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THE MEMOIRS OF THE CONQUISTADOR BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF

CONTAINING A TRUE AND FULL ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND NEW SPAIN

CHAPTER I.

Of our setting out from Cuba, and the captains appointed for the discovery of New Spain; and of the honours which the Governor Diego Velasquez conferred upon himself.

I, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, citizen of the city of Santiago in Cuba, and one of the first discoverers and conquerors of New Spain and the Mexican empire, being now old and infirm, yet sound in mind and memory, and possessing a good estate in the city of Santiago aforesaid, do take up my pen to write this true history, being moved thereto by many just considerations.

The reason for my undertaking this work is, that I have seen many histories written by Gómara and others, who, being idle persons and not present at the deeds they relate, have filled their books with great falsehoods, errors, and contradictions, to the prejudice of the truth, and to the dishonour of the worthy conquerors who laboured and spilt their blood in the service of God and King. For these, and many other reasons, I have resolved to write down the truth of every battle, encounter, and memorable event, in the order it happened, being an eye-witness to all.

I shall speak of the first expeditions to this land, and how we came to discover it, and the captains who led us.

In the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred and seventeen, I sailed from the island of Cuba, which was then a new colony, with Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, in a small ship, in search of new lands and discoveries. We sailed from the port of Asercadores. We had with us two other ships, and we were in all about one hundred and ten men. We touched first at the island of Cozumel, and afterwards discovered the continent, which we named Yucatan. We had some skirmishes with the natives, in which many of us were wounded, and we returned to Cuba with few riches, but with the news of a new land.

In the year one thousand five hundred and eighteen, Diego Velasquez, the Governor of Cuba, fitted out a second expedition. He appointed Juan de Grijalva as captain-general. We had four ships and about two hundred and forty men. With Grijalva, I made further discoveries along the coast, seeing new peoples and rich temples, and bringing back much gold, which greatly encouraged the Governor to prepare a third and much larger expedition.

It was in the year one thousand five hundred and nineteen that the third and principal expedition was prepared, which resulted in the conquest of New Spain. The Governor, Diego Velasquez, appointed Hernan Cortes as captain-general of this great fleet, as he was a man of good family, resolute, and known to be well-versed in Indian affairs.

Cortes fitted out the fleet at his own expense, and with great energy, borrowing money for much of the equipment. He had five ships and about five hundred and fifty men, including soldiers and sailors. We carried sixteen horses and mares, a thing of great importance for the conquest, and many good artillery pieces.

Before we set sail, the Governor, Diego Velasquez, became suspicious of Cortes's ambition and tried to revoke his commission. However, Cortes was popular, and he set sail from Santiago de Cuba on the tenth of February, one thousand five hundred and nineteen, before the Governor could stop him. We sailed first to Trinidad, where we made some additions to our forces, and then to Havana, where we completed our preparations.

The Governor, Diego Velasquez, in his account, takes great credit for the entire enterprise, which is not entirely accurate. While he financed the initial stages, the subsequent success was due to the courage and determination of the captains and soldiers, particularly Hernan Cortes, who showed remarkable leadership, often against the wishes of the Governor.

From Havana, we set sail for the mainland of New Spain. Our first important landing was at Cozumel, where we found a Christian Indian who had been shipwrecked some years before, named Gerónimo de Aguilar. He was a gift from Providence, as he understood the language of the natives we would later meet on the coast of Yucatan.

After leaving Cozumel, we sailed westward. We made our first landing on the continent at a place called Potonchan, where we fought a fierce battle with the natives, losing several men. It was there, after this engagement, that we received an Indian woman as a slave, who proved to be of invaluable service to us. This woman was named Malintzin, or as the Spaniards called her, Doña Marina. She understood the language of the natives of that coast, and soon, with the help of Aguilar, she learned the Mexican tongue, thus becoming our interpreter. Without her help, the conquest of this great land would have been impossible.

We continued our voyage, following the coast. We saw signs of gold, which was the main object of all our ambitions. We sailed past the land of the Totonacs, and after many leagues, we reached a great river, where we made another short stop.

Finally, we reached the island of San Juan de Ulúa, where we established our first camp. From there, we sent messengers to the great Montezuma, Emperor of Mexico, to announce our arrival. We learned that we were in the rich land of Mexico, and the rumors of that empire's wealth filled us with eagerness to proceed inland, despite the small size of our force compared to the millions the natives commanded.

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