Remesal, historiador controvertido

The Dominican friar Antonio de Remesal has been commented by numerous authors in different countries. Nonetheless he deserves a new evaluation because his book Historia General de las Indias counts among the works widely utilized, in spite of having been justly criticized. The present historiography of the Historia takes into account the author's turbulent life and the sources at his disposal; reviews how the reception of his Historia kept changing on account of political or religious preferences, starting with the rejection of the Guatemaltecan criollos against the author from the peninsula to the attitude toward the Inquisition. The article intends to better understand the historian of times past, in spite of the mistakes he committed.El fraile dominico Antonio de Remesal ha sido ya objeto de numerosos comentarios, publicados en varios países. No obstante, amerita una nueva evaluación dado que su libro, Historia General de las Indias, sigue siendo obra profusamente utilizada a pesar de haber sido criticada con buen fundamento. La presente historiografía toma en cuenta la tormentosa vida del autor y las fuentes a su alcance; reseña cómo la recepción de su Historia iba cambiando de acuerdo con preferencias políticas o religiosas, a partir del rechazo de los criollos guatemaltecos contra el investigador peninsular, hasta la postura frente a la Inquisición. Se trata de comprender mejor al historiador de otros tiempos, a pesar de que la crítica reciente demostró los desaciertos de su obra

La carrera por las especias

In the beginning of the modern age, rival commercial interests of Italian cities became allied with Portuguese and Spaniards to propitiate a nautical race around the globe in order to arrive to the Molucas, islands producers of the much coveted spices. During this enterprise, Spaniards stumbled against the New World. The anxiety to reach the Molucas explains why bankers were so eager to finance expeditions to New Spain, expecting to find a strait or build a fleet in the Pacific. Rival bankers had also an influence in crown governors' nomination that were adequate to their own interests, reason by which they had a direct influence in the political delimitations in Central America that still continues nowadays

The maya under colonia rule

Tema del mes¿Cómo repercutió el sistema colonial en los pueblos mayas en sus diferentes regiones entre Chiapas y Guatemala hasta la península de Yucatán? Las consecuencias de aquellos trescientos años de cambios impuestos se advierten hasta la actualidad. Desde los primeros contactos en 1511, las relaciones entre mayas y españoles se desarrollan de manera muy diferente a las del Altiplano de México. Aunque el sistema colonial introduce las mismas instituciones en toda Hispanoamérica, las particularidades del área maya les dan un carácter diferenciado en su aplicación. Aquí se establecen muy pocos españoles por la falta de oro, plata u otros atractivos. Las encomiendas persisten durante toda la época colonial. Ante la ausencia de organizaciones centralizadas, se forman nuevas entidades políticas con sus capitales que persisten hasta hoy como provincias o Estados que no corresponden en nada a las formaciones prehispánicas. Los pueblos son obligados a juntarse en centros urbanizados. El gobierno local se transfiere a cabildos indígenas cuyas elecciones aquí en su mayoría no necesitan confirmación exterior. El nuevo sistema jurídico punitivo introduce cárceles y tribunales con jueces profesionales. Los frailes mendicantes llegan tarde: introducen un nuevo sistema educativo. Los mayas, siempre ávidos a escribir, aprovechan el alfabeto latino para documentar sus propias experiencias.How the Maya populations reacted under the Colonial rule, in its diversity of locations, from Chiapas and Guatemala to the Northern Yucatan Peninsula? The consequences of three hundred years of imposed changes are still seen nowadays. From the first contacts established in 1511, the relationships between the Maya and the Spaniards developed in a very different way compared with the Mexican Highlands. The Colonial rule introduced the same institutions through Latin America, but the special features of the Maya region gave them a distinct character. Considering the absence of gold, silver or other precious commodities the Spanish population density was very low. The “encomienda” institution persisted all along the Colonial period. Due to the lack of centralized organizations, there were established new political entities -with its capitals- which survived until our days as districts or states without any correspondence to the Prehispanic formations. Many towns were forced to concentrate in urban centers. Local government was transferred to Indian councils (“cabildos”) internally elected with no need of external confirmation. The new legal system was punitive, and introduced jails and courts with judges. The friars arrived late and brought in a new educational system. The Maya people, always with a deep interest on writing, learned the Latin alphabet in order to record their own experiences