Bernardino Vázquez de Tapia

Bernardino Vázquez de Tapia (* around 1490 in Oropesa , Toledo, † after 1552) was a Spanish conquistador and participant in the conquest of the Aztec Empire . He was born around 1490 as the son of Pedro Sánchez Vazquez and Marina Alfonsa de Balboa, the time of his death is uncertain. In 1542 he wrote a report on the Spanish conquest of Mexico, which forms an important different point of view compared to the report letter of Hernán Cortés .

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In connection with the legislation laid down in the Leyes Nuevas of 1542, according to which the allocation of Indians to Spaniards in the form of the encomienda should cease with the death of the first owner, the encomenderos made numerous representations of their merits ("relaciones de méritos y servicios" ) addressed to the king. One such is the report by the Encomenderos of Churubusco , Bernardino Vázquez de Tapia. Unlike other contemporary writings, he speaks exclusively from his perspective and about his actions. He tells how he came to northern South America with Pedro Arias Dávila , then received an Indian assignment in Cuba , but soon joined the expedition of theJuan de Grijalva to the coast of mainland Mexico took part. He then took part in the conquest of Hernán Cortés . In the course of this, he and Pedro de Alvarado of Cortés, whose army was staying in Tlaxcallan at the time, were sent in advance to Tenochtitlan to Moctezuma . The path that they had to cover on foot in order not to endanger the precious horses led them via Cholula and along the southern foot of the Popocatépetl in a huge detour to Texcoco , because the Aztec ambassadors accompanying them led the hostile territory of Huexotzinco had to deal. However, they were not admitted to Moctezuma and had to return without having achieved anything. In the following he describes the conquest of Tenochtitlan and the expeditions initiated by Cortés to large parts of Mexico with much detailed information that is missing in other sources. He made two trips to Spain and reported that he was a councilor in Mexico City for over two decades. The manuscript of his report is today in the Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid.

In one of the numerous trials against Cortés as well as in one against Pedro de Alvarado, he gave extensive testimony that shed light on details and especially attacks during the conquest.

literature

• Jorge Gurría Lacroix: Relación de méritos y servicios del conquistador Bernardino Vázquez de Tapia, vecino y regidor de la gran ciudad de Tenustitlán, México . UNAM, Mexico 1973.

Web links

• Report on the achievements and merits of the conquistador Bernardino Vázquez de Tapia, citizen and councilor of this great city Tenustitlán, México (c. 1544)