The Spanish victory occurred with pontifical blessing. Pope Leo X sent bulls offering indulgences for those who engaged in war against the infidel. The conquistadores themselves fought with a clear conscience, certain that they were bringing civilization and Christianity. They believed their efforts would allow these newly discovered people to leave behind their backward conditions.51
However, the history that Bartolome de las Casas published in 1552 did not share the view that the Conquest was religiously motivated. His history stated:
The reason the Christians have murdered on such a vast scale and killed anyone and everyone in their way is purely and simply greed. They have set out to line their pockets with gold and to amass private fortunes as quickly as possible so that they can then assume a status quite at odds with that into which they were born.52
In Mexico, Cortes is now regarded as a ruthless invader. The conspicuous lack of his name on Mexican streets and monuments and Diego Rivera’s portrayal of him as a cross-eyed, syphilitic hunchback in a mural in the National Palace indicate these feelings. On the other hand, Montezuma and Cuauhtemoc are national heroes, and innumerable streets and monuments bear their names.53
The five-hundredth anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the New World showed that the Conquest still arouses strong feelings. Heated debate occurred between those wanting a gala celebration of the anniversary and those wanting somber reflection. Mexicans did not even agree on whether Columbus’s arrival should be referred to as a discovery, an encounter, or an invasion.54
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