The First Horses in Mexico

Bernal Díaz del Castillo (c. 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and wrote a valuable firsthand account of the events. As an experienced soldier of fortune, he had already participated in expeditions to Tierra Firme, Cuba, and to Yucatán before joining Cortés. In his later years, he was an encomendero and governor in Guatemala, where he wrote his memoirs called The True History of the Conquest of New Spain.  Díaz died in Guatemala City in 1584. He was 92 years old. 

Bernal Díaz del Castillo was born in Medina del Campo, Spain, in about 1492. He came from a family of modest means, but his parents were able to provide him with a basic education. In 1514, at the age of about 22, he joined an expedition to the New World led by Pedro Arias Dávila. This was the largest fleet yet sent to mainland America, consisting of 19 vessels and 1,500 persons.

Díaz quickly proved himself to be a capable soldier, and he soon rose through the ranks. He participated in several expeditions to explore the Caribbean coast of Central America, and he was also present at the conquest of Panama. 

In 1519, he joined Hernán Cortés's expedition to Mexico.  Cortés's goal was to conquer the Aztec Empire, which was the most powerful and populous state in Mesoamerica. 

Díaz was a keen observer of the events around him, and he kept a detailed journal of his experiences. This journal became the basis for The True History of the Conquest of New Spain.

After the conquest of Mexico, Díaz received a generous reward for his services. He was granted an encomienda, which was a grant of land and labor that entitled him to the tribute of the native people who lived on the land. He also received a number of other titles and honors.

The Florentine Codex, also known as the General History of the Things of New Spain, is a 16th-century encyclopedic work documenting the culture, history, and religion of the Nahua peoples of central Mexico. It was compiled by Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún and a team of Nahua elders, authors, and artists a period of decades and completed in 1577.  The manuscript was completed at Imperial Colegio de la Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco (today Mexico City) and then sent to Europe.  Eventually it entered the Medici family’s library in Florence.

The codex is considered one of the most important sources of information about Mesoamerican history and culture.  The Florentine Codex is composed of 12 books, each covering a different topic.   It is written in two columns, with Nahuatl text on the right and Spanish translation on the left. The text is also accompanied by a wealth of illustrations, which provide valuable insights into Mexica art and culture.  It was originally intended for use by missionaries, who were trying to understand the Mexica people in order to convert them to Christianity. However, the codex has also become an invaluable resource for scholars of Mesoamerican history and culture. It is one of the most comprehensive and detailed accounts of Mexica life ever written, and it provides a unique window into a world that has long since vanished.

The Florentine Codex is currently housed in the Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy. There are also copies of the codex in the Library of Congress and the National Library of Mexico.  The Getty Museum has a Digital Florentine Codex which is searchable and free.  In 1992, the Florentine Codex was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, in recognition of its "outstanding universal value."