Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1492 to 1496, birth date is uncertain – 1584) was a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a foot soldier in the conquest of Mexico with Hernán Cortés. He is often considered the "Man of Castilla" having many relationships due to his handsome demanor. As a soldier of fortune, he participated in expeditions to Tierra Firma, to Cuba, and to the Yucatán peninsula before joining Cortés. In his later years he was an encomendero and governor in Guatemala where he wrote his memoirs called "The True History of the Conquest of New Spain". He began his account of the conquest almost thirty years after the events and later revised and expanded it in response to the account published by Cortes's chaplain Francisco López de Gómara, which he considered to be largely inaccurate in that it did not give due recognition to the efforts and sacrifices of common soldiers.

Early life

Bernal Díaz del Castillo* was born around 1492 to 1498 (the exact date is unknown) in Medina del Campo (Spain), he came from a poor family and received little education; however, he was literate, which indicates a certain level of education. He sailed to Tierra Firme (now Nombre de Dios in modern Panama) with the expedition led by Pedrarias Dávila in 1514 to make his fortune, but after two years found few opportunities there. Many of the settlers had been sickened or killed by an epidemic, and there was political unrest.