On Thursday, 20 November 2025, the seminar ‘How we saw it and how we see it. The public uses of history and the conquest of America’ was presented by Nuria Soriano Muñoz, permanent lecturer in the Department of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Valencia. This is the last seminar in the series Archives, Scientific Heritage and Public History: The Uses of the Past in the Present, organised by Francesca Antonelli (University of Bologna), Ximo Guillem-Llobat (University of Valencia) and Luz Narbona (University of Valencia) at the López Piñero Interuniversity Institute.
In the first part of the seminar, Dr Soriano spoke about the uses of the past and how they have developed. She commented that there is a complex debate about the relationship between the present and the past, a debate about the usefulness of historical knowledge itself, as well as about the relationship between history and politics.
She mentioned some publications on the subject, including: How the Past Was Used, Historical Cultures c.750-2000, Les usages politiques du passé, Uses of History and Politics of Memory, Uses and Abuses of History. He stated that the contemporary is an imperative of our historical time, and that historical works must strive to connect criticism of sources and historiography with social demands and concerns of the present.
Nuria explained how many people who study history believe that the present can contaminate the past, which has to do with the public uses of history, and referred to the book by Juan José Carreras and Carlos Joradel — Public Uses of History, papers from the 6th Congress of the Association of Contemporary History. Therefore, historians need the present to make history useful and to relate the history of the living to the history of the dead - ‘you cannot judge the past with the ideas of the present’. He said that the debate on the public uses of history suggests that today's societies no longer seek to remember or understand memory, but call for it not to be silenced as an obligation. This, he said, is identified with the conquest of America, since from the 15th century to the present day, many currents of opinion, imaginations, political and cultural judgements have been generated. He explained that the interpretation of the conquest of America follows two dialectics: those who interpret the conquest as theft, looting and destruction and those who, on the contrary, interpret the discovery as a European, civilising, patriotic and nationalist feat.
Professor Soriano also analysed the concept of historical guilt, which can affect successive generations, as in the case of the Nazi Holocaust, where people feel guilty. According to her, witnesses are sources for hearing about the past first-hand, without the mediation of historians. She mentioned Jürgen Habermas and how he proposed incorporating crimes linked to the Holocaust into the memory of the Federal Republic of Germany. Habermas believed that the past exerts brutal pressure on the present, which is why it must be incorporated. She added that we must consider that the past is not something dead, but rather a cultural creation, and that societies produce, shape, and reinterpret the past in different ways.
She linked this issue of integrating the past into the present with the debate on guilt and the conquest of America. He therefore argued that the public uses of history are a connection for historiography, as are the figures of Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Christopher Columbus and any discoverer, conqueror or navigator. He explained that the conquest evokes very powerful symbolism that allows for debate about the significance of these figures, since many current concepts, such as patriotism, civilisation and imperialism, did not exist at that time.
Although some people consider debates about the conquest to be a very recent phenomenon, he showed that there were many earlier texts and studies. These reveal echoes of a debate with a much longer history. He also pointed to the debate about what is known as the “pink legend”, mentioning books that advocate rethinking and demystifying the conquest of America. Some of these are: Imperiofobia y leyenda negra: Roma, Rusia, Estados Unidos y el Imperio español (Imperialophobia and the Black Legend: Rome, Russia, the United States and the Spanish Empire) by Maria Elvira Roca Barea and Madre Patria (Motherland) by Marcelo Gullo.
Nuria also mentioned the works of Margaret McMillan, which analyse the public uses of history, and included the reflection that these involve a debate that allows authors and readers to consider their place in the world, which often involves looking to the past: something that was done in the 15th century and continues to be done today. He concluded by reflecting that it is impossible to demystify the conquest, as it is not possible to separate history from its public use, and if it were possible, history would cease to have meaning, since it is public use that generates controversy, debate and presence.
Ivania Maturana, student completing extracurricular internships for the Interuniversity Master's Degree in History and Communication of Science.
