Spain Acknowledges ‘Pain and Injustice’ of Colonial Conquest of the americas
Madrid, Spain - In a meaningful shift, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Friday publicly acknowledged the “pain and injustice” suffered by Indigenous peoples during the spanish conquest of the Americas, responding to renewed calls for a formal apology from Mexico. The statement marks one of the clearest admissions from a top Spanish official regarding the devastating impact of colonization.
Speaking at the opening of an exhibition of Indigenous Mexican art in Madrid, Albares described relations between Spain and Mexico as “a very human story, and like every human story, full of light and shadow.” He added, “Ther has also been pain – pain and injustice toward Indigenous peoples, to whom this exhibition is dedicated. There was injustice – it is only fair to recognize it today, and fair to regret it. Because that is also part of our shared history, and we cannot deny or forget it.”
The acknowledgement comes after years of diplomatic tension surrounding the issue. In 2019, then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador formally requested an apology from the Spanish monarchy for abuses committed during the 1519-1521 Conquest of Mexico and the subsequent three centuries of colonial rule. That request was rejected by Spain’s foreign ministry at the time, and King Felipe VI did not publicly respond. the Spanish government had previously defended the nations’ “shared history,” dismissing the need for an apology.
The call for an apology was recently revived by current Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador’s political ally and successor, who stated that reconciliation necessitates acknowledging past wrongs.
Past context reveals the scale of the devastation. In 1519, when conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived in Mesoamerica – encompassing parts of modern-day Mexico and Central America - the region’s population was estimated between 15 million and 30 million people.Cortés arrived with a small army equipped with horses, swords, and firearms, and inadvertently brought with them smallpox. Over the following century,through battles,massacres,and the spread of disease,the Indigenous population plummeted to an estimated one million to two million inhabitants.
