The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico by Bernal Diaz

Having recently read Matthew Restall’s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, reading Diaz’ account of the conquest of Mexico caused me to be on the lookout for the myths contained in this study.  How easy it was for me, after having read Restall, to see how Diaz managed to downplay the part played by Native American allies in the Conquest, as well as how many of those Native American used the Spanish conquistadors as pawns (so to speak) in their own agendas.  Diaz made the Spanish appear practically invincible due to their superior tactics, weaponry, and horses, while he made Monteczuma and others appear quite lacking in many respects.  One area where the author does not make the Native Americans appear lacking, however, is in their ferocity when it comes to making war.  In that respect, Diaz and the other Spanish conquistadors agreed, as many Spainards were killed or wounded during their many battles with Native Americans.

While there are many intriguing items which could be pulled from Diaz’ account, those which drew most of my attention included those instances involving Spainard-Native American communiques and the continual references within the text by Diaz to God, Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Mass.  For instance, in a blending of these two items of interest, Diaz portrays Cortes as continually preaching to the Native Americans the benefits of Catholicism over against the evils of their own “superstitions.”  Diaz wrote of one such occasion in which Cortes “delivered a discourse to the Caciques so fitting to the occasion that no good theologian could have bettered it.  Cortes said many things very well expressed, which they thoroughly understood” (77).  Instances such as this one, and others in which communication between Cortes and various Native American peoples appeared to come off without any misunderstandings, certainly lend to a lack of credibility in regard to Diaz’ depiction of the Conquest.  And, Diaz’ continual references to God’s hand at work in the events of the Conquest (which always benefitted the conquistadors) as well as his repeated assertions of the conquistadors (and especially Cortes) of attending Mass, appear to be the author’s attempt to make the conquistadors God’s own agents – all of which fits neatly into Restall’s study in which the conquistadors as well as their royal patrons wanted to justify their imperialistic claims on the lands and peoples of the Americas.

Diaz’ account of the Conquest, while an engaging and at times very exciting read, is, as convicingly shown by Restall, truly a probanza de merito, designed to make the conquistadors appear heroic and deserving of riches.