Francisco de Terrazas facts for kids

Francisco de Terrazas was a Mexican poet who lived in the 1500s. Not much is known about his life, and only parts of his writings have been found. His most famous works include Sea and Land and The New World and its Conquest. Even the famous writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, who wrote Don Quixote, praised Terrazas.

About Francisco de Terrazas

His Family and Life

Francisco de Terrazas's father was a conquistador, which means he was a Spanish explorer and soldier who helped conquer new lands. His father died in 1549. He had worked as a justice of the peace in Mexico City.

We know that Francisco de Terrazas was alive in 1583. This information comes from a reference in a book by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. A historian named Joaquín García Icazbalceta thought that Terrazas might have traveled to Spain. This is where Cervantes could have met him.

Terrazas's Writing Career

Becoming a Well-Known Poet

Francisco de Terrazas was famous in both Mexico and Spain. Some people believe he might have been a friend or student of another poet named Gutierre de Cetina. This idea comes from how Terrazas's writing style sometimes copied Cetina's.

Terrazas's earliest known poems are three sonnets. A sonnet is a short poem with 14 lines and a special rhyming pattern. These sonnets were first printed in a book called Garlands of Varied Poetry in 1577. They were later published again in another book called Essay. By the time Garlands of Varied Poetry came out, Terrazas was likely already well-known. He might have been around 50 years old at that time.

His Major Works

Most of Terrazas's writings are only found in small pieces, called fragments. However, he is known to have written a work called Sea and Land. This work was mentioned in a book titled History of Tlaxcala.

Terrazas also wrote a long poem called an epic poem. This poem was titled The New World and its Conquest. Epic poems usually tell a grand story about heroes and important events.

In one part of The New World and its Conquest, Terrazas wrote about Francisco Hernández de Córdoba. He described Córdoba's trip to the Bay Islands Department, which was not successful. In another piece of the poem, Terrazas compared the famous conquistador Hernán Cortés to an ancient king named Xerxes I.

Another fragment of the poem tells about a speech that Cortés gave to the native people of Cozumel. He gave this speech with the help of a native interpreter named Melchorejo. Terrazas also wrote a poem about the love between two native people named Huitzel and Quetzal. The epic poem starts by describing two failed trips to Mexico that happened before Cortés arrived. It also mentions Cortés's interpreter, Gerónimo de Aguilar.

See also

In Spanish: Francisco de Terrazas para niños