"Maya Conquistador"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the book "Maya Conquistador" by Matthew Restall which looks at the invasion of the Yucatan peninsula from the point of view of late sixteenth to early nineteenth century writings of the "conquered" Mayan. It examines how Restall's translations of Mayan accounts as well as his examination of Spanish rule offer his reader a new way of thinking about the victory with some larger issues of colonialism and how the book provides a unique understanding of the Mayan viewpoint on their history, their rulers and their sense of identity.

From the Paper:

"This compilation of firsthand Mayan notes represents another point of view by enlightening a tale of adaptation and endurance, where the Mayan perspective comes up from an individuality based on strong loyalty of class, family, as well as community by telling the Spanish colonization of the Yucatan peninsula (Reviews). Whereas, the common understanding of the Spanish Conquest was that of foreign defeaters instantly destroying native populations and taking up their culture (Reviews)."

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