CHAPTER V.
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF MEXICO, WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1568, BY CAPTAIN BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, ONE OF THE CONQUERORS
Although the present chapter may not, at first sight, appear strictly conformable to the plan of this work, which professes to be a Collection of Voyages and Travels, it is, notwithstanding, very intimately connected with our plan, as every step of the conquerors, from their first landing on the coast of the Mexican empire, to the final completion of the conquest and reduction of the numerous dependent provinces, must be considered as discoveries of kingdoms, provinces, and people before utterly unknown. In our endeavours to convey a clear view of this important event to our readers, we have preferred the original narrative of Bernal Diaz, one of the companions of Cortes, who accompanied him during the whole of his memorable and arduous enterprise, an eye-witness of every thing which he relates, and whose history, notwithstanding the coarseness of its style, has been always much esteemed for the simplicity and sincerity of the author, everywhere discoverable205. Those who are desirous of critically investigating the subject, as a matter of history, will find abundant information in the History of Mexico by Clavigero, and in Robertson's History of America. In our edition of the present article we have largely availed ourselves of The true History of the Conquest of Mexico by Bernal Diaz, translated by Maurice Keating, Esq. and published in 1800; but which we have not servilely copied on the present occasion. This history is often rather minute on trivial circumstances, and somewhat tedious in its reprehensions of a work on the same subject by Francisco Lopez de Gomara; but as an original document, very little freedom has been assumed in lopping these redundancies. The whole has been carefully collated with the history of the same subject by Clavigero, and with the recent interesting work of Humbolt, so as to ascertain the proper orthography of the Mexican names of persons, places, and things, and to illustrate or correct circumstances and accounts of events, wherever that seemed necessary. Diaz commences his work with his own embarkation from Spain in 1514, and gives an account of the two previous expeditions of Hernandez de Cordova, and Juan de Grijalva, to the coast of New Spain, both already given in the preceding chapter, but which it would have been improper to have expunged in this edition of the original work of Diaz.
(Illustration: Sketch of Mexico and its Environs)
I, BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, regidor of the loyal city of Guatemala, while composing this most true history of the conquest of Mexico, happened to see a work by Francisco Lopez de Gomara on the same subject, the elegance of which made me ashamed of the vulgarity of my own, and caused me to throw away my pen in despair. After having read it, however, I found it full of misrepresentations of the events, having exaggerated the number of natives which we killed in the different battles, in a manner so extraordinary as to be altogether unworthy of credit. Our force seldom much exceeded four hundred men, and even if we had found the multitudes he speaks of bound hand and foot, we had not been able to put so many to death. In fact we were often greatly at a loss to protect ourselves, and were daily reduced to pray to God for deliverance from the many perils which environed us on every side. Alaric and Atilla, those great conquerors, did not slay such numbers of their enemies as Gomara pretends we did in New Spain. He alleges that we burned many cities and temples, forgetting that any of us, the true conquerors, were still alive to contradict his assertions. He often magnifies the merit of one officer at the expence of another, and even speaks of the exploits of some captains who were not engaged in the expedition. He pretends that Cortes gave secret orders for the destruction of our ships; whereas this was done by the common consent of us all, that we might add the seamen to our small military force. He most unjustly depreciates the character of Juan de Grijalva, who was a very valiant commander. He omits the discovery of Yucutan by Hernandez de Cordova. He erroneously supposes Garay to have been actually in the expedition which he fitted out. His account of the defeat of Narvaez is sufficiently accurate; but that which he gives of the war of Tlascala is exceedingly erroneous. He treats the war in Mexico as a matter of little importance, though we there lost above 870 of our soldiers. He makes no mention of our loss during the memorable siege of that city, but treats of it as of a festival or a marriage pageant.
It is needless to enlarge on his numerous errors in this place. I shall therefore proceed to my own narrative, ever mindful that the beauty of historical composition is truth, and shall carefully relate the conquest of New Spain, recording the heroic services of us the true conquerors; who, though few in number, gained this rich country to his majesty through many dangers and infinite hardships, under the guidance of the brave and adventurous captain, HERNANDO CORTES; using in my work such ornament and embellishment of language as may seem proper to the occasion. For these great services, his majesty has often issued orders that we should be amply rewarded, but his orders have not hitherto been obeyed. My narrative will afford sufficient materials for future historians to celebrate the fame of our general, Cortes, and the merits of those brave conquerors by whom this great and holy enterprise was achieved. This is not a history of ancient nations, made up of vain reveries, and idle hearsays, but contains a true relation of events of which I was an actor and an eye-witness. Gomara received and wrote such accounts of these events as tended to enhance the fame and merit of Cortes exclusively, neglecting to make mention of our valiant captains and brave soldiers; and the whole tenor of his work shews his partiality to that family, by which he is patronized. By him also the doctor Illescas, and the bishop Paulus Jovius have been misled in the works which they have published. But in the course of this history, as a vigilant pilot proceeds cautiously among shoals and quicksands by the help of the line, so I, in my progress to the haven of truth, shall expose the errors and misrepresentations of Gomara: Yet if I were to point out every error he has committed, the chaff would much exceed the grain.
I have brought this history to a conclusion, in the loyal city of Guatimala, the residence of the royal audience, this 26th of February 1572.