Not Just the Tudors – "Colonial Women of the Americas"
Date: March 12, 2026
Host: Professor Suzannah Lipscomb
Guest: Sofia Robleda (author of The Other Moctezuma Girls)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the overlooked and often fragmented histories of indigenous and colonial women in the Americas before, during, and after the Spanish conquest. Joined by novelist Sofia Robleda, whose book The Other Moctezuma Girls re-centers indigenous noblewomen, the discussion bridges historical research with fiction to restore the voices and experiences of these women amidst seismic cultural and societal upheaval.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Women’s Lives in Pre-Conquest Mesoamerica

[03:26–08:05]

• Daily roles: Women were expected to manage domestic labor, textile production, cooking (notably grinding maize for hours), childcare, and religious rituals. Idle behavior was frowned upon.
• Societal structure: While broadly patriarchal, some parallels existed with Europe in terms of women’s and men’s roles—men in political and military power, women in home and economic support.
• Religious roles: Women kept home shrines and participated in religious festivals, some served as midwives, healers, and soothsayers. Women were sacrificial victims and offered for appeasement.
• Notable quote:

  "Being idle was considered a very, very bad thing. So everyone was constantly working."
  (Sofia Robleda, 03:53)

2. Power and Inheritance: Gendered Lines

[08:05–10:18]

• Women could sometimes inherit property or wield power, particularly among nobility or over lineage, but it was rare.
• Examples: Isabel Moctezuma as a unique case; ancient Mayan queens as rare warrior-rulers.
• The giving of women as tribute and gifts was common, especially to conquistadors like Hernán Cortés.

3. The Case of Malinche (Doña Marina): Interpreter and Agent

[10:18–13:27]

• Malinche’s multi-lingual abilities and cultural acumen were pivotal in the conquest, allowing Cortés to communicate and manipulate alliances.
• Despite her indispensable role, she’s been scapegoated in Mexican history, criticized as a "traitor"—a deeply unfair characterization.
• Notable quote:

  "Cortés said that Malinche was second only to God in importance of the Spanish conquest, of being successful in the Spanish conquest. That's how much he needed her."
  (Sofia Robleda, 12:15)

4. Reconstructing Hidden Histories – The Historian’s Challenge

[13:40–17:10]

• Major obstacles include male-produced records, burning of indigenous codices, and Eurocentric perspectives.
• Reading “against the grain” and focusing on indirect details—a necessity for uncovering women’s experiences.
• Recent scholarship is more attentive to women’s roles and indigenous-language sources.

5. The Conquest and Colonial Women under Spanish Rule

[17:10–19:38]

• Conquistadors treated indigenous women harshly—sexual exploitation, violence, and use as currency.
• Few Spanish women arrived initially; later, their presence was used to further “civilize” the colony, reinforcing racial and gendered hierarchies.
• Indigenous societies, contrary to Spanish propaganda, were highly organized, urbanized, and sophisticated.

6. Imposition and Adaptation of Religion and Customs

[19:38–23:07]

• Spanish authorities, while legislating "moderation," still forcibly imposed Christianity and social norms.
• Syncretism: Indigenous religious sites and deities (e.g., the goddess Tonantzin) reworked into venerated Catholic figures (e.g., the Virgin of Guadalupe).
• Noble indigenous women were often married to conquistadors as part of efforts to create compliant colonial nobility.

7. Isabel Moctezuma: A Life of Survival and Agency

[23:07–31:02]

• Isabel Moctezuma (born Tecuichpoch), daughter of Emperor Moctezuma, embodies resilience—surviving conquest, multiple marriages (to both Mexica and Spaniards), the smallpox epidemic, and extensive personal upheaval.

• Despite being illiterate and forcibly baptized, she asserted herself through legal battles—regaining lands, securing convent futures for her daughters, and freeing her slaves in her last will.

• Notable quote:

  "Her last will and testament was to kind of free thousands of people. And that, to me, was so powerful."
  (Sofia Robleda, 25:43)

• Discussion of the limits and realities of agency under oppressive systems – she benefited from slavery, yet showed compassion at the end of her life.

8. The Role of Historical Fiction

[31:02–33:29]

• Robleda discusses her approach: rigorous research, filling gaps with careful imagination, and balancing authenticity with narrative compulsion.

• Fiction can restore lost perspectives while maintaining a commitment to historical integrity.

• Notable quote:

  "Sometimes, like, truth is stranger than fiction."
  (Sofia Robleda, 33:29)

9. Continuing the Story: Descendants and Ongoing Research

[33:34–35:49]

• Isabel Moctezuma’s descendants survive today; her legitimate daughter with Cortés played a significant role in colonial Mexico.
• Robleda aims to bring more indigenous noblewomen’s stories—akin to how English and European royal women are popularly chronicled in fiction—to a wider audience.

10. Resilience and Endurance: The Lasting Legacy

[35:49–36:56]

• The greatest revelation has been the sheer endurance and adaptability of these women, despite systems meant to erase or subjugate them.
• Notable quote:

  "Just the resilience, the endurance, the practicality...a powerful reminder of what women are capable of, even when we're kind of being told that we're secondary, that we're property, that we're nothing essentially, except what we're told to be."
  (Sofia Robleda, 36:09)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• "Being idle was considered a very, very bad thing. So everyone was constantly working."
  – Sofia Robleda, 03:53

• "If the men failed in battle, the women were often blamed for not having swept, you know, diligently enough to kind of bring them home."
  – Sofia Robleda, 05:20

• "Cortés said that Malinche was second only to God in importance of the Spanish conquest."
  – Sofia Robleda, 12:15

• "We're not talking about some random village... This is extremely orderly civilizations that had been there for millennia. So they didn't need to be civilized."
  – Sofia Robleda, 18:34

• "Her last will and testament was to kind of free thousands of people. And that, to me, was so powerful."
  – Sofia Robleda, 25:43

• "Sometimes, like, truth is stranger than fiction."
  – Sofia Robleda, 33:29

• "Just the resilience, the endurance, the practicality...a powerful reminder of what women are capable of..."
  – Sofia Robleda, 36:09

Important Timestamps

• 03:26: Introduction to women's roles in pre-conquest Mesoamerica
• 10:18: Malinche and women's agency during the conquest
• 13:40: Historians’ source problems and reconstructing female histories
• 17:10: Treatment of indigenous women by Spanish conquistadors
• 19:38: Implementation of religion and new norms
• 23:07: Life and legacy of Isabel Moctezuma
• 31:02: Historical fiction's role and challenges
• 35:49: Lessons on resilience and inspiration

Tone and Language

The conversation is respectful, curious, and empathetic. Both host and guest blend scholarly analysis with thoughtful speculation and occasional wry humor, avoiding presentism while acknowledging the deep injustices and brutalities of the era.

Overall Takeaway

This episode offers a nuanced, empathetic view on the complexities, resilience, and agency of women whose lives and legacies have too often been dismissed or lost in conquest narratives. Through historical research and fiction, voices like Isabel Moctezuma’s and Malinche’s can be brought out from the shadows and their stories powerfully reimagined for modern audiences.