Spain’s King Felipe VI has acknowledged that the Spanish conquest of the Americas involved “much abuse” and “ethical controversies”, in a significant shift in tone amid a long-running diplomatic row with Mexico over colonial-era atrocities.
Speaking during a visit to a museum exhibition in Madrid about the role of women in pre-Columbian Mexico, the king said: “There are things that, when we study them, we come to know them, and well, with our current values, they obviously cannot make us feel proud.” He added that such events must be understood “in their proper context, not with excessive moral presentism, but with an objective and rigorous analysis.”
The remarks come after years of tension between Spain and Mexico. In 2019, former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador demanded a formal apology from Spain and the Pope for abuses during the 1519-1521 conquest, which killed a large part of the pre-Hispanic population. Spain refused, straining relations.
In 2024, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum did not invite King Felipe to her inauguration due to the lack of an apology, a move Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called “unacceptable.” Spain then declined to send a representative.
However, relations have thawed since Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares acknowledged the “pain and injustice” suffered by Mexico’s Indigenous peoples at the opening of the same exhibition last autumn. Sheinbaum called that a first step, noting it was the first time a Spanish official had expressed regret.
King Felipe’s comments do not constitute a formal apology from the Spanish royal palace. Sheinbaum said on Monday she needed to examine his remarks further.
