Doña Marina (La Malinche), book illustration included in The Mastering of Mexico by Kate Stephens, p. 65, 1916.
La Malinche, Malintzin, or Doña Marina, was a key figure in the fall of the Aztec Empire and the absorption of Mexico into New Spain. Although commonly seen as a clash of civilizations between the Aztecs and the Spanish, the driving force for the wars against the Aztecs was the various Mexica peoples who sought to break free from Aztec hegemony. La Malinche is often portrayed as a great betrayer of the Aztecs, which ignores the fact that she was not Aztec, nor were her sentiments towards them unique amongst people in the region. More recent scholarship on her has sought to provide a more complex view of the Spanish conquest and shine a light on the key role non-Aztec people played in that dramatic saga.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Stephens, K. (2025, September 23). Doña Marina, La Malinche. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21074/dona-marina-la-malinche/
Chicago Style
Stephens, Kate. "Doña Marina, La Malinche." World History Encyclopedia, September 23, 2025. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21074/dona-marina-la-malinche/.
MLA Style
Stephens, Kate. "Doña Marina, La Malinche." World History Encyclopedia, 23 Sep 2025, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21074/dona-marina-la-malinche/.
