Indigenist thought of José María Heredia: a review of the approach to his history in Latin America

Abstract

This study employed a textual-hermeneutic analysis to examine the indigenism present in José María Heredia y Heredia's Lessons in Universal History, focusing specifically on his History of America as a foundational text that, for the first time, integrated the history of the continent within a universal framework.

The findings revealed that Heredia's indigenism manifested in two key dimensions: first, in his revolutionary act of including American civilizations (particularly the Mexica and Inca) as constitutive elements of world history, acknowledging their socio-political systems and equating their value to that of European cultures; second, in his uniquely admiring perspective toward these pre-Columbian societies, which contrasted with the ethnocidal agenda of 19th-century liberal indigenism. However, the analysis demonstrated how this reclamation coexisted with his adherence to modernizing ideals evidenced in his later fascination with the North American model thus creating a productive tension between tradition and progress that characterizes his thought.

This research concludes that Heredia represents a singular variant within 19th-century indigenism: while sharing the liberal outlook of his time, his approach to the indigenous past—marked by nostalgia and recognition laid the groundwork for an American historiography that values its pre-Hispanic heritage as an essential component of continental identity.