Roma en Chile: sobre la proyección del mundo antiguo en la Conquista de América

in the official historiography, the imperial project of charles v includes the consolidation of a national spanish identity as well as the legitimation of the conquest of the new world. rome and the romans serve in both cases as a model, and so the image is used consequently as polyvalent symbol: sometimes it reflects the enemy of the pre-roman spaniards, sometimes the advantageous civilizing force of the conquerors. a special case is offered by the reflection of chile's conquest in ercilla's la araucana, where even the romans should learn from the virtues of the indigenous people.