A Hero for the Americas: The Legend of Gonzalo Guerrero

237 Pages·2017·2.202 MB·English

by  Robert Calder

A
Hero
for the
Americas
“Statue of Gonzalo Guerrero by Raul Ayala Arellano,
1974” by Feliks, 2008 (original in colour). Used under
a Creative Commons licence.
A
Hero
for tHe
AmericAs
The Legend of Gonzalo Guerrero
robert cAlder
© 2017 Robert Calder
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may
be reproduced or used in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic, or
mechanical — without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request
for photocopying, recording, taping or placement in information storage and
retrieval systems of any sort shall be directed in writing to Access Copyright.
Printed and bound in Canada at Friesens. The text of this book is printed on
100% post-consumer recycled paper with earth-friendly vegetable-based inks.
Cover design: Duncan Campbell, University of Regina Press
Text design: John van der Woude, jvdw Designs
Copy editor: Dallas Harrison
Proofreader: Kristine Douaud
Indexer: Sergey Lobachev, Brookfield Indexing Services
Cover art: Detail of sculpture by Carlos Terrés. “Allegory of mestizaje,” 1981,
terroca and reinforced concrete, 35 x 19 m, City of Chetumal Quintana Roo.
Used with permission.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Calder, Robert Lorin, 1941-, author
    A hero for the Americas : the legend of Gonzalo Guerrero / Robert Calder.
Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued in print and electronic
formats. isbn 978-0-88977-509-1 (softcover).—isbn 978-0-88977-510-7
(pdf).—isbn 978-0-88977-511-4 (html)
1. Guerrero, Gonzalo, -approximately 1528. 2. Spaniards—Mexico—Biography. 
3. Shipwreck victims—Mexico—Biography. 4. Mayas—Mexico—History. 
5. Mexico—History—Conquest, 1519-1540.  6. Yucatán Peninsula—History.  i. Title.
f1435.c35 2017 972'.02092 c2017-905023-0 c2017-905024-9
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
University of Regina Press, University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, s4s 0a2
tel: [phone] fax: [phone]
web: www.uofrpress.ca
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our pub-
lishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of
Canada. / Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.
This publication was made possible with support from Creative Saskatchewan’s
Creative Industries Production Grant Program.
For Holly

CONTENTS
maps Map 1. Spain ix
Map 2. The Caribbean x
Map 3. The Yucatán Peninsula xi
introduction “A Haunting, Tantalizing Tale” 1
chapter one “No White Man Ever Enters It”: The Yucatán
Peninsula 9
chapter two “To Serve God and . . . to Get Rich”: The Lure
of the New World 22
chapter three “It Seemed the End of the World”: Balboa,
Pizarro, and the Perils of Darién 41
chapter four “It Will Never Do to Leave Him Here”:
Shipwreck, Enslavement, and Hernán
Cortés 66
chapter five “What Would the Spanish Say Should
They See Me in This Guise?”:
Gonzalo Among the Maya 87
chapter six “Language Is the Perfect Instrument of
Empire”: Aguilar and the Conquest of the
Aztecs 112
chapter seven “Gonzalo, My Brother and Special Friend”:
Guerrero the Warrior and the Battle for
Yucatán 139
chapter eight “The Power of Narrative Is Absolute”:
Guerrero in the Contemporary Mexican
Consciousness 165
afterword “We Are a Métis Civilization” 184
Acknowledgements 191
Notes 193
Bibliography 201
Index 209
maps ix
FRANCE
Azores n PORTUGAL SPAIN
a
ic Oce Mediterrranean Sea
t Strait of Gibraltar
n
a
A tl
Madeira
MOROCCO
ALGERIA
Canary Islands
n
o
g
a
r
A
SPAIN
Castil
a e
PORTUGAL ur
d
a
m
e
Extr
Niebla
LepeHuelva Rio Tinto SMeovgiluleer Écija Granada
Mazagón
Palos de Sanlúcar de Barrameda
la Frontera Cadiz
Strait of Gibraltar Mediterranean Sea
Source: Natural Earth
Cartography: J. Siemer, University of Regina, 2107
Map 1. Spain