Chimalpahin’s Nahua Authority: Modifying a Spanish Account of the Conquest of Mexico

Abstract

AbstractThis article provides an analysis of Chimalpahin’s additions to Francisco López de Gómara’s Historia de la conquista de México. In his account, Chimalpahin draws attention to the plurality of ethnic states, their cultural practices, and political conflicts. In this article, the author argues that Chimalpahin’s modifications depict a Nahua version of the conquest in which the emphasis on the native’s active participation reflects its effect in the outcome of the war even though such contributions are often unseen in the most representative narratives of the event. It shows that Chimalpahin participates in the production of an indigenous collective memory and that he had the agency to create an account that clarifies, and even challenges, Spanish-centered narratives such as López de Gómara’s work.