Amy Fuller

The World Divided at Tordesillas

With a line on a map, the Treaty of Tordesillas split the world between Spain and Portugal. Was it a grand refutation of papal authority or an extension of it?

The Fall of Tenochtitlan

Whether it was a conquest or an invasion, the events that took place in the Aztec capital 500 years ago are in desperate need of reappraisal.

Saving Mexico from the Devil

The Conquest of Mexico was justified by the Spanish as an evil necessary to save a people who practised human sacrifice and worshipped false gods. 

The Origin of La Llarona

The legend of La Llorona has supposedly haunted Mexico since before the Conquest. The wailing woman’s story is one of violence, much like the country whose suffering she is often taken to represent. Beware the woman in white ...

A Mexican Martyr

Amy Fuller looks at the life of the Mexican nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and asks why we feel the need to kill our heroines rather than celebrate their achievements.