The Conquest of Mexico - Genealogy

In an earlier post, I mentioned that there were "many" Spaniards with Hernan Cortes during the conquest of Mexico. Some additional research has shown me that historians consider the actual number to have been about 2,000 soldiers. Of those, roughly one-fourth to one-third died in battle.

Of those who survived, almost all remained in Mexico, and are the progenitors of nearly the entire population living there now. Here's how it breaks down:

The population at the start of the conquest is estimated to have been about 20 million Indians. Some eighty years later, by the year 1600 that population had dwindled to about one million due to war, disease, starvation, and forced labor.

Today there are 125 million Mexican citizens but during the three centuries between 1600 and 1900, very few people emigrated to Mexico and the country's population grew to only about 15 million.

This means that the roughly 1,500 Spaniards who survived the initial conquest of Mexico were the ancestors of those 15 million and they, in turn, formed the basis for today's 125 million Mexicans. --Not to mention those who migrated north to America or in the opposite direction to Central and South America.

So if you are of Spanish/Mexican descent, and if you have a fairly common Hispanic last name such as Avila, Gonzalez, Vasquez, Moreno, Rodriquez, Garcia, Alvarado, Lopez, or Villalobos (plus 2,000 others), you might want to take a look at the web pages located at  The Conquistadores of Mexico.

You may be surprised to find that someone with your surname fought alongside Cortes. It's worth a visit.

Villalobos and The Conquest of Mexico

In researching the name Villalobos, I came across "The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo."

If you are not familiar with the name, he was one of the soldiers who accompanied Hernan Cortes during the  1519 defeat of the Aztecs of Mexico.

Bernal wrote his memoirs several years later, after reading accounts of what had happened that were written by individuals who hadn't even been there. His account is simple, straighforward and, as far as is known, quite honest.

The reason I mention him and his book is that one of the names he lists is "Villalobos."

And I thought you might be interested to see if your last name is among those who were involved in the conquest by Spain of Mexico nearly 500 years ago.  Here are the surnames, as listed in Bernal Diaz' book:

Aguilar - Alamilla - Alaminos - Alanis - Alerza - Almodovar - Alobancho - Alonso - Alpedrino - Alvarado - Amaya - Angula - Aragon - Arevalo - Arguello - Ario - Artiaga - Astorgos - Avila - Balnor - Barco - Barrientos - Bejel - Berritez - Bonal - Burguenno


Caceres - Camillas - Cardenas - Cardona - Carmonas - Caro - Carrero - Carvajal - Castaneda - Catalan - Cermenno - Cervantes - Chico - Cieza - Corral - Cortes - Cuellar – Cuenca

De Coria - De la Loa - De las Casas - De las Varillas - De Mola - De Palo - Del Puerto - Del Rio - Diaz - Dominguez – Duran

Escalante - Escalona - Escobar - Escudero - Espinosa - Estrada - Farsan - Figuero - Flamenco - Flores - Florin - Gallego - Galvez - Gamboa - Garona - Garcia - Genna - Gorrez - Grado - Granado - Gutierres – Guzman

Hernandez - Herrera - Hurones - Ircio - Jaen - La Serna - Lares - Larios - Lencero - Leon - Lerma - Lopez – Lugo

Madrid - Madrigal - Magallanes - Magarino - Maite - Maldonado - Manquillo - Marin - Martin - Martinez - Median - Medrano - Mendes - Mercado - Mesa - Misa - Monjaraz - Monroy - Montannes - Montejo - Morales - Moreno - Morillas - Morla – Moron

Najara - Navarro - Naxara - Nortes - Nuñez - Ochoa - Oinzones - Ojeda - Olea - Oli - Olmedo - Olmedo - Ordas - Orozco - Orteguilla - Ortiz – Osorio

Pacheco - Palencia - Palma - Pardo - Paredes - Pennalosa - Pennates - Perez - Pinedo - Pizarro - Platero - Plazuela - Polanco - Poron - Porras - Portillo – Quintero - Rabaso - Ramirez - Rapapelo - Ribadeo - Rodriguez - Rojas - Romero – Ruano

Sabrite - San Juan - Sanchez - Sandaña - Sandoval - Santa Clara - Santiago - Santisteban - Saragoza - Saucedo - Sedenno - Siciliano - Solis - Sopuerta – Suarez

Talavera - Terrazas - Tirado - Tostado - Trebejo - Truxillos (Trujillos) - Tuvilla - Umbria

Valdovinos - Valencia - Valenciano - Valladolid - Vandadas - Vargas - Varguillas - Vasquez - Velasquez - Villafuerte - Villalobos - Villanuevas - Villareal – Villasinda

Xaramillo (Jaramillo) - Ximena (Jimena) - Ximenes (Jimenez) - Yannez - Zamisdio

...Quite a list, yet it is incomplete because Diaz couild not recall the names of everyone who took part.
 
We tend to think that the Astecs of Mexico were defeated by "a handful of men" (five or six), but actually there were many. Not "many" compared to the number of Indians against whom they fought, but "many" in the sense of more than a mere handful.
 
Iis your last name among those listed above?

...And here is today's link  Gigliola Cinquetti