"When we saw all those cities and villages built in the water, and other great towns on dry land, and that straight and level causeway leading to Mexico, we were astounded. These great towns and cues and buildings rising from the water all made of stone, seemed like an enchanted vision from the tale of Amadis. Indeed, some of our soldiers asked whether it was not all a dream. It is not surprising therefore that I should write in this vein. It was all so wonderful that I do not know how to descri...

An absolutely astonishing first-hand account of the conquest of Mexico, written some decades after the conquest took place. It’s fair to say that Díaz del Castillo portrays the conquistadores in a more favourable light than they generally receive. Some of the worst excesses during the conquest are either played down or not mentioned at all. He clearly resents some of the criticisms levelled by Bartolomé de las Casas. Díaz does though portray the conquistadores' unbridled greed, often in strongl...

On the spot reportage from 16th century conquistadorMany decades ago, as a college sophomore, I was assigned to read Bernal Díaz' work as part of a Latin American history course. The title did not give me much hope. I imagined having to force myself to sit at a desk night after night in order to finish the book. To my great surprise, once I began to read this incredible eye-witness account, I could not put it down. Still, some 50 odd years later, Bernal Díaz' story, as one of the soldiers who ac...

This book is written in a rather conversational writing style but with a quite compelling first-person narrative. I enjoyed the author's vivid portrayals of the native cultures and the initial reactions of the people involved in this unprecedented encounter between two contrasting civilizations. I could only imagine how exciting it must have been for the eyes to absorb and minds of all the men and women to adapt to these new scenes of life. Their perception of things, and in general the percepti...

The author started writing this when he was over 70, made his fair copy of it at age 76, and wrote a preliminary note for it at age 84. Five years later, he was dead.Arguedas's "Deep Rivers" and Galeano's "Genesis (Memory of Fire 1)", which I recently read, both have an unmistakable bias against the Spanish conquistadores of the Americas during the 16th and 17th centuries. Here, for a change, I listen to one of these conquistadores, for the author Bernal Diaz del Castillo was a Spanish soldier w...

The “discovery” of Mexico, as we all know, had nothing whatsoever to do with the Spaniards. The true discoverers of Mexico crossed the land bridge from Asia tens of thousands of years ago, and made their way down through the Americas to what is now Mexico; those bold explorers were the ancestors of the indigenous North Americans who inhabited Mexico when Hernando Cortés and his expeditionary force arrived there in 1519. But the Spaniards certainly did conquer Mexico; and that story, in all its b...

Like reading a novel, from the victor’s perspective, of course. Author Bernal Díaz del Castillo was a soldier under Cortes, and he provides a vivid description of the Spanish landing in Mexico in 1520. Díaz was involved in various expeditions and skirmishes under other captains before joining Cortes for the long march and the big confrontation with Montezuma, which the author describes beginning about halfway through the book. Of the author’s reportage, the translator writes….“Díaz introduces us...

The Conquest of New Spain, Mexico.By Bernal Diaz del Castillo (1495 – 1584)“The true story”, told by the eye witness, as being History as he has seen it and witnessed it.Hernando Cortez is the name of the leader of the expedition, commonly associated with New Spain, and Mexico, the ancient capital of the Aztec Empire.Cortez and his six hundred soldiers, sixteen horses and some light artillery, set out from Cuba in 1519, with orders to explore the continent and to bring back gold and riches.Howev...

Whatever you heard about Cortés in grade school is probably true enough, but wow, the details are amazing.Sure, Cortés might have been a deceitful, gold-hungry, womanizing, slave-taking, blood-soaked psychopath (and alleged poisoner), but that's part of what makes him a riveting character, because he was also a brilliant and charismatic velvet-glove-over-iron-fist diplomat, a savvy and calculating strategist, and--if Diaz is to be believed--a fervent Christian (lecturing people constantly on the...

This is a 2-volume English translation of Castillo’s memoirs centered on his years with Cortes’ expedition-invasion of Mexico and Mexico City in the 1519-21 period. Castillo was one of the 550 original conquistadors w/Cortes. In his later years he was an official in Guatemala. Castillo wrote his memoirs beginning in 1568 and he indicates towards the end of the book that he is one of 5 surviving original conquistadors.The book approaches 1000 pages. It has 213 chapters. I read it on and off over

Wow. This book stands out as one of the most fascinating books that I can think of. The only thing I can fault it for are the doubts about its veracity. It certainly reads like an authentic account, and if it is, what an account. History was never so fascinating. I certainly enjoyed this book far more than A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and it comes across as far more accurate and nuanced. The characters really come to life in this account. Cortés is captured as a magnificent,

The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz Del Castillo was first published in 1632, but was written over 3 decades following the events it describes, which begin in the 1520s. Diaz Del Castillo died in 1582.It is claimed to be a true history, written from the perspective of one who was there, part of the action, as Cortes and the Spanish Conquistadors ravaged New Spain, what is now Mexico and parts of South America.It has been written with incredible attention to detail, although the author admit...

De l'audace, et encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audaceFirst, this makes every high fantasy adventure novel out there seem like rather thin gruel. It is easy to imagine it larded with appropriate conversations and lurid description to make it three or four time the size and then selling a gazillion copies as a story of a group of ruthless fantasy adventurers overthrowing an evil empire.Second, it is lucky Osama bin Laden (I assume) never read it, since it is practically a textbook example of...

It was amazing to read a first hand account of events that took place 500 years ago (1519-1521). Maudslay included translations of some of Cortez's letters to provide different perspectives of some battles. Those sections did not read as well as Castillo's narrative.It would seem that "the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico" by Bernal Diaz Del Castillo, was the main source for Hancock's War God trilogy. There was sufficient material that there could have been two more books in the series but perha...

Anthony read this book in college and recommended it to me. I read it during our flights to and from Iceland - and loved it! It gives a first hand account of Cortes and his conquest over the Aztec empire and the defeat of Montezuma. Translated from the diary of Bernal Diaz - a solider who accompanied Cortes - it creates vivid pictures and insight of the trials and successes of the Spanish.

This might be the most remarkable primary source there is. Bernal Diaz was a conquistador who was present for the entirety of Spain's conquest of Mexico. Uniquely, he left us with a meticulous memoir detailing the experience. It was, to put it mildly, an utterly insane event.The meeting of two great empires from two sides of the world is noteworthy. The fact that it occurred via a handful of greedy, crazy, bloodthirsty, utterly tenacious adventurers is maybe not surprising. The fact that a handf...

Bernal Díaz del Castillo's Discovery and Conquest of Mexico is the remarkable chronicle of some of the earliest episodes of Europe's domination of the New World, all told by means of the eyewitness account of Castillo himself. It's a vivid portrayal that conveys as much the entirely justified anxieties of the Conquistadors as they enter and begin to gain supremacy over the cities of Mexico, as it conveys the tragedies faced by, and inflicted on, each side. It's an absolutely riveting tale. It's

First and foremost, obviously this particular piece of writing carries a mountain of bias along with it. Los conquistadores are painted in a light varying from neutral to heroic, save for enemies of Cortes dealt with along the way. This is one side of the story, and history is written by the victors. However, I still find incredible value in entering the mind of someone who experienced events such as these directly (in this case, one who was physically there to see the Aztecs fall). The horrors

The feats included in this book are the substance of legend. Apologists in the contemporary era revel in perpetuating the Black Legend with regard to the Spanish conquistadors — which is largely resultant of centuries of British propaganda in an age of competing empires — but little attention is given to heinous accounts of cannibalism and human sacrifice in pre-conquest Mexico. Granted, this was all going on during the height of the Inquisition, and so many of the writings and traditions of pre...

One of the most popular and comprehensive primary sources on the Conquest, the work offers a first hand account of the Conquistador's campaign through Mexico and defeat of the Aztecs. There has been some academic debate as to whether or not Bernal Diaz was actually there - as much of the work has clearly been lifted from Gomara's historia - but that debate is (in my humble opinion) still in its infancy. Diaz's account will probably be the most interesting work to lay people and does offer a vivi...

The first hand account of one of Cortes’ soldiers.It is amazing to read his impressions of what he saw in “New Spain.” One can only imagine how the Spaniards felt when they looked upon Mexico for the first time.The author is skillful in the way of dramatics. He conveyed intense scenes of: wonder over the Mexican splendor; horror over the ritual sacrifice and; greed over the Mexicans’ gold. However, this account was quite boring at times. The author often surveys the amount of gold and gifts obta...

Got this one from Instituto Cervantes in Manila. A good primary reference for the discovery, exploration, and conquest of the Americas by the Spanish conquistadores, written by one of the members of Hernan Cortes' expedition.A great insight of this book is that while some of the Spanish conquistadores were no saints, the Aztecs were certainly no angels either. They often went to war with the purpose of capturing prisoners to be made into hundreds, even thousands, of human sacrifices for their su...

I read this in college. We must just have been assigned the parts about Aztec ritual... I know we had a discussion about how much you can glean through the eyes of another (nowhere near enough, but not nothing, and how to do our best to read through the cultural filters). However, the later parts of the book I don't remember at all and suspect I never read. If you're a writer and ever try to describe battle at all, you'd better read about the battle of Mexico. I've never read ANYTHING that compa...

Remarkable first hand account of Cortes' conquest of Mexico. Given that he was fighting alongside Cortes, it is hardly surprising that Diaz comes across as an apologist for the gold-hungry conquistadors, but the detail of the advances is impressive and the dichotomy of the brutality and sophistication of the natives comes vividly to life. Important and charmingly modest about his own part in battle, Diaz del Castillo's reminiscences should be lauded and studied, but the fragments don't coalesce

Although the book is written in very poor style, the story is simply amazing. From a historical perspective this eye-witness account of the conquest of Mexico is invaluable, especially since Diaz appears to be remarkably objective and fair minded. The editor furnishes abundant useful commentary and historical detail.

Its getting repetitive towards the end.

This is a history of the Aztec and and their fall to the Spanish conquistadors led by Cortez. It is insightful and a good read for anyone interested in the history of Mexico.

An early America historical first hand account must-read.

The most fascinating first-hand account (of anything) that I've ever read.

First hand account and one of the most complete original sources on the topic of the Conquest of Mexico and the wars between the Spanish Conquistadors and the Aztecs. Raised on classroom overviews of the topic there is often the blackist of motives attributed to the Spanish as the aggressors in the conflict and the Aztecs being the conquered are mostly given a white washing of their motives. This account reveals the truth is much more interesting and that there was a rather a very logical chain