subject in these

late days of Spanish conquest, is precisely the fissure Onate's behavior works to suture. By 1598 reenacting Cortes seems the only way Onate might imagine (or discover) himself a "rightful" conquistador in the terms of th

e now bankrupt economy of

• honor thr
• ough warfare. Conquering H
• istory If we turn to Villagra's
• Historia of these events, th
• e first thing we note is
• that he ignores (or forgets)
• this provenance
• of prior conquests. Villag
• ra's opening pages es
• tablish the operative