Los indios del Nuevo Mundo en el esquema cristiano de la historia universal según fray Diego Durán

Abstract

For contemporary historians and researchers it is clear that the Historia de las Indias de la Nueva España e islas de Tierra Firme (1581) by Diego Durán is a fundamental work for the knowledge of the pre-hispanic nahuatl world and the process of evangelization at the center of Mexico in the end from the 16th century. However, few of them have devoted themselves to understanding this chronicle as a historical product. The objective of this article is to explain, from the perspective of historiographical analysis, how the attachment that the Dominican friar had towards New Spain was manifested in his work. First, he praise of the American nature and the virtues of the Indians. Second, in his effort to explain that the Indians of the New World were also sons of God and participating in the divine plan of salvation. In this analysis makes explicit the argue about the Creole feeling that took root in Durán and how this contributes to the understanding of the theological background that allowed him to include the New Spain in the Christian scheme of universal history.