Bernal Diaz del Castillo (14951584) served under Cortes through the entire Mexican campaign, and his narrative is both an invaluable document and a spectacular epic. Del Castillo saw Cortes sink his own ships (to prevent desertion) as soon as they landed on Mexican soil, and watched Montezuma become a prisoner in his own palace. The immediacy of his voice as translated by renowned scholar A.P. Maudslay reaches across the centuries to invite readers to witness for themselves the horrors and wonders of the initial, apocalyptic clash between two great civilizations.

First published in 1928.
'Something more than an historical document of the first importance...his narrative is so readable that one's interest and admiration are equally divided between the stupendous events he records and the charming revelations of his own character.' Saturday Review.
Four eye-witnesses of the discovery and conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards have left written records, but of these the present volume and the letters of Cortes (Volume 14) are by far the most important.