Bernal Díaz del Castillo Essays

Introduction It was near the end of 18th century that the geographical map of the world was fully navigated as a result of European exploration that initiated a series of changes to the global system today. The exploration started in the early 15th century with the Portuguese discoveries of Atlantic archipelagos and Africa, all the way to the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492, followed by the major exploration of the various parts of the world by European explorers. To the European

Tlatelolco is a section from the book The Conquest of New Spain, written by Bernal Diaz del Castillo. The book was originally written in 1576 and published in 1632. Bernal Diaz del Castillo was a Spanish soldier born in the mid-1490s in Medina del Campo, Spain (Davidson). Castillo served in the expedition of Hernán Cortés, where the conquistadores conquered Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Empire, in 1521 (Brown 2000). After the conquest, Castillo was awarded with an encomienda, which was a grant of land and/or labor

Bernal Diaz del Castillo Bernal Diaz was born in 1492 or 1498 to Maria Diaz Rejón and Francisco Diaz del Castillo, a regidor (council member) of the town of Medina del Campo, in Castilla y León. The family was distinguished but not wealthy. In 1514, Bernal went to seek his fortune in America with Pedrarias Dávila (Pedro Árias de Ávila), Bishop Fonseca's newly appointed governor of Castilla del Oro. A cruel and unscrupulous schemer, Pedrarias excelled at extorting riches by torturing native rulers

war against you.” The Spanish conquistadors allowed natives to choose whether or not they wanted to convert to Christianity, However if they did not, then the Spanish turned them into slaves. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo openly stated that a reason for Spanish exploration was, “To serve God and his majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness.” The Spanish viewed non-Christians as unintelligent people because they believed in a different God. They

Colonial art includes the paintings, sculptures, and artifacts, both Catholic and secular, produced in Guatemala during the Colonial period (1524-1821).12 To understand how Guatemalan Colonial art came to exist, it is first necessary to introduce some aspects of the history of the country. Guatemala is a country very rich in history and culture.13 Before the discovery of America and the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores, Guatemala was the epicenter of the Mayan civilization that flourished 2

my comrades… who died were sacrificed, and their hearts and blood offered to the Mexican idols…” (Diaz 262). Bernal Diaz del Castillo was one of the first Spanish conquistador who was exposed to the religious practices that the Aztecs carried out. Bernal Diaz, who was accountable for the lives of his comrades, detested the Aztecs for following this ritual during the 15th century. Most people, like Diaz, who saw the sacrifices also deplored this kind of religious conduct as it clashed with their Christian

indigenous people believed in multiple Gods and would perform human sacrifices to please the Gods. Because of this difference from their Christian society, many voyagers saw them as savages. Bernal Diaz even compares European society with Mexican society and says that they are completely different (Diaz del Castillo.) They did not understand why they did the things they did, they did not understand why

was stabbed to death by the swords of his men, many native accounts claim that Moctezuma was killed by stones. Moctezuma was pronounced dead on July 1, 1520. Bernal Diaz del Castillo was a soldier for Cortes who was involved in the hostage of Moctezuma and was there when Moctezuma was stoned to death by his own people. Bernal Diaz del Castillo

Tenochtitlán was the capital city of the Aztec civilization. It was founded in AD 1325 by the Mexica people. This city was built on a cluster of small natural islands on Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. The small island was gradually enlarged as Tenochtitlán grew. It became one of the largest and most powerful cities in Mesoamerica. Tenochtitlán achieved great wealth from conquered regions. It was a city of astounding beauty and impressive scale. Its pyramids were brightly painted blue

The interactions of early Spanish explorers with the Indigenous people of the Americas contributed in a large way to later interactions between the two groups. Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortès were two notable Spanish explorers who had early contact with the Mexica people as well as other native groups. Columbus initially set out to find an alternate sea route to India, and eventually arrived in the Caribbean and continued to explore over the years and came upon already established societies

Catholic religion, and they saw the New World as an opportunity to convert others to Catholicism. They believed that religion gave them the right to conquer new land, because they “came to serve God and to get rich, as all men wish to do,” which Bernal Diaz del Castillo said while working with Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. Mendicant friars, Jesuits, and priests traveled across the New World to preach Catholicism in hopes of converting the non-Catholics. Religious values were one of the main motivations

What is the language of conquest? What language do people speak when they battle for land and autonomy, or meet to negotiate? During the conquest of Mexico, Spanish and Nahuatl—the mother tongues of the conquistadors and the Mexica—grew newly powerful. Maya, Otomí and hundreds of other languages were spoken in Mesoamerica in the early 16th century. Yet Hernán Cortés understood only Spanish. Whenever he met with indigenous allies or confronted enemies, whenever he solicited food for his men or sought

Throughout the Americas there were many significant civilizations before the arrival of westerners. Two of the greatest civilizations that I believe were the most interesting because they both were going on at about the same time were the Aztec and the Inca empires. These were both central and south American civilizations that at their height stretched all across central and South America with populations in the millions. Since both these civilizations grew and expanded about the same time and in

The Spanish empire was largely populated in Florida, California, Mexico and Texas. The Spanish empire wanted to come and expand their religion and get money as well of their purpose towards the reason why they migrated to the New World. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who was one of the Spanish conquistadors, on the reason of Spanish motivations towards the New World stated that, “We came to serve God and to get rich, as all men wish to

Introduction: The Aztec civilization was one of the most significant and advanced civilizations in world history. In 1325 AD, the Aztec civilization was created and ruled by Montezuma II. However, Heran Cortes along with his army of 500 Spanish conquistadors landed on the coast and made their way into Tenochtitlan in 1519 AD. They arrived at Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital which at the time was ruled by Montezuma II and were committed to cause the Aztec civilization to collapse. But it only took