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Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler. He is mainly known as the author of ''Literature/TheTrueHistoryOfTheConquestOfMexico'', a monumental work about his long and adventurous career as a member of UsefulNotes/HernanCortez' inner circle, which includes various skirmishes in Cuba, the entire UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire, and part of the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheMaya.
to:
Bernal Díaz del Castillo Castillo, possibly born as Bernal Díaz de Mercado (1496 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler. He is mainly known as the author of ''Literature/TheTrueHistoryOfTheConquestOfMexico'', a monumental work about his long and adventurous career as a member of UsefulNotes/HernanCortez' inner circle, which includes various skirmishes in Cuba, the entire UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire, and part of the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheMaya.
Changed line(s) 15,18 (click to see context) from:
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning to handle himself to some degree in Taíno, Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and by virtue of being a member of Cortés' entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a journalistic job, often with native translators to complete his own tongue, in order to gather all the possible info. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his own loyalty and admiration for him.
He is not devoid of controversy either, as some editions of his work were doctored to remove emphasis on certain figures (mostly Francisco de Montejo and his relatives) and an amusing chapter after the fall of Tenochtitlan (the victory feast, which ended in an embarrassing [[MushroomSamba collective intoxication by native herbs]]). A theory even claims the whole ''True History'' might have been secretly written by Cortés himself using Díaz as a cover, although few historians believe it likely.
He is not devoid of controversy either, as some editions of his work were doctored to remove emphasis on certain figures (mostly Francisco de Montejo and his relatives) and an amusing chapter after the fall of Tenochtitlan (the victory feast, which ended in an embarrassing [[MushroomSamba collective intoxication by native herbs]]). A theory even claims the whole ''True History'' might have been secretly written by Cortés himself using Díaz as a cover, although few historians believe it likely.
to:
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be Although not a CunningLinguist, learning he learned to handle himself to some degree in Taíno, Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and by virtue of being a member of Cortés' entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a journalistic job, often with native translators to complete his own tongue, in order to gather all the possible info. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his own loyalty and admiration for him.
He is not devoid ofcontroversy either, as controversy, though. Although most of what he wrote harmonizes with what we know of the real events, several inconsistencies in the registers have led some editions authors to speculate, as with UsefulNotes/AmerigoVespucci, that Díaz did not actually participate in the conquest of his work were doctored to remove emphasis on certain figures (mostly Francisco de Montejo the Aztecs and his relatives) and an amusing chapter after the fall of Tenochtitlan (the victory feast, which ended in an embarrassing [[MushroomSamba collective intoxication by native herbs]]). A theory even claims the whole ''True History'' might have been secretly was not written by him, with popular theories going from Cortés himself being the author using Díaz as a cover, although few historians believe it likely.
to Díaz's children having hijacked memoirs of Cortés or another conquistador to aggrandize their father. Although those theories lay outside of the mainstream, truth remains unknown.
He is not devoid of
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Changed line(s) 5,18 (click to see context) from:
Unlike many conquistadores, who hailed from the poorest lands of Spain, Díaz was born in a relatively comfortable family in Castile. A bookworm in arms in the vein of Literature/DonQuixote, he departed from the New World in the search of fortune, possibly in the grand fleet of the infamous Pedrarias Dávila. Díaz might have met UsefulNotes/VascoNunezDeBalboa at this point, although it remains a speculation. In any case, their time in the Darién (modern day Colombia) turned out much less promising than they had been told, with plenty of deadly famines and tropical epidemics, which led Bernal and many other expeditioners to abandon and try luck in other points of the nascent empire.
Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual crewman of the expeditions that were exploring the Yucatan Peninsula under Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. He then joined Cortés' fleet as an EnsignNewbie, and the rest is history. He ended his career as a governor in Guatemala, where he decided to write his autobiography to counter contemporaneous false beliefs about their exploits, like those of Francisco López de Gómara and Creator/BartolomeDeLasCasas, though dying before publishing his work, which would be ultimately released by one of his sons.
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the first participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedy LightNovel from today. According to himself, he literally asked Emperor Moctezuma II for a wife from the Aztec elite on the claim of being too poor to afford one, and as Moctezuma and the Spaniards were in good terms at the time, the emperor laughed and simply conceded, just like that. This match had two children, Diego and Teresa, although Bernal would be later politically forced to marry a mestiza that had become widowed young, who gave him nine other children. He also enjoyed the goods of the conquest in other ways, reportedly being almost [[TheTeetotaler a teetotaler]] yet [[SweetTooth addict to chocolate]].
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 [[UsefulNotes/SchoolOfSalamanca Valladolid Debate]], where the supported the right to conquer and own land in order to eliminate practices like HumanSacrifice and cannibalism (probably [[ItsPersonal a result of almost being sacrificed himself twice during the wars]]), but otherwise he was usually in the indigenous side against any abuse from his fellow conquistadores. Due to his good relations with the natives, he was notably part of the investigative committee that outlawed the custom to enslave war captives accused of treason, which by this point was the only form of native slavery legally allowed in the Spanish Empire.
Not everything is nice and clean, though, as his chronicle is also an early testimony of [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]], which plagued him and probably many other veterans even before the end of the conquest. The sum of his war experiences and the vision of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture left him suffering from anxiety before his last battles, as well as unable to sleep unless fully dressed, armed and lying on the floor until the day of his death. Although he was renowned as a soldier, claiming to have spent a not too unbelievable total of 119 days of his life fighting, he always credited luck and God (and Cortés) as the main reasons he didn't end with his heart ripped out atop a stepped pyramid.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning to handle himself in Taíno, Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and as a member of Cortés' entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a journalistic job, often with native translators to complete his own tongue, in order to gather all the possible info. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his loyalty and admiration for him.
He is not devoid of controversy either, as some editions of his work were known to be doctored to remove emphasis on certain figures and an amusing chapter where the victory feast ended in a collective intoxication with native herbs. A theory even claims the whole ''True History'' might have been secretly written by Cortés himself using Díaz as a cover, although few historians believe it likely.
Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual crewman of the expeditions that were exploring the Yucatan Peninsula under Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. He then joined Cortés' fleet as an EnsignNewbie, and the rest is history. He ended his career as a governor in Guatemala, where he decided to write his autobiography to counter contemporaneous false beliefs about their exploits, like those of Francisco López de Gómara and Creator/BartolomeDeLasCasas, though dying before publishing his work, which would be ultimately released by one of his sons.
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the first participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedy LightNovel from today. According to himself, he literally asked Emperor Moctezuma II for a wife from the Aztec elite on the claim of being too poor to afford one, and as Moctezuma and the Spaniards were in good terms at the time, the emperor laughed and simply conceded, just like that. This match had two children, Diego and Teresa, although Bernal would be later politically forced to marry a mestiza that had become widowed young, who gave him nine other children. He also enjoyed the goods of the conquest in other ways, reportedly being almost [[TheTeetotaler a teetotaler]] yet [[SweetTooth addict to chocolate]].
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 [[UsefulNotes/SchoolOfSalamanca Valladolid Debate]], where the supported the right to conquer and own land in order to eliminate practices like HumanSacrifice and cannibalism (probably [[ItsPersonal a result of almost being sacrificed himself twice during the wars]]), but otherwise he was usually in the indigenous side against any abuse from his fellow conquistadores. Due to his good relations with the natives, he was notably part of the investigative committee that outlawed the custom to enslave war captives accused of treason, which by this point was the only form of native slavery legally allowed in the Spanish Empire.
Not everything is nice and clean, though, as his chronicle is also an early testimony of [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]], which plagued him and probably many other veterans even before the end of the conquest. The sum of his war experiences and the vision of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture left him suffering from anxiety before his last battles, as well as unable to sleep unless fully dressed, armed and lying on the floor until the day of his death. Although he was renowned as a soldier, claiming to have spent a not too unbelievable total of 119 days of his life fighting, he always credited luck and God (and Cortés) as the main reasons he didn't end with his heart ripped out atop a stepped pyramid.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning to handle himself in Taíno, Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and as a member of Cortés' entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a journalistic job, often with native translators to complete his own tongue, in order to gather all the possible info. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his loyalty and admiration for him.
He is not devoid of controversy either, as some editions of his work were known to be doctored to remove emphasis on certain figures and an amusing chapter where the victory feast ended in a collective intoxication with native herbs. A theory even claims the whole ''True History'' might have been secretly written by Cortés himself using Díaz as a cover, although few historians believe it likely.
to:
Unlike many conquistadores, who hailed from the poorest lands of Spain, Díaz was born in a relatively comfortable family in Castile. A bookworm in arms in the vein of Literature/DonQuixote, he departed from the New World in the search of fortune, possibly in the grand fleet of the infamous Pedrarias Dávila. Díaz might have met UsefulNotes/VascoNunezDeBalboa at this point, although it remains a speculation. In any case, their time in the Darién (modern day Colombia) turned out much less promising than they had been told, with plenty of deadly famines and tropical epidemics, which led Bernal and many other expeditioners to abandon give up and try luck in other points of the nascent empire.
Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usualcrewman crewmember of the expeditions that were exploring the Yucatan Peninsula under Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. He then joined Cortés' fleet as an EnsignNewbie, and the rest is history. He Díaz ended his career as a governor in Guatemala, where he decided to write his autobiography to counter contemporaneous false beliefs about their exploits, like those of Francisco López de Gómara and Creator/BartolomeDeLasCasas, though dying before publishing his work, which would be ultimately released by one of his sons.
As accustomed, Díaz was one of thefirst earliest participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedy LightNovel from today. According to himself, he Bernal literally asked Emperor Moctezuma II for a wife from the Aztec elite on the claim of being wife, claiming to be too poor to afford one, marry a Spanish woman, and as because Moctezuma and the Spaniards were in good terms at the time, the emperor laughed and simply conceded, just like that. This gifting him an Aztec noblewoman that was baptized as Francisca. The match had two children, Diego and Teresa, although Bernal would be later politically forced to marry a mestiza that had become widowed young, Teresa Becerra, who gave him nine other children. He also enjoyed the goods of the conquest in other ways, reportedly being almost [[TheTeetotaler a teetotaler]] yet [[SweetTooth addict to chocolate]].
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 [[UsefulNotes/SchoolOfSalamanca Valladolid Debate]], wherethe he supported the right to conquer and own land in order to eliminate practices like HumanSacrifice and cannibalism (probably [[ItsPersonal a result of almost being sacrificed himself twice during the wars]]), but otherwise he was usually in sided firmly with the indigenous side against any abuse from his fellow conquistadores. Due to his good relations with the natives, he was notably made part of the investigative committee that outlawed the custom to enslave war captives accused of treason, which by this point was the only form of native slavery legally allowed in the Spanish Empire.
Not everything is nice and clean, though, as his chronicle is also an early testimony of [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]], which plagued him and probably many other veterans even before the end of the conquest. The sum of his war experiences and the vision of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture left him suffering fromanxiety before his last battles, anxiety, as well as unable to sleep unless fully dressed, armed and lying on the floor floor, until the day of his death. Although he was renowned as a soldier, claiming to have spent a not too unbelievable total of 119 days of his life fighting, he always credited luck and God (and Cortés) as the main reasons he didn't end up with his heart ripped out atop a stepped pyramid.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning to handle himself to some degree in Taíno, Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, andas by virtue of being a member of Cortés' entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a journalistic job, often with native translators to complete his own tongue, in order to gather all the possible info. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his own loyalty and admiration for him.
He is not devoid of controversy either, as some editions of his work wereknown to be doctored to remove emphasis on certain figures (mostly Francisco de Montejo and his relatives) and an amusing chapter where after the fall of Tenochtitlan (the victory feast feast, which ended in a an embarrassing [[MushroomSamba collective intoxication with by native herbs.herbs]]). A theory even claims the whole ''True History'' might have been secretly written by Cortés himself using Díaz as a cover, although few historians believe it likely.
Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 [[UsefulNotes/SchoolOfSalamanca Valladolid Debate]], where
Not everything is nice and clean, though, as his chronicle is also an early testimony of [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]], which plagued him and probably many other veterans even before the end of the conquest. The sum of his war experiences and the vision of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture left him suffering from
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning to handle himself to some degree in Taíno, Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and
He is not devoid of controversy either, as some editions of his work were
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 13,14 (click to see context) from:
Not everything is nice and clean, though, as his chronicle is also an early testimony of [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]], which plagued him and probably many other veterans even before the end of the conquest. The sum of his war experiences and the vision of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture left him suffering from anxiety before his last battles, as well as unable to sleep unless fully dressed, armed and lying on the floor until the day of his death. Although he was renowned as a soldier, claiming to have participated in a not too unbelievable total of 119 battles, skirmishes and guerrillas, he always credited luck and God as the main reasons he didn't end his days with his heart ripped out on a stepped pyramid.
to:
Not everything is nice and clean, though, as his chronicle is also an early testimony of [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]], which plagued him and probably many other veterans even before the end of the conquest. The sum of his war experiences and the vision of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture left him suffering from anxiety before his last battles, as well as unable to sleep unless fully dressed, armed and lying on the floor until the day of his death. Although he was renowned as a soldier, claiming to have participated in spent a not too unbelievable total of 119 battles, skirmishes and guerrillas, days of his life fighting, he always credited luck and God (and Cortés) as the main reasons he didn't end his days with his heart ripped out on atop a stepped pyramid.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 3,12 (click to see context) from:
Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler. He is mainly known as the author of ''Literature/TheTrueHistoryOfTheConquestOfMexico'', a massive work about his long and adventurous career as a member of UsefulNotes/HernanCortez' inner circle, which includes various skirmishes in Cuba, the entire UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire, and part of the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheMaya.
Unlike many conquistadores, who hailed from the poorest lands of Spain, Díaz was born in a relatively comfortable family in Castile. A bookworm in arms in the vein of Don Quixote, he departed from the New World in the search of fortune, possibly in the great fleet of the infamous Pedrarias Dávila. Díaz might have met UsefulNotes/VascoNunezDeBalboa at this point, although it remains a speculation. In any case, their time in the Darién (modern day Colombia) turned out much less promising than they had been told, with plenty of deadly famines and tropical epidemics, which led Bernal and many other expeditioners to abandon and try luck in other points of the nascent empire. Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual crewman of the expeditions that were starting to explore the Yucatan Peninsula under Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, and after joining Cortés' fleet as a lieutenant, the rest is history. He ended his career as a governor in Guatemala, where he decided to write his autobiography before his death to counter contemporaneous false beliefs about their exploits, like those of Francisco López de Gómara.
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the first participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedy LightNovel. According to himself, he literally asked Emperor Moctezuma II for a wife from the Aztec elite on the claim of being too poor to afford one, and as Moctezuma and the Spaniards were in good terms at the time, the emperor laughed and simply conceded, just like that. This match had two children, Diego and Teresa, although Bernal would be later politically forced to marry a mestiza that had became widowed young, who gave him nine other children. He also enjoyed the goods of the conquest in other ways; he reportedly was almost [[TheTeetotaler a teetotaler]], yet [[SweetTooth addict to chocolate]].
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 Valladolid Debate, where the supported the right to conquer and own land in order to eliminate practices like HumanSacrifice and cannibalism, but otherwise Díaz was usually in the indigenous side against any abuse from his fellow conquistadores. Due to his good relations with the natives, he was made part of the investigative committee that outlawed the custom to enslave war captives accused of treason, which by this point was the only form of native slavery legally allowed in the Spanish Empire.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning soon to defend himself in Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and as the official EnsignNewbie of Cortés and his entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a true journalistic job in order to gather possible. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his loyalty and admiration for him.
Unlike many conquistadores, who hailed from the poorest lands of Spain, Díaz was born in a relatively comfortable family in Castile. A bookworm in arms in the vein of Don Quixote, he departed from the New World in the search of fortune, possibly in the great fleet of the infamous Pedrarias Dávila. Díaz might have met UsefulNotes/VascoNunezDeBalboa at this point, although it remains a speculation. In any case, their time in the Darién (modern day Colombia) turned out much less promising than they had been told, with plenty of deadly famines and tropical epidemics, which led Bernal and many other expeditioners to abandon and try luck in other points of the nascent empire. Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual crewman of the expeditions that were starting to explore the Yucatan Peninsula under Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, and after joining Cortés' fleet as a lieutenant, the rest is history. He ended his career as a governor in Guatemala, where he decided to write his autobiography before his death to counter contemporaneous false beliefs about their exploits, like those of Francisco López de Gómara.
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the first participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedy LightNovel. According to himself, he literally asked Emperor Moctezuma II for a wife from the Aztec elite on the claim of being too poor to afford one, and as Moctezuma and the Spaniards were in good terms at the time, the emperor laughed and simply conceded, just like that. This match had two children, Diego and Teresa, although Bernal would be later politically forced to marry a mestiza that had became widowed young, who gave him nine other children. He also enjoyed the goods of the conquest in other ways; he reportedly was almost [[TheTeetotaler a teetotaler]], yet [[SweetTooth addict to chocolate]].
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 Valladolid Debate, where the supported the right to conquer and own land in order to eliminate practices like HumanSacrifice and cannibalism, but otherwise Díaz was usually in the indigenous side against any abuse from his fellow conquistadores. Due to his good relations with the natives, he was made part of the investigative committee that outlawed the custom to enslave war captives accused of treason, which by this point was the only form of native slavery legally allowed in the Spanish Empire.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning soon to defend himself in Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and as the official EnsignNewbie of Cortés and his entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a true journalistic job in order to gather possible. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his loyalty and admiration for him.
to:
Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler. He is mainly known as the author of ''Literature/TheTrueHistoryOfTheConquestOfMexico'', a massive monumental work about his long and adventurous career as a member of UsefulNotes/HernanCortez' inner circle, which includes various skirmishes in Cuba, the entire UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire, and part of the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheMaya.
Unlike many conquistadores, who hailed from the poorest lands of Spain, Díaz was born in a relatively comfortable family in Castile. A bookworm in arms in the vein ofDon Quixote, Literature/DonQuixote, he departed from the New World in the search of fortune, possibly in the great grand fleet of the infamous Pedrarias Dávila. Díaz might have met UsefulNotes/VascoNunezDeBalboa at this point, although it remains a speculation. In any case, their time in the Darién (modern day Colombia) turned out much less promising than they had been told, with plenty of deadly famines and tropical epidemics, which led Bernal and many other expeditioners to abandon and try luck in other points of the nascent empire. empire.
Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual crewman of the expeditions that werestarting to explore exploring the Yucatan Peninsula under Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, and after joining Cuéllar. He then joined Cortés' fleet as a lieutenant, an EnsignNewbie, and the rest is history. He ended his career as a governor in Guatemala, where he decided to write his autobiography before his death to counter contemporaneous false beliefs about their exploits, like those of Francisco López de Gómara.
Gómara and Creator/BartolomeDeLasCasas, though dying before publishing his work, which would be ultimately released by one of his sons.
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the first participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedyLightNovel.LightNovel from today. According to himself, he literally asked Emperor Moctezuma II for a wife from the Aztec elite on the claim of being too poor to afford one, and as Moctezuma and the Spaniards were in good terms at the time, the emperor laughed and simply conceded, just like that. This match had two children, Diego and Teresa, although Bernal would be later politically forced to marry a mestiza that had became become widowed young, who gave him nine other children. He also enjoyed the goods of the conquest in other ways; he ways, reportedly was being almost [[TheTeetotaler a teetotaler]], teetotaler]] yet [[SweetTooth addict to chocolate]].
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 [[UsefulNotes/SchoolOfSalamanca ValladolidDebate, Debate]], where the supported the right to conquer and own land in order to eliminate practices like HumanSacrifice and cannibalism, cannibalism (probably [[ItsPersonal a result of almost being sacrificed himself twice during the wars]]), but otherwise Díaz he was usually in the indigenous side against any abuse from his fellow conquistadores. Due to his good relations with the natives, he was made notably part of the investigative committee that outlawed the custom to enslave war captives accused of treason, which by this point was the only form of native slavery legally allowed in the Spanish Empire.
Not everything is nice and clean, though, as his chronicle is also an early testimony of [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]], which plagued him and probably many other veterans even before the end of the conquest. The sum of his war experiences and the vision of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture left him suffering from anxiety before his last battles, as well as unable to sleep unless fully dressed, armed and lying on the floor until the day of his death. Although he was renowned as a soldier, claiming to have participated in a not too unbelievable total of 119 battles, skirmishes and guerrillas, he always credited luck and God as the main reasons he didn't end his days with his heart ripped out on a stepped pyramid.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learningsoon to defend handle himself in Taíno, Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and as the official EnsignNewbie a member of Cortés and his Cortés' entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a true journalistic job job, often with native translators to complete his own tongue, in order to gather possible. all the possible info. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his loyalty and admiration for him.
him.
He is not devoid of controversy either, as some editions of his work were known to be doctored to remove emphasis on certain figures and an amusing chapter where the victory feast ended in a collective intoxication with native herbs. A theory even claims the whole ''True History'' might have been secretly written by Cortés himself using Díaz as a cover, although few historians believe it likely.
Unlike many conquistadores, who hailed from the poorest lands of Spain, Díaz was born in a relatively comfortable family in Castile. A bookworm in arms in the vein of
Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual crewman of the expeditions that were
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the first participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedy
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 [[UsefulNotes/SchoolOfSalamanca Valladolid
Not everything is nice and clean, though, as his chronicle is also an early testimony of [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]], which plagued him and probably many other veterans even before the end of the conquest. The sum of his war experiences and the vision of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture left him suffering from anxiety before his last battles, as well as unable to sleep unless fully dressed, armed and lying on the floor until the day of his death. Although he was renowned as a soldier, claiming to have participated in a not too unbelievable total of 119 battles, skirmishes and guerrillas, he always credited luck and God as the main reasons he didn't end his days with his heart ripped out on a stepped pyramid.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning
He is not devoid of controversy either, as some editions of his work were known to be doctored to remove emphasis on certain figures and an amusing chapter where the victory feast ended in a collective intoxication with native herbs. A theory even claims the whole ''True History'' might have been secretly written by Cortés himself using Díaz as a cover, although few historians believe it likely.
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* Played by Miguel Ángel Amor in ''Series/{{Hernan}}''.
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* Played by Miguel Ángel Amor in ''Series/{{Hernan}}''.''Series/{{Hernan}}''.
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[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/diazdelcastillo.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:The storyteller.[[note]]This popular portrait supposedly depicts him, but it seems it was actually based on King Henry IV of France.[[/note]]]]
Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler. He is mainly known as the author of ''Literature/TheTrueHistoryOfTheConquestOfMexico'', a massive work about his long and adventurous career as a member of UsefulNotes/HernanCortez' inner circle, which includes various skirmishes in Cuba, the entire UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire, and part of the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheMaya.
Unlike many conquistadores, who hailed from the poorest lands of Spain, Díaz was born in a relatively comfortable family in Castile. A bookworm in arms in the vein of Don Quixote, he departed from the New World in the search of fortune, possibly in the great fleet of the infamous Pedrarias Dávila. Díaz might have met UsefulNotes/VascoNunezDeBalboa at this point, although it remains a speculation. In any case, their time in the Darién (modern day Colombia) turned out much less promising than they had been told, with plenty of deadly famines and tropical epidemics, which led Bernal and many other expeditioners to abandon and try luck in other points of the nascent empire. Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual crewman of the expeditions that were starting to explore the Yucatan Peninsula under Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, and after joining Cortés' fleet as a lieutenant, the rest is history. He ended his career as a governor in Guatemala, where he decided to write his autobiography before his death to counter contemporaneous false beliefs about their exploits, like those of Francisco López de Gómara.
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the first participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedy LightNovel. According to himself, he literally asked Emperor Moctezuma II for a wife from the Aztec elite on the claim of being too poor to afford one, and as Moctezuma and the Spaniards were in good terms at the time, the emperor laughed and simply conceded, just like that. This match had two children, Diego and Teresa, although Bernal would be later politically forced to marry a mestiza that had became widowed young, who gave him nine other children. He also enjoyed the goods of the conquest in other ways; he reportedly was almost [[TheTeetotaler a teetotaler]], yet [[SweetTooth addict to chocolate]].
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 Valladolid Debate, where the supported the right to conquer and own land in order to eliminate practices like HumanSacrifice and cannibalism, but otherwise Díaz was usually in the indigenous side against any abuse from his fellow conquistadores. Due to his good relations with the natives, he was made part of the investigative committee that outlawed the custom to enslave war captives accused of treason, which by this point was the only form of native slavery legally allowed in the Spanish Empire.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning soon to defend himself in Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and as the official EnsignNewbie of Cortés and his entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a true journalistic job in order to gather possible. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his loyalty and admiration for him.
!!In fiction
[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* He appears as an agent of the title ministry in ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime'', played by Josep Julien, [[spoiler:although he turns out to be a fake.]]
* Played by Miguel Ángel Amor in ''Series/{{Hernan}}''.
[[caption-width-right:250:The storyteller.[[note]]This popular portrait supposedly depicts him, but it seems it was actually based on King Henry IV of France.[[/note]]]]
Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler. He is mainly known as the author of ''Literature/TheTrueHistoryOfTheConquestOfMexico'', a massive work about his long and adventurous career as a member of UsefulNotes/HernanCortez' inner circle, which includes various skirmishes in Cuba, the entire UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire, and part of the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheMaya.
Unlike many conquistadores, who hailed from the poorest lands of Spain, Díaz was born in a relatively comfortable family in Castile. A bookworm in arms in the vein of Don Quixote, he departed from the New World in the search of fortune, possibly in the great fleet of the infamous Pedrarias Dávila. Díaz might have met UsefulNotes/VascoNunezDeBalboa at this point, although it remains a speculation. In any case, their time in the Darién (modern day Colombia) turned out much less promising than they had been told, with plenty of deadly famines and tropical epidemics, which led Bernal and many other expeditioners to abandon and try luck in other points of the nascent empire. Díaz eventually landed in Cuba, where he became an usual crewman of the expeditions that were starting to explore the Yucatan Peninsula under Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, and after joining Cortés' fleet as a lieutenant, the rest is history. He ended his career as a governor in Guatemala, where he decided to write his autobiography before his death to counter contemporaneous false beliefs about their exploits, like those of Francisco López de Gómara.
As accustomed, Díaz was one of the first participants of mestizaje, in his case in a way comically reminiscent of a RomanticComedy LightNovel. According to himself, he literally asked Emperor Moctezuma II for a wife from the Aztec elite on the claim of being too poor to afford one, and as Moctezuma and the Spaniards were in good terms at the time, the emperor laughed and simply conceded, just like that. This match had two children, Diego and Teresa, although Bernal would be later politically forced to marry a mestiza that had became widowed young, who gave him nine other children. He also enjoyed the goods of the conquest in other ways; he reportedly was almost [[TheTeetotaler a teetotaler]], yet [[SweetTooth addict to chocolate]].
Díaz participated in some capacity in the 1550 Valladolid Debate, where the supported the right to conquer and own land in order to eliminate practices like HumanSacrifice and cannibalism, but otherwise Díaz was usually in the indigenous side against any abuse from his fellow conquistadores. Due to his good relations with the natives, he was made part of the investigative committee that outlawed the custom to enslave war captives accused of treason, which by this point was the only form of native slavery legally allowed in the Spanish Empire.
Díaz's work is especially valuable for his unique perspective in the events he lived. He turned out to be a CunningLinguist, learning soon to defend himself in Nahuatl and Cakchiquel Mayan, and as the official EnsignNewbie of Cortés and his entourage, he got to know and treat personally most of the historical characters he wrote about, like Cortés, UsefulNotes/LaMalinche, Pánfilo de Narváez, Moctezuma, Ixtlilxochitl and the lords of Tlaxcala, which helped him perform a true journalistic job in order to gather possible. His writings are also ready to criticize Cortés whenever he sees it fit, snarking about his irregular distributions of booty, his occasional blunders and his chorus of bootlickers, while at the same time stressing out his loyalty and admiration for him.
!!In fiction
[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* He appears as an agent of the title ministry in ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime'', played by Josep Julien, [[spoiler:although he turns out to be a fake.]]
* Played by Miguel Ángel Amor in ''Series/{{Hernan}}''.
