Choosing Columbus over Cortés

Professor Restall challenges conventional narratives of the Spanish Conquest in the Americas, exploring the "mythistory" that shapes how we understand it.

Drawing on his acclaimed works When Montezuma Met Cortés, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, and his forthcoming book The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus, he will share his insights into one of history's most pivotal moments.

His work exposes what he terms "one of human history's great lies" - that a small Spanish force conquered the Americas through military prowess alone. Instead, he reveals how indigenous alliances, political dynamics, and disease shaped the conquest, while emphasizing Native American agency and diplomatic sophistication during this transformative period.