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The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics)…
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The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics) (original 1568; edition 1963)

by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, John M. Cohen (Translator), John M. Cohen (Introduction)

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Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1492-1584) was a foot soldier in the army of Mexico's conqueror Hernán Cortés. The first edition of his True History of the Conquest of New Spain (as it was entitled in a later English translation) was published in Madrid in 1632 from a manuscript copy sent to Spain shortly after the author's death. Written in a highly accessible style, and describing the experiences of the troops themselves, the work became even more successful than the official accounts and went through many editions and translations. The two-volume edition reissued here was first published in 1904 and is considered a more reliable text, as it was based on the original manuscript preserved in Guatemala City. Volume 1 contains an introduction by the editor, the influential Mexican historian and book-collector Genaro García (1867-1920), a table of variant readings, and chapters 1-139 of the text.… (more)
Member:william_lee
Title:The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics)
Authors:Bernal Diaz del Castillo
Other authors:John M. Cohen (Translator), John M. Cohen (Introduction)
Info:Penguin Books (1963), Paperback, 412 pages
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The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1568)

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English (17)  Spanish (9)  Catalan (7)  French (1)  All languages (34)
Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
Excelente crónica de la conquista del imperio azeca por parte de Hermán Cortés y un puñado de valientes. Contado de primera mano por un testigo de los hechos. ( )
  amlobo | Dec 28, 2023 |
8/13/1521 was the day of the capture of Cuatemoc and the fall of Tenochtitlan.

Bernal del Castillo was a soldier who accompanied Cortes to the land they called new spain. He wrote this book 20 years after he got back from mexico. He, as others have said, must have had an eidetic memory. This book is a Marvel of a memoir.

As Bernal del Castillo said himself in his writings, the reader must tire of reading about day after day of endless strife and warfare. This war, Cortes taking Mexico for the king of Spain, Carlos V, he was not going to give up. Because he knew the land was full of silver and gold, and because he wanted to convert all of the Indians to christianity, he refused to give in, though many thousands of his men, and the Indian allies, were wounded and died. Many, many Spaniards were sacrificed to the idols of the indians.

I have a very low opinion of Spain and the conquerors who went to mexico, impoverished the country, stole the culture, forced their cult on the inhabitants, but when I read this part from when they first landed by modern-day Veracruz, it really pissed me off:
"... when we perceived their intentions we were on the point of firing at them, but it pleased God that we agreed to call out to them, and through Julianillo and Melchorejo, who spoke their language very well, we told them that they need have no fear, that we wished to talk to them, for we had things to tell them which when they understood them they would be glad that we had come to their country and their homes. Moreover, we wished to give them some of the things we had brought with us. As they understood what was said to them, four of the canoes came near with about 30 Indians in them, and we showed them strings of green beads and small mirrors and blue cut glass beads, and as soon as they saw them they assumed a more friendly manner, for they thought that they were Chalchihuites [jadeite] which they value greatly."

One part I liked the, is when the conquerors found out that some previously landed Spaniards have been taken prisoners, and were being used as slaves for the Chiefs of some tribes. Cortes used a bunch of those beads for a ransom to try to get them back. They did get one of them back, his name was Jerónimo de Aguilar, and they kept this Guy as a translator throughout the war With Tenochtitlán. As for the other one, his name was Gonzalo Guerrero, and he had married an Indian woman, and had three boys with her. The wife told off Aguilar saying,
" 'what is this slave coming here for talking to my husband - go off with you, and don't trouble us with any more words.' "

The way that Indians observed the Spaniards kneeling before trees they had cut into a cross made me laugh.
"Let us now leave this question of visits and relate that it was now the time of the Ave maria, and at the sound of a bell which we had in the camp we all fell on our knees before a cross placed on a sandhill and said our prayers of the Ave Maria before the cross. When Tendile and Pitalpotoque saw us kneeling as they were very intelligent, they asked what was the reason that we humbled ourselves before a tree cut in that particular way." ( )
  burritapal | Oct 23, 2022 |
A first-hand account of the conquest of the Aztecs by Cortez. First recommended to me as a boy by my father. ( )
  sfj2 | Mar 11, 2022 |
The history of the Spanish Conquest of the Mexica (Aztec) state is enlivened by this edition and translation of the sixteenth Century memoir by a participant. Bernal Diaz de Castillo was a medium rank officer in that epic struggle, and was driven by his ego and by some legal grudges to add his account to the other books covering the period. J.M. Cohen produced a very readable translation, and assures the reader that he has excised a considerable amount of the original text which directly attacks several other historians and which describes the legal maneuvers that some of the original members of Cortes' army were driven to while trying to get their fair share of the booty of the conquest. Bernal Diaz's book provides a great deal of the colour that later historians have relied on. It is a book which a researcher in the field should pay respect to for its coverage. Cohen's introduction and notes are very high quality. Sadly, my Penguin copy does not rise to the luxury of an index, though the mapping is adequate. ( )
  DinadansFriend | Nov 16, 2020 |
Pretty damn boring. I read it because Werner Herzog cites it as one of his favourite books. I've duly noted that I need to be wary, in the future, of his recommendations... ( )
  theforgottenworks | Jul 20, 2018 |
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» Add other authors (55 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Bernal Díaz del Castilloprimary authorall editionscalculated
Cohen, John MichaelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
García, GenaroEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Idell, AlbertEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Maudslay, A. P.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Narciß, Georg A.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Serés, GuillermoEditor Literariosecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Thomas, HughIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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I, Bernal Díaz del Castillo, citizen and governor of the most loyal city of Santiago de Guatemala, one of the first discoverers and conquerors of New Spain and its provinces, and of the Cape of Honduras and Higueras, native of the most noble and famous city of Medina del Campo, and son of its former governor Francisco Díaz del Castillo, known as the Courteous - and his legal wife Maria Diez Rejon - may their souls rest in glory! - tell you the story of myself and my comrades; all true conquerors, who served His Majesty in the discovery, conquest, pacification, and the settlement of new Spain; one of the finest regions of the New World yet discovered, this expedition being undertaken by our own efforts, and without his Majesty's knowledge.

Penguin Classics translation by J. M. Cohen, 1963.
Bernal Díaz del Castillo, the last survivor of the Conquerors of Mexico, died on his estates in Guatamala at the age of eighty-nine, as poor as he had lived.

Penguin Classics introduction by J. M. Cohen, 1963.
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Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1492-1584) was a foot soldier in the army of Mexico's conqueror Hernán Cortés. The first edition of his True History of the Conquest of New Spain (as it was entitled in a later English translation) was published in Madrid in 1632 from a manuscript copy sent to Spain shortly after the author's death. Written in a highly accessible style, and describing the experiences of the troops themselves, the work became even more successful than the official accounts and went through many editions and translations. The two-volume edition reissued here was first published in 1904 and is considered a more reliable text, as it was based on the original manuscript preserved in Guatemala City. Volume 1 contains an introduction by the editor, the influential Mexican historian and book-collector Genaro García (1867-1920), a table of variant readings, and chapters 1-139 of the text.

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