Gerónimo de Aguilar

Gerónimo de Aguilar (also Jerónimo de Aguilar ) (* 1489 in Seville, Spain, † 1531? ) Was a Franciscan monk who contributed to the conquest of Mexico, Hernán Cortés together with the fabled Malinche as translator and interpreter important services.

In 1511 Aguilar set off aboard the caravel Santa María de la Barca of Panama and Santo Domingo. However, due to bad weather, the ship suffered in the vicinity of the Yucatán Peninsula shipwreck. Aguilar, a Spanish sailor named Gonzalo Guerrero and other castaways survived, however, as strong currents drove their boat to the Mexican coast (Quintana Roo).

Aguilar and the other survivors were captured by the Maya residents, to sacrifice them to the gods later. Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero, but managed to escape and go into hiding in the rainforest. Soon they came once again into captivity of other martial Maya and were held by them as slaves. During this eight-year captivity Aguilar learned the Mayan language.

When Hernán Cortés arrived in 1519 on the island of Cozumel, came to his ears that there is on the mainland Spaniards who were being held by the Maya as slaves, and secured their release. In contrast to Gonzalo Guerrero, who had brought it under the Maya to wealth and prestige, Aguilar joined the expedition of Cortés. As he spoke both Mayan and Spanish, he served - together with Malinche, both the Mayan and Nahuatl was the powerful - Hernán Cortés during his conquest long time as a translator and interpreter. As Malinche but also dominated the Castilian, Aguilar came more and more into the background.

Aguilar died, probably in 1523 or 1524 at an unknown location.

References

  • / Edited Truthful History of the Conquest of Mexico and edited by Georg Adolf Narcissus: Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. - Frankfurt am Main: Insel-Verlag, 1988 - ISBN 3-458-32767-3.
  • Hernán Cortés: The Conquest of Mexico: 3 reports of Hernán Cortés to Emperor Charles V / 112 Federlithogr. by Max Slevogt. Translator's Mario Spiro and C. W. Koppe. Edited by Claus Litterscheid. Frankfurt am Main: Insel- Verlag, 1992 ( 3rd edition ) - ISBN 3-458-32093-8

Literary adaptations

  • Hannah Klose- Greger: Are you coming back feathered serpent, prism Publisher Zenner and Gürchott, Leipzig, 1966?
  • Peter Danziger: The Feathered Serpent, Bastion Luebbe Paperback, 2001, ISBN 3-404-14577-1
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire Maya civilization Slavery Mayan languages
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