«The Black Legend» in American Popular Literature of the Interwar Period: The Representation of the Conquistadors in Pulp Magazines

The article examines the representation of Spanish conquis-tadors and the Conquista in American pulp literature of the interwar period. Methodologically, the article is based on John Cawelti’s concept of formula fiction and Joep Leers-sen’s imagological approach, which make it possible to identify stable narrative models and recurring tropes in the construction of the image of the “Other.” Based on fourteen short stories published in various pulp-magazines in the In-terwar period, the research traces the sustainability of “Black Legend” motifs that reinforced the perception of Spaniards as cruel and greedy conquerors in popular imagination. Pulp magazines, designed for mass readership, functioned not only as entertainment but also as important mediators of cultural memory, transmitting enduring stereotypes and formed collective historical imagination. The author demon-strates that, despite the decline of anti-Catholic motifs, themes of greed for gold and violence remained central. These images drew on the established anti-Spanish discourse while simultaneously resonating with America’s own social experience and early 20th-century debates about the United States' place as a new empire in the Western Hemi-sphere.