Read, Read, then reread……..how to understand the past

Krippner-Martinez’s work Rereading the Conquest is a different take on the story of the Spanish Conquest.  Up till now we have predominantly been reading primary sources from the people who have participated.  And other than notes to accompany the books little explanation has been put forth.  Krippner-Martinez takes a different root by placing events and people into their proper historical context.  While reading this book the idea of myth building kept coming to mind especially when it comes to our own historical figures.  As a kid you are always taught what wise and great men the founding fathers of our country were and later you learn that they made many mistakes and were very flawed men.   The problem as Krippner-Martinez points out in his book is that we are not examining things in the right context and it is his intention to use this book to do so.  His examination of Vasco de Quirago exemplified this intention.  Like our founding father myths similar ones have been created surrounding Vasco de Quirago.  However, after placing him in the historical context in which he was acting a different story comes to light.  I always find it very interesting to go back and examine how things got started, how myths were born, and how lies can actually become truth given enough time.