Конкистадоры: Новая история открытия и завоевания Америки

Za neskolʹko korotkikh desi͡atiletiĭ, proshedshikh posle pervoĭ vysadki Kolumba na krokhotnyĭ karibskiĭ ostrov v 1492 godu, Ispanii͡a postavila pod svoĭ kontrolʹ territorii͡u desi͡atka sovremennykh gosudarstv Ameriki i pokorila dve samye moguchie t͡sivilizat͡sii kontinenta - imperii at͡stekov i inkov. Ėrnan Kortes, Fransisko Pisarro i drugie konkistadory, iskavshie v ėtikh ėkspedit͡sii͡akh slavy i bogatstv, prochno voshli v istorii͡u kak obrazchiki vysokomerii͡a k chuzhim kulʹturam, bezuderzhnoĭ alchnosti i chasto irrat͡sionalʹnoĭ zhestokosti. Vsego takogo v ikh deĭstvii͡akh bylo nemalo, no dvigalo ėtimi pervymi nastoi͡ashchimi evropeĭskimi kolonizatorami ne tolʹko ėto. Oni byli nositeli͡ami srednevekovoĭ kulʹtury ryt͡sarskikh romanov, imeli slozhnye predstavlenii͡a o pravakh, poddanstve i predelakh korolevskoĭ vlasti, ispovedovali khristianskui͡u veru, v kotoroĭ vysokouchenye kont͡sept͡sii i apokalipticheskie prorochestva sochetalisʹ s narodnymi sueverii͡ami, i ni za chto ne smogli by oderzhatʹ svoi pobedy bez ėnergichnoĭ podderzhki mnogikh tuzemt͡sev. Meksikanskiĭ istorik Fernando Servantes, sam pri͡amoĭ potomok odnogo konkistadorov, postavil svoeĭ t͡selʹi͡u razgli͡adetʹ za shtampami i mifami ob ispanskoĭ kolonizat͡sii ėtot realʹnyĭ kontekst, bez kotorogo togdashniĭ mir pochti nepostizhim s rasstoi͡anii͡a v 500 s lishnim let. Analizirui͡a dnevniki, pisʹma, khroniki i pervye v istorii pravozashchitnye traktaty, on staraetsi͡a otdelitʹ fakty ot samoreklamy, zhelanii͡a oklevetatʹ konkurentov, popytok dobitʹsi͡a ot korolevskogo dvora opredelennykh politicheskikh resheniĭ i mnogovekovykh usiliĭ inostrannykh - prezhde vsego gollandskikh i angliĭskikh - avtorov predstavitʹ ispant͡sev v maksimalʹno nevygodnom svete. Ėta kniga i zastavli͡aet zadumatʹsi͡a o tom, kak pishetsi͡a istorii͡a, i prolivaet sovershenno novyĭ svet na sobytii͡a, prevrativshee lichnui͡u unii͡u nebolʹshikh evropeĭskikh monarkhiĭ v odnu iz velichaĭshikh imperiĭ vsekh vremen.

In the few short decades that have passed since Columbus first landed on the tiny Caribbean island in 1492, Spain has taken control of the territory of a dozen modern American states and conquered two of the continent's most powerful civilizations — the Aztec and Inca empires. Hernan Cortez, Francisco Pizarro and other conquistadors who sought fame and fortune in these expeditions have firmly entered history as examples of arrogance towards foreign cultures, unbridled greed and often irrational cruelty. There was a lot of this in their actions, but it was not the only thing that motivated these first real European colonialists. They were carriers of the medieval culture of chivalric novels, had complex ideas about rights, citizenship and the limits of royal power, professed the Christian faith, in which highly scientific concepts and apocalyptic prophecies were combined with folk superstitions, and would never have been able to win their victories without the energetic support of many natives. Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes, himself a direct descendant of one of the conquistadors, set out to discern behind the cliches and myths about Spanish colonization this real context, without which the world of that time was almost incomprehensible from a distance of more than 500 years. Analyzing diaries, letters, chronicles, and the first human rights treatises in history, he tries to separate the facts from self—promotion, the desire to slander competitors, attempts to get certain political decisions from the royal court, and centuries-old efforts by foreign - primarily Dutch and English — authors to present Spaniards in the most unfavorable light. This book makes you think about how history is written and sheds a whole new light on the events that turned the personal union of small European monarchies into one of the greatest empires of all time.