Ghosts from the Past in Contemporary Identity Politics: Moctezuma II and Christopher Columbus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18779/csye.v4i2.376Keywords:
cultural identity, Moctezuma II, Christopher Columbus, conflictAbstract
The 21st century has seen a sharp increase in identity politics. Both European countries and the Americas have faced movements to re-examine their pasts. In the case of Spain, the socialist government of Pedro Sanchez passed legislation to reinterpret the post civil war period. In the case of Mexico, the administration of Lopez Obrador has re-opened old wounds by requesting a formal apology from the King of Spain and from the Pope for the conquest of Mexico. The present exploratory essay deals with an understudied aspect of this ideological debate over cultural identity, the role of the descendants of important historical figures in contemporary identity politics. There is a certain element of an re-enactment of history in the words and deeds of the descendants of Moctezuma II and of Christopher Columbus which at times resembles Aztec rituals involving temporary possession of their persons by the spirit of their ancestors.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Licensing Agreement
This journal provides free access to its content through its website following the principle that making research available free of charge to the public supports a larger exchange of global knowledge.
Web content of the journal is distributed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.
Authors may adopt other non-exclusive license agreements for the distribution of the version of the published work, provided that the initial publication in this journal is indicated. Authors are allowed and recommended to disseminate their work through the internet before and during the submission process, which can produce interesting exchanges and increase citations of the published work.
