Published in 1917, José María Salaverría's Los Conquistadores is a historical account of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. It focuses on the major figures—Cortés in Mexico and Pizarro in Peru—and their campaigns against the Aztec and Inca empires. Salaverría follows their journeys, from the first landings to the dramatic sieges of Tenochtitlan and Cuzco, detailing the battles, alliances with local groups, and the eventual fall of these great civilizations.

Why You Should Read It

This isn't a dry list of dates. Salaverría writes with a novelist's eye for drama. He wants you to feel the strangeness of that first contact, the shock on both sides. What grabbed me was his attempt to understand the conquistadors' psychology. He doesn't excuse their cruelty, but he shows how their medieval Spanish worldview, their hunger for glory, and their absolute religious certainty made their actions possible. It’s a portrait of a clash of worlds that feels both ancient and strangely immediate.

Final Verdict

Perfect for readers who like their history with a strong narrative pull and don't mind an older, somewhat romantic perspective. Salaverría was a writer of his time, so his lens is definitely European. But that's part of what makes it interesting—it’s a historical document about history itself. Read it not for the final word on the conquest, but for a compelling, character-driven chapter in how people have tried to tell this foundational, difficult story.