The Conquest of New Spain

bery beautyful

If you are a serious student of Aztec history and culture Bernal Diaz epic story of New Spain is simply a must. Diaz, a simple sergeant and survivor of no less than three expeditions to Mexico is unlike most of his contemporaries literate. His book is a guide for academics and laymen interested in this topic and while I have read several books on the subject all in one way or another refer back to Diaz. Diaz was in his 70's around 1545 when he started penning his adventures. Sometimes he is a little naïve, sometimes he blows his own horn a little too loudly, and sometimes he forgets or misplaces names of places and peoples but in the end there is little to fault especially when you consider Diaz was deaf and loosing his eyesight at the time of writing. Even today his is a voice that blows a fresh breeze through the dark and dank corridors of time. I found The Conquest, an easy read and one difficult to put down. For history buffs focusing on the life and times of the Aztecs I cannot recommend this book enough.

Great adventure story written many centuries ago. It's written in dimple soldiers language, easy to read. I envy these people a little, they got to see an actual New World. The way Spaniards behaved there is bad by today's standards, but they were children of their time and circumstances

Told in the first person, it starts with getting lost in a storm near Cuba and landing the Yucatan Peninsula (at the time no European had landed on the mainland except for Florida). Craziest story I have ever read. Some old books can be long winded so I'll skim. I didn't skim this one. There are things that are so crazy to us that he just mentions in passing (for instance he compliments Montezuma on having the second best slave market in the world and notes that they burned Montezuma's generals alive each only once in one paragraph respectively). The writing style is what you would expect from a hardened soldier: very matter of fact, detailed, and brutally honest. Frankly, I'd stop after they take Mexico City, after that they just run around taking smaller groups and there’s no real ending. He does a very good job of putting the reader in the position of a group of men in a totally new place with no idea what will happen the next day or if they will live. Every day. For like 4 years. Written in the late 1500's you might expect the writer to be all superstitious or just seem off (the way Columbus is in his writings for instance). Diaz has different values (he complains several times of Cortes stealing his pretties slaves....), but the feel and the matter of factness of his writing makes you feel like he could be from our time which makes you feel like you’re in his while reading. Here's a quote: "It was only the following morning we were able to discover our true condition. There was not one among us who had not, up to this moment, received one, two, or three wounds, and all were more or less weakened by fatigues and hardships. Xicotencatl continued to hover around us, and we had already lost fifty-five of our men [of only 400], some of whom were killed on the field of battle, others had died of disease and from excessive cold. Twelve of our men were knocked up with fatigue, and even our commander-in-chief himself [Cortes] and father Olmedo were suffering from fever. But no one can wonder at this; for among all the hardships we had to undergo, we never durst for one moment leave our heavy weapons out of our hands; to all these discomforts was added the severity of the weather, and particularly our great want of salt, which we could find no means of obtaining. It was also natural that we should begin to think what would be the final issue of this campaign, and if we once got out of the present snare where we were next to bend our steps; for the idea of penetrating into Mexico appeared to us perfectly laughable, when we considered the great power of that state. If even we succeeded in making the same good terms with the people of Tlascalla as we had done with the Sempoallans, what would become of us if we ever came to an engagement with the great armies of Motecusuma?" Here's another quote: "These were constructed of heavy timber, and filled with grown-up men and little boys, who were fattening there for the sacrifices and feasts. These diabolical cages Cortes ordered to be pulled down, and sent the prisoners each to their several homes. He likewise made the chiefs and papas promise him, under severe threats, never again to fasten up human beings in that way, and totally to abstain from eating human flesh. But what was the use of promises which they never intended to keep?" Honestly, I liked the translation from Project Gutenberg a little better, but this version is easier and comes in paperback.

Just an insanely interesting read about a remarkable moment in history. The translation is to modern english, so its very readable. Bernal Diaz’s writing is also very simple / straightforward but extremely detailed at the same time. Would complement the reading with youtube videos to have a firmer grasp of the various parts of the expedition.

Fast delivery service. Excellent book. History is tricky bizz. Easy today, (TOO EASY) to look back with pol. cor. and find fault. Result- History often suffers for TRUE perspective of the period. THIS book is a straight-forwards, honest testament by a participant under Cortez, during his conquest. As such, an ordinary soldier, he presents an honest take as he experienced it. Invaluable in understanding this point of history of the age of the discovery, exploration, and conquest of empire in the Americas!