Open Access
American Research Journal of History and Culture
ISSN (Online): 2379-2914
DOI: 10.46568/arjhc
Rethinking Doña Marina’s History in the Spanish Conquest: Power Dynamics in the Colonial Encounter Between the Spanish and the Nahuatls
Abstract
With knowledge of three languages, Doña Marina formed a linguistic link between the Spanish and the Nahuatls during
the Spanish Conquest. Despite her critical position, historical narratives tend to obscure, if not omit, records of her
presence. This paper aims to spotlight her complex role: forfeiting her liberty over her personhood upon enslavement
while instituting power as she controlled communication across language and culture. As she did not leave any written
records of herself, attempts to reconstruct her identity entail examinations of sources written her eyewitnesses – both
Spanish and Nahuatl, literary and visual. While many studies have analyzed the role she played as a linguistic mediator,
this paper demonstrates that her role was much more extensive. Doña Marina’s diverse characterizations across historical
narratives reflect efforts by sectors of the Spanish and the Nahuatl populations to institute power during the 16th century
colonial encounter. Aligned with other decolonial projects, this paper works against the tendency to simplify the Spanish
Nahuatl colonial encounter as a dichotomy of conquest and resistance.
