Posted on 06/21/2017 7:17:13 AM PDT by marktwain
The American edition, published in 1956, 468 pages, Translated by A.P. Maudsley
The Diaz account is the best history book that I have read. It has all the advantage of a first person account and reads like a well written adventure novel.
The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico by Bernal Diaz del Castillo is the only extant first person account of the campaign under the command of Hernando Cortez from 1519 to 1520. The campaign resulted in the discovery and conquest of the Aztec civilization in Mexico.
Cortez himself wrote five long letters to Carlos V in Spain. Parts of them are included in this edition to help explain the narrative. But Cortez' letters were essentially reports of a Conquistador commander seeking favor, and explaining his actions, which were mostly extralegal.
The entire Conquest was a massive verification of the adage that “It is easier to obtain forgiveness than permission.”
Bernal Diaz' account is a first person narrative of the entire campaign, with the amazing detail of a foot soldier who is vitally interested in food, women, weapons, and gold. He includes accounts of two separate expeditions before Cortez.
Bernal Diaz made extensive remarks on the use of firearms in his narrative. The initial numbers were tiny, but contributed significantly to the success of the conquest. Of the initial 400 to 500 men under the command of Cortez, there were 16 with horses, 13 with individual guns, four small cannon, “some brass guns” (more cannon), and 32 crossbowmen. The 13 personal guns were almost certainly arquebuses, the first really practical personal gun, with early matchlocks. Diaz mentions “much powder and ball”.
Diaz rated the crossbowmen and the “musketeers” about equal in effectiveness.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/4650-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction-but-it-is-because-fiction
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) did write it.
Thanks.
No, it’s because there isn’t enough physical evidence to support the idea that it was a regular component of the everyday diet. And Diaz’s account is not necessarily any more accurate than that of modern day eye witnesses.
In a dig you will encounter the remains of meals in the hearths and in garbage pits. Analyzing these remains you can get a rough idea of the everyday diet of a household in a layer of soil, and by the percentages of species’ bones found get an idea of what the most common meal was, within reason. Large bones like human bones or deer would be cracked to obtain marrow, so these would be brought home where other less choice parts might not be. By the postholes or foundation stones and other items inside, you can determine if a house was a peasant’s or a nobleman’s.
The Aztecs left records and among these as I recall were illustrations of a typical marketplace with all the foods and other goods depicted, like peppers, fish, feathers, turkeys, etc. There weren’t rows of human hams in the scene...
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmaya.html
Good explanation.
And, as I mentioned, Diaz writes about a handful of humans at the major cities. So that would be consistent with the lack of bones in ordinary middens.
Another thing mentioned is large numbers of stacked bones, so perhaps human bones were treated differently than other bones. Maybe cannibalism was limited to the upper classes.
Also the numbers of humans sacrificed only come to a very small number per person per year.
Just a quick calculation shows even 100,000 people sacrificed and eaten a year becomes only a tiny part of the yearly caloric intake.
they were also very wealthy. they pulled an enormous amount of gold and silver from mines in mexico and peru from 1550- 1750. Then the mines ran out. Spain then fell back into poverty. All the money they brought back to europe went north to pay for their two centuries of extravagance.
that’s what happens to mere resource economies.
they were also very wealthy. they pulled an enormous amount of gold and silver from mines in mexico and peru from 1550- 1750. Then the mines ran out. Spain then fell back into poverty. All the money they brought back to europe went north to pay for their two centuries of extravagance.
that’s what happens to mere resource economies.
One thing I learned about Spanish conquest of the Southwest is that simply by walking through a settlement, the Spanish could destroy it. They would return a year later and find it ravaged by disease. They more or less accidently depopulated the entire region before they even attempted to colonize it.
they were also very wealthy...that’s what happens to mere resource economies.
I read the Hugh Thomas book. I gave me great ideas why Mexico is such an awful place today btw he passed away in 2017 at age 87
There is a secret imho that spanish catholics used to know. It was the arian bishops in spain that invited the moors to cross from morocco to help the arian bishops against the trinitarian bishops. why? because all of north africa practiced arian christianity. They just rolled over for the moslems. (in much the same way as europe does today.)
600 years later when the catholics put the Abegensians of southern france to the sword — it was because of the existential threat that the Abegensians posed to Christendom. Why> because the Abegensians were also Arians.
John Calvin put the founder of the Unitarian Church —Servitus to death. Why? He was also an Arian Christian. I would bet that Calvin had access to Catholic archives on the subject—which was why the punishment was so severe.
>There is a secret imho that spanish catholics used to know. It was the arian bishops in spain that invited the moors to cross from morocco to help the arian bishops against the trinitarian bishops. why? because all of north africa practiced arian christianity. They just rolled over for the moslems. (in much the same way as europe does today.)
The Arians also got every Christian in China killed. For a while Christianity flourished in China and then Buddhism moved in. For some reason Arians Christians helped translate Buddhism teachings into Chinese which caused a massive increased in Buddhism and then mass social disorder as Buddhism tends to cause. The Chinese emperor responded by having every Buddhist in the country killed and because of Christianity strong association with Buddhism every Christian was executed as well.
The reason I talk about the Arian Christians —is that today’s liberal protestants and catholics are all Arians.
Excellent info Mr. Twain. My hometown is a stones throw from yours.
And Spain’s (Hapsburg’s) constant wars with the rest of Europe. (For example Spain’s effort to keep Protestant Netherlands under their control!).
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