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Centering on the history of the Spanish Conquest over the Incas and other indigenous American peoples, this unit seemed to me to be summarized by one word: narrative. From the stories drawn right from native peoples' oral histories to the historiography of Europeans' victory over the Inca, I felt the underlying connection between all of the various topics this unit to be how historians and humans in general tell tales and how they can both manipulate stories to fit into their own worldviews as well as be manipulated by stories into believing false ideas.
The ruins of Macchu Picchu | Image
The big focus was definitely around the history of the Inca Empire and its conquest by the Spanish. One of the most important ideas from our dive into Andean history was about separating out our view of world history from Eurocentrism. That's why we needed to start the unit not at the arrival of Europeans β as it often goes β but with the pre-colonial Andes, to see how Andeans were natural and successful conquerors themselves, not just stereotypical docile natives easy to conquer. The primary source of the Huarochiri Manuscript we looked at reinforces these ties to conquest and gives a deeper look into Andean culture through their own lens.
Other major primary sources of this unit include "The Chicken or the Iegue" by Marcy Norton and Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest by Matthew Restall. The first further counteracts a Eurocentric view β this time of human-animal relationships. But the latter is what I'd say was the most valuable and central text of this unit. Restall's work really highlighted the misconceptions of the Conquest and how a lot of commonly held views on the process are actually just the result of European conquerors' manipulation of historiography. In that vein, it's a text that provided a great look into the topic of historiography that underlies the unit, especially themes we discussed about how historians use historical evidence to form a narrative.
There's a sort of connection between the Spanish Conquest this unit to Ovid's Metamorphoses from Fall Quarter. In many of Ovid's tales, a woman is chased by a powerful male god, and she often loses or is transformed into an animal or plant. However, a significant number of the tales show the human victim defying the strength of the god in some way, such as by intentionally morphing herself into a tree to escape his advances. In much the same way, the indigenous people of the Americas, while in the end unsuccessful in holding the conquerors at bay, fought back the whole way and attempted to navigate colonization on their own terms. The Huarochiri Manuscript is one example of this, and the character of Chuqui Suso bears a striking resemblance to the women of Ovid, even managing to twist the pursuing god's desire to the benefit of herself and her people.
With all of the knowledge I gained from this unit, my view of American history and especially the Spanish Conquest has changed drastically. I now understand it as not a simple act of unstoppable Europeans with superior technology dominating weak natives, as I was taught previously, but a complicated and long process that was not so one-sided. I also have tuned in more to how historiography affects the way I and the public view history. The narratives formed by historians can strongly influence how I think about the past, even if they're inaccurate.
Just one of numerous inaccurate paintings of conquistadors on horses | Image
The themes we explored in this unit about historiography and narratives are still so important and applicable today. This is a chaotic time of change and everywhere I look, I see different narratives constructed around the same major events and words. With all this in mind, I'm thinking more deeply about how and why these narratives are formed as well as how they can shape the public's views in both positive and detrimental ways.
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