In The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, 1517- 1521 , Bernal Diaz Del Castillo chronicles his experience during his participation in the Conquest of Mexico. When the current North American lands were newly discovered, there was immense interest among the European powers which ought to increase their territories through conquest and colonization. Castillo’s accounts are considered to be among the scarce primary sources that provide deep insight into the events that transpired during this period, particularly in regards to the Conquest of New Spain. The use of these memoirs as a primary source material in Locke and Wright’s The American Yawp (2019) necessitates the analysis presented herein.
Castillo was a conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico and later became the Governor of Guatemala. He served under Hernan Cortes, and therefore was present at the most defining time in the Conquests of New Spain (Castillo, 1517 – 1521). Prior to enlisting under Cortes, Castillo had already gained considerable levels of experience and expertise both as an explorer and as a soldier, having undertaken several previous expeditions. The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, 1517- 1521 is the English translation of Castillo’s original works written in medieval Spanish. It contains the partial account of his first-hand experience as a Spanish soldier in the Conquests.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Castillo presents his works in a narrative style that is both pleasant and informative to read. The diction used is simple enough for the reader to follow through the events described. One of the factors that gives most credence to Castillo’s accounts is the fact that he chronicles his experience as it happened (Castillo, 1517 – 1521). Notably, Castillo provides intricate details allowing the reader to visualize and virtually reconstruct Castillo’s experiences in the battlefields. The narrative is in continuous prose and attempts to chronicle events as they happened within remarkably short periods of time such as hours or days, making it easy for the reader to track every move as if it were happening in real time.
The author's motives can be presumed based on the nature of the account. The level of detail indicates that every attempt was made to put the reader in the author’s position and enable them to visualize exactly what happened in the background. Notably, Castillo refrained from including anything that he had not personally experienced, unless it was drawn from his own conversations with various persons of interest whose information he trusted. Castillo, therefore, appears to have written his memoirs in order to offer an accurate account of what happened during the conquests thereby debunking any falsehoods that may be propagated by parties for their own self-interests such as politics. Moreover, his is one of the few accounts that appear to be neutral and objective, acknowledging the difficulty experienced in the conquests and the formidable nature of indigenous forces (Castillo, 1517 – 1521). His accounts offer less glorification to the Spanish invaders compared to other works on the same subject (Greenblatt, 1993). His motive, thus, appears to have been dissemination of a true and detailed account.
Castillo’s' memoirs were aimed at different audiences, although scholars are the chief beneficiaries thereof. The simple language and narrative prose used in the accounts is suited for the layman to understand. The works are therefore an interesting read even for ordinary history enthusiasts. However, the incredible detail and the proven authenticity of the events descriptions make the memoirs to be some of the most valuable sources of historical data for scholars (Greenblatt, 1993). The author effectively achieves their objective of providing information and data that paints the true picture of the events that happened during that time.
In conclusion, the value of Castillo’s The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, 1517- 1521 as a primary source in historical research is indisputable. The language and writing style therein also makes the information appealing and comprehensible even to the ordinary history enthusiast. Given that his memoirs contain first-hand accounts, Bernal Diaz Del Castillo arguably achieves the objective of providing credible information and debunking any possible prevalent myths.
References
Del Castillo, B. D., The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, 1517- 1521, trans. A. P. Maudslay (New York: Da Capo Press, 1996), 190-191.
Greenblatt, S. J. (1993). New World Encounters. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Locke, J. L., & Wright, B. (2019). The American Yawp: A massively collaborative open U.S. history textbook.
