IMPERIAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE PAST. HISTORIOGRAPHICAL DISCOURSE OF EVANGELICAL MISSIONARIES ON THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF MEXICO AND PERU (1878–1930)

May May E.R.; Fonseca J.; Cambar N. · Historia (Chile) (2025) · DOI: 10.7764/hist.58.2.74273

Resumen

This research article aims to comparatively analyze the narratives about the history of Pre-Hispanic civilizations in Peru and Mexico developed in the writings of Protestant missionaries, mainly Americans and British, between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. For this purpose, we examine a selection of representative works published between 1878 and 1930, primarily applying the methodology of critical discourse analysis. The study is structured in the following parts: Protestant missionary expansion in the background of imperialism, the characterization of selected works and representations on the history of Pre-Hispanic civilizations, first in Mexico, and then in Peru. In this last point, we also include the observations of the missionaries on the historical evolution of indigenous societies even in the colonial period. In this way, we seek to show the articulation of the representations built by Protestant missionaries about the past of indigenous peoples within the ideological framework of Western imperialism.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas; Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú