Bernal Díaz del Castillo

By the time the explorer Bernal Dìaz del Castillo had his encounter with the natives it was not a very pleasant encounter because when he did his exploration the natives were “beginning to die off in large number because of disease and harsh treatment.” (Castillo, 18) The remaining natives became allies with the Spaniards. If the natives were not allies with Spaniards, then they were considered spies. If the natives were considered spies, then they were tortured by having body parts cut off. The reason each explorer has encounters with the natives that are different than the previous is because of the time frame each of the explorers set out to explore the new world. When all three explorers set out to explore the new world it was at a different time in history.…

Women throughout the world have always had multiple roles in a society. Some roles were more influential, while others remained more domesticated. Yet, throughout both novels, women shared similar duties. Sundiata, by D.T. Niane, describes the journey of King Sundiata Keita’s road to become ruler of the Mali Empire. The Conquest of New Spain, by Bernal Diaz, recounts the downfall of the Aztec Empire. In the Aztec, Spanish, and Mali Empires women were portrayed as domesticated, were used as a…

array of perspectives involved. For instance, whereas Spanish solider Bernal Diaz wrote his personal account The conquest of New Spain, multiple Aztec informants, including Aztec historians Alva Ixtilixóchitl and Chimalpain, wrote different accounts which were grouped together and titled Broken Spears. Although both of these historical writings give present-day readers a sense of what the conquest of New Spain might have looked like,…

The book called ¨The True History of the Conquest of New Spain¨ is a work by the author Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who was one of the soldiers participating in most of the days of the conquest of Mexico in the sixteenth century. Bernal Diaz del Castillo was a Spanish conquistador, who participated in the conquest of Mexico and was later alderman of the City of Guatemala. Each of the fourteen chapters become an experience for the reader. As shown in the simplicity of his style, Bernal Diaz del…

Mexico by Bernal Diaz del Castillo was written in 1517-1521. Bernal del Castillo wrote his narrations while he was a Spanish soldier, who took part in the conquest of Mexico. Bernal provides small and simple narratives of his experience during the conquest of Mexico in chapters XXII and XXIII of his book. In particular, chapter XXII focus on how the Mexican society was different compared to European society in customs such as Christianity; however, chapter XXIII gives an extensive written…

The True History of the Conquest of New Spain (Content Paper) Bernal Díaz del Castillo a Spanish conqueror and chronicler in the Indies, travelled with Cortés expedition party. Bernal Díaz del Castillo was interested in getting his version of the expedition out to the world. Even though it was years before he was able to accomplish this he believed it was important to explain the “rank and file” of the expeditioners and the Aztecs. The excerpt describes the expeditions walk into the great…

Human sacrifice is perhaps one of the most significant themes in the primary source of Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s The History of the Conquest of New Spain. In his volume of Castillo’s eyewitness account, Davíd Carrasco writes two interpretive essays entitled “The Exaggerations of Human Sacrifice” and “Human Sacrifice/Debt Payments from the Aztec Point of View.” As the name suggests, “The Exaggerations of Human Sacrifice” aims to dispute the misrepresentations in Díaz del Castillo’s reports and…

waiting very close to kill them. He decided to forstall an attack on the Natives and as a result over 3000 natives were killed. Cortes wrote a series of letters to King Charles V portraying himself and the Spaniards as chivalrous soldiers. And argued that it wasn’t their fault what happened that the Cholulans waged war on them and they retaliated. Costillo account of the event was similar to Cortes’ but he places the battle only a day after they arrived at Cholula not a couple of days as…

Accounts of the conquest of the Mexica, or Aztecs, vary widely, often depending on which perspective they are told from. The same event can be interpreted in wildly different ways simply due to the side it was experienced from. For example, one can compare and contrast the experience of the Cholula massacre from the perspective of the Mexica as well as from the perspective of the Spanish. The Florentine Codex, compiled through the work of Bernardino de Sahagún, describes the Mexica perspective…

event like we do with Bernal Diaz del Castillo “Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva España” or “The True History of the Conquest of the New Spain.” Written by a foot soldier alongside Hernan Cortes, “True History,” allows us to get a front row view to what can be considered one of the most fundamental encounters between European travelers and New World natives. Notably, it is not written is standard academic prose but rather an everyday vernacular, creating a more intimate…