Juan de Grijalva
Juan de Grijalva ( 1490 - January 21, 1527 ) was a Spanish explorer . On June 19, 1518, he was the first European to set foot on Aztec territory. The Spaniard explored unknown regions on behalf of his uncle, the governor of Cuba , Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar .
Life
On May 1, 1518, Grijalva ran with four ships and 300 men from Cuba towards the Yucatán . Like Francisco Hernández de Córdoba in 1517, he first landed on the island of Cozumel . Grijalva was a cautious man because Hernández's death had warned him. The losses in battles with the indigenous people were much lower. Grijalva found much evidence of an advanced civilization and led the first talks with the Maya - caciques Tabscoob , who was baptized and given the name Lázaro. The Spaniards exchanged practically worthless junk for gold jewelry and precious stones.
His journey continued north. There he met the Totonak people . They told him about a great empire further west. His companions wanted to build a settlement immediately in order to acquire even more treasures. Grijalva refused and sent Pedro de Alvarado back to Cuba with the first treasures. Grijalva found the remains of human victims on the island of Isla de Sacrificios . The Spaniards discovered several large buildings and pyramids. At Rio Banderas they met for the first time in Aztec . Grijalva exchanged gold with them, sailed further north to the Pánuco River and then returned to Cuba.
There was a lot of excitement in Cuba because of the great gold and gemstone finds. Grijalva was not exactly welcomed by the governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. Velázquez accused him of having gambled away the settlement of the region.
When Francisco de Garay tried to conquer the area on the Pánuco River, Grijalva was also there as the captain of a ship. Garay failed miserably - he found no treasure and could not feed his people. They ran over to Hernán Cortés in droves ; only Grijalva and his people stayed. Cortés recognized the qualities of this officer and offered him to serve under his command or to take 2000 piastres and return to Cuba with it, because as an independent conqueror Cortés did not want this man to be around. Grijalva took the money and returned to Cuba.
Juan de Grijalva died in 1527 at the hands of Indians while trying to conquer Honduras under Pedro Arias Dávila .
See also
literature
- William Hickling Prescott : History of the Conquest of Mexico, with a preliminary view of the ancient Mexican civilization, and the life of the conqueror, Hernando Cortés. Bentley, London 1843, online , (German translation: The conquest of Mexico. The fall of the Aztec Empire. Parkland-Verlag, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-88059-993-9 ).
- Hernán Cortés: The Conquest of Mexico. Three reports from Hernán Cortés to Emperor Charles V. Edited by Claus Litterscheid. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1980, ISBN 3-458-32093-8 ( Insel-Taschenbuch 393).
- Bernal Díaz del Castillo : History of the Conquest of Mexico. Edited and edited by Georg A. Narciß. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-458-32767-3 ( Insel-Taschenbuch 1067), (Spanish original title: Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mexico . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 11, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 563.
- ^ Bernal Díaz del Castillo: History of the Conquest of Mexico , 1988, p. 565
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Grijalva, Juan de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1490 |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 21, 1527 |