Bernal Díaz del Castillo

1492–1584

1 standalone book

Bernal Díaz del Castillo was a Spanish conquistador born in Medina del Campo in 1496 and died in Santiago de Guatemala in 1584. He took part in the conquest of Mexico and later served as a regidor in Santiago de Guatemala. He is credited with writing La Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España, a work that he initially composed as a personal account of military campaigns. He later expanded and revised the text in response to the writings of Francisco López de Gómara, which he found inaccurate and insufficient in acknowledging the contributions of common soldiers during the conquest.

Born

1492