Product Description: Bernal Díaz del Castillo (14951584) served under Cortés through the entire Mexican campaign, and his narrative is both an invaluable document and a spectacular epic. Del Castillo saw Cortés sink his own ships (to prevent desertion) as soon as they landed on Mexican soil, and watched Montezuma become a prisoner in his own palace...read more

Bernal Diaz del Castillo (1492 1584) was a foot soldier in the army of Mexico's conqueror Hernan Cortes, and participated in the campaigns that led to the fall of the Aztec empire in 1521. This 1928 translation of his journals by Alfred P. Maudslay derives from the 1904 edition by the Mexican historian Genaro Garcia - the first edition based on the original manuscript. Written as a corrective to accounts that overemphasised Cortes' exploits, Diaz's epic includes the experiences of the common soldier: hardship, thirst, long marches and unexpected attacks by rebels. The fullest surviving eyewitness account of the Mexican conquest, this important historical document is also a captivating adventure narrative that combines factual accuracy with a wealth of dramatic anecdotes. It covers the period 1519 1522, from Diaz's first visit to Yucatan to the defeat of the Aztecs and the establishment of Spanish rule."

Ideally suited for use in swift-moving surveys of World, Atlantic, and Latin American history, this abridgment of Ted Humphrey and Janet Burke's 2012 translation of the True History provides key excerpts from Diaz's text and concise summaries of omitted passages. Included in this edition is a new preface outlining the social, economic, and political forces that motivated the European discovery of the New World.