THE ADVENTURE CHRONICLES OF CONQUISTADOR PEDRO DE MÉRIDA

A date known to most in the Western World is 1492, when the discovery of the Americas by Columbus closed out the Middle Ages and set the stage for the modern history of the New World. As a result, the people of Spain felt themselves a chosen nation and one destined for momentous events. The new lands offered an outlet for the ambitions of men frustrated by the exhaustion of their country and the endemic poverty that had plagued it for generations. The enthusiasm of these adventure seekers soon focused upon the discovery, conquest, and settlement of the new, unknown lands. Many military expeditions of but a few hundred men sent forth by the King left Spain for the new territories and swept to the farthest-most borders of the Americas in only several decades. Many of these men sought large returns on the investment of their time and money in such risky undertakings. Gold most of them desired, but important also were landed estates worked by peasant natives to extract the soil's bounty for the Spanish owners. These new lords wished to enjoy their possessions, like the manor nobles at home, and pass them on to their heirs in future generations. During these momentous times, one of these adventurers, Pedro de Mérida, became a conquistador and chronicler of the New World, one who would leave a vibrant record of his travels in Chile and Peru for us. He tells his story in nine letters to King Phillip II, historical narratives here broken into three volumes. In the first three letters of Volume I, de Mérida tells of the Diego de Almagro Expedition to Chile in 1535 to 1537 and the return to Peru, a distance of more than 3,500 miles. In the fourth, fifth, and sixth letters of Volume II, he recounts his adventures with the Pedro de Valdivia Expedition to conquer Chile during the years 1540 to 1554. De Mérida's correspondences comprise the only formal record of the Almagro and Valdivia journeys composed by a member of the expeditions, and they help fill the historical void. Impressed by the first two volumes, the King asked de Mérida to tell of the Conquest of the Incas under Francisco Pizarro and the following disruptive years that saw civil war amongst the conquerors. Thus, we have this current work, Volume III, which covers the years 1524-1550. Despite the hardships he encountered and endured, one may surmise that our chronicler, a product of the Spanish desire for adventure, rather welcomed most of the discomfort, for he never complains or gives notice of his dissatisfaction. As he says on numerous occasions, he was wanting adventure. As it transpired, he found it, and in abundance.