Beyond Cortes and Montezuma examines both European and Nahuatl texts and images that shed light on the complex narrative of contact and the ensuing conflict, negotiation, and cooperation that continued well after the colonial period.

A diverse group of scholars from Europe, Mexico, and the US with varied methodological backgrounds-linguistics, history, art history, and cultural studies-query the "conquest," or rather conquista, of Mexico through a series of case studies that interrogate how historians, especially in Europe, Mexico, and the US, understand and interact with this concept. They consider the language used to encapsulate the event in Nahuatl documents from the colonial period, how the Spanish veterans led the transition to settlement in taking land for themselves, and the legacy of the conquista in discrimination against Tlaxcallans in modern Mexico.

Beyond Cortes and Montezuma is a compilation of nuanced reflections on the language, narratives, and memories of the conquista that balances the crimes of Spanish colonialism and asymmetries of power that existed within early New Spain with the abilities of Native peoples to resist, negotiate, and survive.