes and by those who have no commitments to the present enemies of Mexico’s founder. The words in which he states them are familiar to students of our history. Our interest, however, lies in making them known to the nonspecialist public. We stress not their novelty, which they lack, but who says them. They are validated and enhanced by coming from a mind opposed to that for which Cortés fought and triumphed: Hispanic and Catholic culture as the core of Mexico’s authenticity.
Let us hear what Prescott asserts about the manner in which the Conquest was carried out, while censuring those who would wish to conceal what he regards as the cruelties and crimes—which, let us say in passing, are not always such—of the captain from Extremadura and his men:
“The excess of the conquerors’ cruelty cannot be measured by the excess of the invaded people’s sufferings”… “In the present case, a large part of the cruel hardships endured by the besieged may be attributed to themselves, to their patriotic and desperate resistance… It was neither the desire nor the interest of the Spaniards to raze the city or exterminate its inhabitants; far from it, when some of the latter were taken prisoner, they were treated kindly, their needs were met, and an effort was made to instill in them a spirit of reconciliation. AND ALL THIS DESPITE THE DARK FATE THEY RESERVED FOR CHRISTIAN CAPTIVES”… “Considered as a whole, from the invasion to the capture of the capital, it will be seen that the Conquest of Mexico was carried out with comparatively little inhumanity”… “Cortés’s companions did not employ cruelty to subdue their wretched victims.”
And of Cortés specifically, on the subject of cruelty, he adds:
“He was not cruel for cruelty’s sake: he did not allow defenseless enemies to be outraged, which may seem slight praise, but which is certainly an exception to the conduct generally followed by the conquerors of that time.” (We may add: “and of our own,” recalling that a compatriot of Prescott—acting in an official capacity—gave his assent to the murder of Mussolini, with all the subhuman sadism displayed in it)… “It might even be added that he was strict in demanding compliance with orders intended to protect the persons and property of the conquered; which was no small risk…”
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