Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Bernal Díaz del Castillo was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler whose The True History of the Conquest of New Spain recounts the Spanish conquest of Mexico from his perspective.

Hernán Cortés: Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that toppled the Mexica Empire. Díaz served in Cortés’s campaigns and later challenged how Cortés-centered histories portrayed the conquest.
The True History of the Conquest of New Spain: The True History of the Conquest of New Spain is Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s account of the conquest of Mexico. This chronicle is the work through which Díaz’s eyewitness testimony became known.
Moctezuma II: Moctezuma II was the Mexica ruler who met Cortés’s expedition in 1519 and died during the Spanish occupation of Tenochtitlan. Díaz’s narrative recounts the encounter with Moctezuma and the crisis surrounding his rule.
Eyewitness testimony: Eyewitness testimony is an account by someone who directly observed an event. Díaz presents himself as a participant, making the strengths and limits of firsthand reporting central to evaluating his narrative.
Conquest of the Aztec Empire: The Conquest of the Aztec Empire was the Spanish-led overthrow of Mexica rule in central Mexico, chiefly from 1519 to 1521. Díaz’s chronicle is a first-person account of this campaign and its aftermath.
Mexica: The Mexica were a Nahuatl-speaking people whose capital, Tenochtitlan, became the center of a powerful Mesoamerican empire. Díaz’s narrative depicts the people and political order that the Spanish expedition confronted.
La Malinche: La Malinche was an Indigenous interpreter and intermediary who helped Cortés communicate and negotiate in Mesoamerica. Díaz’s account includes her role in communication between Spanish forces and Indigenous communities.
Historical source criticism: Historical source criticism is the evaluation of a source’s origin, purpose, perspective, and reliability. Díaz’s memories, polemical aims, and distance from events require comparison with other evidence.
Siege of Tenochtitlan: The Siege of Tenochtitlan was the 1521 campaign in which Spanish and Indigenous forces captured the Mexica capital. Díaz describes the fighting and privations of the campaign that ended Mexica rule.
New Spain: New Spain was the Spanish colonial realm established in the Americas after the conquest of Mexico. Díaz wrote within the colonial society created by the campaigns he describes.

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