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The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz de Castillo, Volume 2
A personal account of the discovery and conquest of Mexico and New Spain.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
388 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 1977
About the author
Bernal Díaz del Castillo
168 books47 followersBernal Díaz del Castillo (1492 – ca. 1580) was a conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards under Hernán Cortés, himself serving as a rodelero under Cortés. Born in Medina del Campo (Spain), he came from a family of little wealth and he himself had received only a minimal education. He sailed to Tierra Firme in 1514 to make his fortune, but after two years found few opportunities there. Much of the native population had already been killed by epidemics and there was political unrest. So he sailed to Cuba, where he was promised a grant of Indian slaves. But that promise was never fulfilled, leading Díaz, in 1517, to join an expedition being organized by a group of about 110 fellow settlers from Tierra Firme and similarly disaffected Spaniards. They chose Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, a wealthy Cuban landowner, to lead the expedition. It was a difficult venture, and although they discovered the Yucatán coast, by the time the expedition returned to Cuba they were in disastrous shape.
Nevertheless, Díaz returned to the coast of Yucatán the following year, on an expedition led by Juan de Grijalva, with the intent of exploring the newly discovered lands. Upon returning to Cuba, he enlisted in a new expedition, this one led by Hernán Cortés. In this third effort, Díaz took part in one of the legendary military campaigns of history, bringing an end to the Aztec empire in Mesoamerica. During this campaign, Díaz spoke frequently with his companions in arms about their experiences, collecting them into a coherent narration. The book that resulted from this was Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España (English: The True History of the Conquest of New Spain). In it he describes many of the 119 battles in which he claims to have participated, culminating in the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521.
As a reward for his service, Díaz was appointed governor of Santiago de los Caballeros, present-day Antigua Guatemala. He began writing his history in 1568, almost fifty years after the events described, in response to an alternative history written by Cortés's chaplain, who had not actually participated in the campaign. He called his book the Historia Verdadera ("True History"), in response to the claims made in the earlier work.
Díaz died in 1585, without seeing his book published. A manuscript was found in a Madrid library in 1632 and finally published, providing an eye-witness account of the events, often told from the perspective of a common soldier. Today it is one of the most important sources in understanding the campaign that led to the collapse of the Aztec Empire and the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
Nevertheless, Díaz returned to the coast of Yucatán the following year, on an expedition led by Juan de Grijalva, with the intent of exploring the newly discovered lands. Upon returning to Cuba, he enlisted in a new expedition, this one led by Hernán Cortés. In this third effort, Díaz took part in one of the legendary military campaigns of history, bringing an end to the Aztec empire in Mesoamerica. During this campaign, Díaz spoke frequently with his companions in arms about their experiences, collecting them into a coherent narration. The book that resulted from this was Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España (English: The True History of the Conquest of New Spain). In it he describes many of the 119 battles in which he claims to have participated, culminating in the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521.
As a reward for his service, Díaz was appointed governor of Santiago de los Caballeros, present-day Antigua Guatemala. He began writing his history in 1568, almost fifty years after the events described, in response to an alternative history written by Cortés's chaplain, who had not actually participated in the campaign. He called his book the Historia Verdadera ("True History"), in response to the claims made in the earlier work.
Díaz died in 1585, without seeing his book published. A manuscript was found in a Madrid library in 1632 and finally published, providing an eye-witness account of the events, often told from the perspective of a common soldier. Today it is one of the most important sources in understanding the campaign that led to the collapse of the Aztec Empire and the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 11, 2022
This was an outstanding read.
July 22, 2011
C'est passionnant!
December 8, 2021
This primary account of the Spanish conquest of the Mexica is well-worth reading, as it gives first-hand insight into the events and into the prejudices of the conquistadores. Particularly interesting is the author's take on events such as the epidemic that swept Tenochtitlan, which he interprets as an expression of God's will. However, it suffers from Diaz's tendency to constantly settle personal vendettas, which lead him to interrupt interesting accounts of battles with petty gossip.
May 30, 2023
Interesting window into historic events, heavily morally coloured by the perspective of the author.
November 11, 2019
The second volume is as large as the first one and deals with the siege of Mexico first and the twenty years after that up to Cortes' demise. As you can imagine it's a pretty long read and it's more brutal and depressing than the first one. After Tenochtitlan was conquered Cortes goes into a two year expedition in Honduras which was pretty devastating both to his troops and to his power since in his absence different people see opportunities to seize that power for themselves. Later on Cortes is granted the marquess title for his conquests but loses the first prize - another person is named the viceroy of New Spain.
March 17, 2015
One of the greatest books of historical accounts I have ever read- when including volume 1. I enjoyed learning about how Mexico became what it is today. God's wrath definitely came against human sacrifice, but along with it native culture was obliterated. When man violates those laws that God has written in his heart, and wantonly sheds innocent blood, an account must be made before the Almighty. For that reason, I believe God allowed the conquest of the ancient peoples in Mexico. However, idols were swapped for idols, and innocent blood is now being shed almost as often as back then.
July 2, 2013
El lenguaje es arcaico, el estilo es repetitivo y amateur, pero el contenido vale la pena.
Muy interesante conocer sobre la historia del nacimiento de México a través las memorias de uno de sus protagonistas.
Muy interesante conocer sobre la historia del nacimiento de México a través las memorias de uno de sus protagonistas.
May 5, 2016
Its history, I learned perspective from it. I can't rate it higher or lower.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews