Diaz del Castillo, Bernal

Born in Medina del Campo in a poor, but noble family. In his own words, his father, Francisco Diaz del Castillo, was a rechidor (member of the city government) of his hometown. In 1514, Bernal went to Cuba in the hope of improving well-being. At that time he was about 20 years old, and he had only the beginnings of education. He himself claimed that he had originally gone to Panama , and suffered many disasters there. In 1517 he took part in the expedition of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba to the Caribbean Islands . The expedition ended unsuccessfully, but in the course of it the Yucatan Peninsula was discovered. The following year, as part of the expedition of Juan de Grigalva, Bernal Diaz again went to Yucatan . After this journey, the name New Spain appeared .

Upon returning to Cuba, he joined the expedition of Hernan Cortes , who headed for the conquest of Mexico . The direct boss of Bernal Diaz was Pedro de Alvarado . The result of this military campaign was the fall of the Aztec empire in 1521 . Díaz del Castillo wrote down his impressions and eventually created the book “The True History of the Conquest of New Spain” ( Spanish Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España ). Featuring an extraordinary memory, Bernal Diaz created one of the most remarkable historical documents of the 16th century.

In 1544, he married Theresa Becerra, the daughter of one of the conquistadors. After his marriage, he was twice in Spain, including in 1550 at a meeting of the famous " Valladolid Junta " dedicated to slavery of the Indians. Bernal Diaz was one of the main opponents of Bartolome de Las Casas .

For military merits twice received possession in Mexico, but these awards were formal. After repeated attempts to obtain a pension, in 1551 he was appointed governor of Santiago de los Caballeros . There is reason to believe that around 1557 it occurred to him to describe the history of the conquest of Mexico, of which he was a witness and participant. This probably happened after meetings with veterans, and reading the official chronicles that appeared at that time. He finished his work only in 1575. He died in his new homeland, in Guatemala, and was buried in the local cathedral, now destroyed.

Bernal Diaz's work on the events of which he was a participant (based on the notes that he himself kept during the campaigns, taking into account the opinions of many of his rank-and-file colleagues), was completed by him already in old age. Although Bernal Diaz at the beginning of his work complains about his lack of education (ignorance of Latin), he correctly believes that the personal memories of an eyewitness and participant in the events compensate for these shortcomings of the author, who seeks to leave a true description of his life. And although Bernal Diaz is sometimes mistaken, voluntarily or involuntarily (given that he was more than 84 years old when he finished his work), nevertheless he completed his main task - he created a wonderful story-chronicle about events in which he was directly involved. “A true story ...” Bernal Diaz, to some extent, wanted to give an answer to biased books, first of all, to the “General History of the Indies” and “The History of the Conquest of Meschico” by Francisco Lopez de Gomara , confessor (since 1540) and historian Hernan Cortes, in which all the merits are attributed to Cortes. As well as books by other authors who, according to Bernal Diaz, do not write truthfully about the conquest. Bernal Diaz himself pays tribute to Hernan Cortes, but he also reports on many of his unworthy acts and even speaks condemning them, as well as the actions of other Spanish commanders and rulers. He speaks lovingly of his associates (he even talks about horses, giving their names), but he also fairly assesses the Indians, respectfully speaking about the enemy.

The text of the work of Bernal Diaz is rather difficult to read (consists of 214 chapters), contains many repetitions (which only repeat the same lists of conquistadors several times), with long, cumbersome sentences. The advantage of Bernal Diaz - writer was the creation of the "effect of presence."

However, it should be borne in mind that the work of Bernal Diaz was created with perfectly defined goals:

• This is an apology for the valor of the Spanish conquistadors (he writes bitterly that out of 500 of his colleagues who landed in Veracruz , five were still alive ...).
• The author felt left out in the division of the New World and often emphasizes his personal merits.
• Bernal Diaz was rather critical of Hernan Cortes.

Bernal Diaz downplayed the role of the Spaniard's Indian allies (as a conquest participant, he was not impartial) and did not speak the languages ​​of the Mexican Indians (although, in his own words, he understood the dialect of the natives of Cuba). After reading the “True Story ...” one may get the impression that 500 Spaniards managed to conquer the whole country, although the Spaniards were only the “core” of many thousands of Native American allies (of the 190 emblems granted by Charles V , 20 were intended for allied Native American leaders).

Criticism of Bernal Diaz in his "True Story" of both the affairs of Cortez and some other Spanish commanders and rulers caused a powerful response wave. So, for example, the court historian, Antonio de Solis y Ribadeneira (1610–1686), wrote in The History of the Conquest of Mexico:

... From many places of his [(Bernal Diaz)] essay, his considerable ambition and indignation are clearly visible. Because of his passions, he often erects undeserved and bitter complaints against Hernan Cortes - the greatest person in this story. To do this, he makes considerable efforts to seek out the intentions of Cortes, in order to belittle and raise blasphemy on his affairs. He often considers outrageous speeches and denunciations of soldiers to be more reliable than his own words and the orders of their leader, and yet, as in all ranks, and most of all in the military, it is dangerous for those who should only obey and allow them to talk about the orders of commanders.

(Book I, chapter II, see page 320, in the book: Bernal Diaz del Castillo. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, Forum, 2000)

Modern critics note that the style and content of the work of Bernal Diaz was influenced by the chivalrous novels of his time, which is proved by great exaggeration. For example, Bernal Diaz describes a compantli (a platform with upright pillars supporting the rows of transverse poles on which sacrificed heads were strung), indicating that more than 100,000 human skulls were strung there. But this is quite possible, since in Mesiko-Tenochtitlan and in other large cities people were sacrificed at thousands on holidays, as evidenced by the chronicler Diego Duran and other authors. All the fabrications of the ill-wishers that the story of Bernal Diaz was not written by him have no evidence.

The first edition of 1632 had many inaccuracies, but, despite this, it was repeatedly reprinted and translated (Mexico, 1837; Paris, 1877; London, 1908-1916). The first accurate edition of the author’s manuscript stored in the Guatemalan Municipal Archive was published in Mexico in 1904 (Mexico 1904, 1939, 1944, 1950, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1968 and others; Madrid, 1928; Guatemala, 1933-1934 ; there are also translations: New York, 1956, Stuttgart, 1965; London, 1969. There is an abridged translation into Russian: Egorov D. N. Notes of the soldier Bernal Diaz, I-II, Brockhaus-Efron, Leningrad, 1924-1925 .; the same as the second edition - Leningrad, 1928). This translation was clarified, partially redone and supplemented, presented in a new edition, with extensive notes (including many translations of Spanish and Native American sources), by A. Zakharyan, and published in 2000 by the Forum publishing house.

I noticed a situation where very famous chroniclers, before starting to write their stories, first created a prologue and preamble, with arguments and very high rhetoric, to give clarity and confidence to their arguments so that inquisitive readers, familiarizing themselves with them, get euphony and impression of them; and I, as not knowing Latin, did not dare to create either a preamble or a prologue because it was necessary to praise the heroic events and feats accomplished during the conquest of New Spain and its provinces in a community with a brave and strong spirit leader Don Hernan Cortes , who then, over time, for the heroic accomplishments became the Marquis del Valle, to have the power to describe everything as magnificent as it should be. In addition, you need a different gift of speech and better rhetoric than mine; but I saw and participated in this conquest, and as a knowing eyewitness, I made notes about him, with the help of God, very simply, without distortion in any place, and since I became old, I’m over eighty-four years old, and I almost lost my sight and hearing, in my destiny there is no other wealth that I will leave for my children and descendants, besides this my truthful and remarkable story, how they will see in it ahead; Now, without lingering any longer, I will tell and reflect on my country, where I was born, and what year I went from Castile, and in the community with which leaders I went camping, and where my location and home are now.

(Bernal Diaz del Castillo. The true story of the conquest of New Spain. Forum. Moscow, 2000, p. 5 / Preface /, per. A. R. Zakharyan.)

If the reader asks: “What have you done, all these conquistadors, in the New World?” I will answer this way. First of all, we introduced Christianity here, freeing the country from past horrors: it is enough to point out that in Mexico City alone at least 2,500 people were sacrificed every year! Here is what we have changed! In this connection, we remade both manners and our whole lives. Many cities and villages are rebuilt; introduced cattle breeding and fruit growing in a European manner; the natives learned many new crafts, and new work began to boil in new workshops. There were a lot of art buildings, and the guys are studying even in the right schools; as for Meshiko himself, a Universal Collegium was established there, where they study grammar, theology, rhetoric, logic, philosophy, and where the academic degrees of a license and a doctor are distributed. There are many books there, and in all languages. Good courts are arranged everywhere and complete security is maintained; Indians are used to choosing their own self-government, and all petty matters are decided by their law and custom. Kasiki are still rich, surrounded by many pages and servants, have a noble stable, often own horse factories and herds of mules, putting them to great advantage under trade caravans. Indians are agile, lucky, quick-witted, easily take over everything. In a word, both the country and people are improving.

Ibid., P. 319.

The great-great-grandson of Bernal Diaz was the “father of Guatemalan history” Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzman (Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán, 1643 - circa 1700), who wrote the famous work “The History of Guatemala or a Selected Reminder”.

• Bernal Diaz del Castillo. The true story of the conquest of New Spain. Forum. Moscow, 2000. ISBN 5-89747-020-0
• Díaz del Castillo, Bernal [1632] (1963). The Conquest of New Spain, JM Cohen (trans.), 6th printing (1973), Penguin Classics, Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-044123-9 . OCLC 162351797.
• Mayer, Alicia (2005). “Reseñas: Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España (Manuscrito Guatemala)” (PDF). Estudios de Historia Novohispana 33: pp. 175-183. ISSN 0425-3574. (Spanish)
• Prescott, William H. (1843). History of the Conquest of Mexico, with a Preliminary View of Ancient Mexican Civilization, and the Life of the Conqueror, Hernando Cortes (online reproduction, Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library), New York: Harper and Brothers. OCLC 2458166.
• Wilson, Robert Anderson (1859). A New History of the Conquest of Mexico: In which Las Casas' denunciations of the popular historians of that war are fully vindicated. Philadelphia, PA: James Challen & Son. OCLC 9642461.

• Diaz del Castillo, Bernal. The true story of the conquest of New Spain. Forum. Moscow, 2000 (neopr.) . Eastern literature . Date of treatment March 3, 2011. Archived on August 25, 2011.
• Bernal Diaz. The true story of the conquest of New Spain. Forum, Moscow, 2000

Full spanish text:

• Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España (Tomo I)
• Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España (Tomo II)
• Introducción al estudio de Bernal Díaz y su Verdadera historia (link not available)
• Portal consagrado a Bernal Díaz del Castillo
• Página de relación - sobre la conquista de mexico