Mexico

A young Zelia Nuttall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library. Public Domain.

‘In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl’ by Merilee Grindle review

In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl: Zelia Nuttall & the Search for Mexico’s Ancient Civilizations by Merilee Grindle depicts a woman ahead of her time, yet very much a product of it.

A statue of Catalina Suárez Marcaida, wife of Hernán Cortés in Seville.

Did Hernán Cortés Murder His First Wife?

Within two months of arriving in New Spain, Catalina Suárez Marcaida, first wife of the conquistador Hernán Cortés, was dead. Did she meet with foul play?

The Execution of Emperor Maximilian, by Édouard Manet, 1868.

The Death of an Emperor

With the US riven by civil war, Napoleon III seized the opportunity to install an emperor in Mexico. The new regime soon fell apart in a catastrophic manner.

The destruction of Tenochtitlan, Spanish, 16th century © Bridgeman Images.

The Fall of Tenochtitlan

Whether it was a conquest or an invasion, the events that took place in the Aztec capital 500 years ago are in desperate need of reappraisal.

Hernán Cortés and his troops during the Noche Triste, Mexican, 17th century.

Contested Legacy of the Conquistadors

If we are to better understand the actions of men such as Hernán Cortés, we must place them in the context of a medieval world view that predated the nation state.

Escape to Mexico

Filmmakers, revolutionaries, Iranian shahs – Mexico has a long history of providing political asylum.

young Mexican agricultural worker eats a tortilla in a field near Santa Monica, Texas, 1939. New York Public Library. Public Domain.

Enchiladas: A Culinary Monument to Colonialism

While finding its origins in royal Aztec feasts, the history of the enchilada is more a product of colonialism and prejudice than authentic heritage.

Saving Mexico from the Devil

The Conquest of Mexico was justified by the Spanish as an evil necessary to save a people who practised human sacrifice and worshipped false gods.

The legend of La Llorona has supposedly haunted Mexico since before the Conquest. Her story is one of violence, much like the country whose suffering she is often taken to represent. Beware the woman in white ...