BERNAL DÍAZ DEL CASTILLO: BIOGRAPHY, EXPEDITIONS AND WORKS - ARTE - 2025

Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1495,1496-1584) was a Spanish conqueror and expeditionary, who participated in the taking of what is now known as Mexico, formerly New Spain. Some data on his travels and writings are imprecise.

Díaz del Castillo joined expedition members such as Hernán Cortés, Juan de Grijalva and Francisco Hernández de Córdoba to reach Mexico, through the Yucatan Peninsula. In each experience, they had to face the natives, who with boldness and dedication defended their territory and belongings.

Supposed portrait of Bernal Díaz del Castillo. Source: Genaro García 1904, via Wikimedia Commons

True history of the conquest of New Spain is had as one of the works written by the Spanish conqueror. There Bernal Díaz narrated the events that occurred in the expeditions. However, there are scholars, such as the French Christian Duverger, who doubt that Bernal was the author of this text.

Biography

Birth and family

Bernal was born in Medina del Campo, Spain, what is now known as Valladolid. However, his date of birth is imprecise, since both 1495 and 1496 are handled. His parents were Francisco Díaz del Castillo and María Díaz Rejon.

Formation of Díaz del Castillo

Data on the educational and academic training of Bernal Díaz del Castillo are scarce. However, he himself, in the introduction to his well-known written work, stated that he had no university profession, and that he was not a man of extensive knowledge either.

Contrary to his assertion, there was the presence in his work True History of the Conquest of New Spain, phrases from the Romans Marco Aurelio and Julius Caesar, as well as Nahuatl own words, and from the Taínos. In addition, the influence of the Spanish writer Luís Vélez de Guevara was noted, in terms of style.

A first trip

Bernal Díaz del Castillo made his first trip to America in approximately 1515, when he was twenty years old. He did so under the orders of the Spanish military and politician Pedro Arias Dávila. After that, he left for Cuba under unfulfilled promises of goods by the ruler Diego Velásquez de Cuéllar.

Expedition after expedition

After spending almost three years in Cuba without activity, starting in 1517 he embarked on several expeditions to Yucatan for three consecutive years. In the first two excursions the purpose was to extract gold and obtain slaves, while in the third one sought to colonize the people of the Aztecs.

Signature of Bernal Díaz del Castillo. Source: Bernal Díaz Del Castillo, via Wikimedia Commons

Reward

Díaz del Castillo lived for a long time in Mexico City, after having made an expeditionary trip to Honduras. During that period, in 1526, he frequently visited the Coatzacoalcos area. Although he was rewarded for his actions with various Indians, he was not happy with the amount of goods received.

Faced with his discontent, and his eagerness to obtain more "encomiendas" or indigenous people at his service, he contacted the leadership of the Viceroyalty of New Spain to obtain more. Finally they supplemented his socioeconomic pay with the work of the natives of Cimatlán and Cintla.

Good treatment to the Indians

The Spanish conqueror had a large number of Indians at his service as part of his assignment. For them, he always expressed a dignified treatment, that made him act as a supervisor, to prevent them from being turned into slaves in a violent way.

On the other hand, Díaz del Castillo continued to persist so that his reward would be increased. In 1539 the writer activated, in the presence of the Spanish soldier Luís Marín, the proofs of his good deeds and virtues. In addition to this, he undertook visits to Spain, in search of more.

Proceedings in Spain

Bernal Díaz del Castillo did not do well on his first trip to Spain, because, although he was recommended by the conqueror Hernán Cortés and Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, he was not received by the authorities. However, he managed to get the service of the Indians back in Tabasco and Chiapas.

In 1541, back to America, he settled in Guatemala, and was in the service of the expeditionary and governor Pedro de Alvarado. In that territory Bernal had the assistance of the towns of Mistlán, Sacatepéquez and Joanagazapa, as part of payment for their activities in the colonization process.

Personal life of Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Historical data record that Díaz del Castillo had two daughters, Inés and Teresa, with a mestizo named Francisca, a woman who was given to him by the chief Moctezuma. Then he had Diego. In 1544 he married Teresa Becerra, since it was a requirement to have more orders. With her he had nine children.

Back to Spain

Between 1549 and 1550, the expeditionary returned to Spain after his desire to have more indigenous peoples assigned to him. At that time, a law had been enacted to review the encomiendas and optimize the situation of the natives of New Spain, so Bernal Díaz took the opportunity to make himself heard.

It was gotten up in the debate of the Meeting of Valladolid on the conquest of America, and the treatment to the natives. As far as its primary objective is concerned, it achieved a mixed result, since it was not allowed to change the population of Coatzacoalcos for one it wanted in Guatemala.

Return to Guatemala

Díaz del Castillo settled again in Guatemala in 1551, and from that date they gave him the position of councilor. However, after his dissatisfaction for not obtaining what was expected in Spain, he wrote to Carlos I, emperor, to express his discontent, and, again, he insisted on receiving more.

A testimony of his work as alderman of Guatemala

The work of Díaz del Castillo as alderman - or councilor - of Santiago de Guatemala was recorded in the documents that he consigned after attending the government sessions. Alonso Zorita, a witness to the political encounters in American territory, also gave testimony of this.

Zorita confirmed having had contact with the councilor Bernal Díaz del Castillo; he, Alonso, from 1553, and for four years, made stops in Guatemala, Mexico and New Granada. In information sent to Spain, Alonso asserted that it was Diaz's mouth that “he was a conqueror” and that he saw the good progress of his work on American soil.

Inspiration for your work

Although the different trips and expeditions inspired Bernal Díaz del Castillo to write True History of the conquest of New Spain, the writings of the historian and priest Francisco López de Gómara also gave him ideas. His text was a compilation of experiences in America.

Last years and death

In 1565 the expeditionary received his coat of arms from the monarch Felipe II. Two years later he went to Spain. Also at that time he claimed to have transcribed what he had written about his greatest work, to which he dedicated himself until the end of his days.

Finally, the Spanish conqueror Bernal Díaz del Castillo died in the territory known as Guatemala, on February 3, 1584. According to scholars and historians, he was buried in the main cathedral of that territory, identified with his name and a dedication.

Expeditions

With the direction of Francisco Hernández de Córdoba

Díaz del Castillo was part of the expedition that the Spanish conqueror Francisco Hernández Córdoba undertook in 1517, bound for the Caribbean. However, the ship anchored in the Yucatan area, formerly part of New Spain.

Upon stepping on land, those of Bernal Díaz's side faced the natives, who defended their territory. The indigenous Mayans, specifically, made it impossible for the Spaniards to stay, so they embarked on what is now known as Cuba.

Together with Juan de Grijalva

In 1518 Bernal Díaz del Castillo enlisted to leave for Yucatán under the orders of Juan de Grijalva. The first stop was made on the island of Cozumel. When they tried to occupy their main destination, they were met by the Champoton Indians, and disputes ensued.

After the various confrontations, the expedition crossed the waters of the Mezcalapa River, also known as Grijalva. After having stepped on San Juan de Ulúa, he went to Cuba, because they could not extract gold, and that was the order assigned to the leader of the excursion.

Under the command of Hernán Cortés

Díaz del Castillo also participated in the expedition that Hernán Cortés made to Yucatán in 1519, during the process of conquering the Spanish to Mexican territory. He was part of the fight against the Tlaxcalans, and also faced Pánfilo de Narváez in Veracruz, to prevent them from arresting his boss.

Later he joined the different battles that took place after the well-known "sad night". He was also part of the taking of Tenochitlan. On the other hand, they granted him lands and indigenous people for his actions, although they later lost them and had to enter into a dispute to recover them.

Supposed absence in the expedition of Hernán Cortés

Everything related to the life of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, lacked precision, perhaps due to the lack of documentation for the time. Hence, it was questioned whether or not he was in the expeditions of Hernán Cortés, since his signature did not appear on the letter that he sent to Carlos V in 1520.

The correspondence that Cortés sent to the monarch, among other things, had the signature of the five hundred and forty-four crew members of his expedition, who supposedly wanted him as a general. However, Bernal's did not appear. Scholars affirmed that his signature could have been Bernaldino del Castillo.

Work

- True history of the conquest of New Spain (1579 approximately).

Cover of the True Story conquers New Spain, by Bernal Díaz del Castillo. Source: Bernal Díaz del Castillo, edited by Alonso Remón., via Wikimedia Commons

-Short description of his work

True story of the conquest of New Spain

With this title the only work of the Spanish conqueror was known. Some scholars agree that he began writing it when he was about eighty-four years old. However, neither the start date nor the end date are fully specified.

A copy was originally released. Then, more than forty years after his death, specifically in 1632, it was published. Of the two editions that were known, the one made at the beginning of the 18th century was considered false, due to aspects such as the details on the cover.

Content

Bernal Díaz del Castillo's work was a narration of the different feats experienced during the conquest of America in the 16th century. It was the memories of his own experiences. It narrated the coexistence with the natives, the environment, the battles with the natives, among other details.

Doubts about its authorship

Although for centuries this work has been attributed to Díaz del Castillo, in 2013, Christian Duverger, a French anthropologist, questioned its authorship. In the publication of his written work Chronicle of eternity, he argued that the Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés was the creator of said text.

Duverger's investigation, carried out for more than two decades, found that Bernal Díaz del Castillo was a man who received no education, who was also not young, and did not participate in all of Cortés' expeditions. Also, it showed that there were no coincidence records of both in the same territory.

In defense of the authorship of Díaz del Castillo

Before the investigation carried out by Duverger, the defense that the Spanish Guillermo Serés made on the authorship of Díaz del Castillo came to light. He refuted data such as the location of the Royal Court, which was in Guatemala and not in Panama, as the French anthropologist argued.

On the other hand, Duverger argued that the true story… was written by Bernal when he was an old man. To which Serés maintained that the conqueror had already informed the Emperor Carlos I, as well as Felipe II, in 1558. However, by 1553 he had already focused on a writing on the battles of the conquest.

Fragment

“And being in the ranches and cornfields, as I have already mentioned, taking our water, many squadrons of Indians from the town of Potonchan (so they say) came along the coast with their cotton weapons, which gave them to the knee and with bows. and arrows, and spears, and rodelas, and swords made in the manner of two-handed stanchions, and slings, and stones, and with their plumes of which they usually use, and the faces painted white and black, enalmagrados, and They were silent, and they came straight to us… ”.

References

1. Ramírez, M., Moreno, V. and others. (2019). Bernal Díaz del Castillo. (N / a): Search Biographies. Recovered from: Buscabiografias.com.
2. Bernal Díaz del Castillo. (S. f.). Cuba: Ecu Red. Recovered from: ecured.cu.
3. Bernal Díaz del Castillo. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.
4. Tamaro, E. (2004-2019). Bernal Díaz del Castillo. (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
5. Bernal Díaz del Castillo. (2018). (N / a): History of the New World. Recovered from: historiadelnuevomundo.com.