El apostolado en las Indias y martirio de un cacique

The play "El apostolado en las Indias y martirio de un cacique" by Eusebio Vela, first performed in 1732, offers a somewhat simplified portrayal of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. While its plot and language draw from Spanish Baroque theatre, the character of Cortés is depicted as a rational and sensitive leader, foreshadowing figures common in later Spanish and Italian drama.1

The play is part of a broader literary tradition in Latin America that emerged after the European arrival. Early colonial literature included chronicles of discovery and conquest, such as those by Christopher Columbus and Bernal Díaz del Castillo, which documented the Spanish encounters with indigenous civilizations. Bartolomé de Las Casas, known as the "Apostle of the Indians," also wrote extensively, denouncing the mistreatment of native populations and advocating for their welfare. These writings, while sometimes polemical, contributed to the historical and literary discourse of the period.2