Reviews of serious books should not begin by noting their covers. In this case there is something deeply poignant about the portrayal of three indigenous people. The image is from Juan Cordero’s Cristóbal Colón en la corte de los reyes católicos, a canvas executed in 1850 as the myth of Columbus-as-culture-hero was being invented. The larger tableau from which the image was cropped shows Columbus in April 1493 standing before Ferdinand and Isabella, who are surrounded by soldiers in armor, a couple of pages, three ladies in waiting, and a Dominican friar. Columbus looks at his patrons and gestures toward the indigenous people, two men and one woman, who crouch or bow their heads. The incident depicted here is well known; Columbus had returned from his first voyage with captive “Indians,” proof positive that he had reached “India beyond the Ganges” by sailing west.
In most historical narratives about...
