Gerónimo de Aguilar facts for kids

Jerónimo de Aguilar (1489–1531) was a Spanish Franciscan friar born in Écija, Spain. A friar is like a religious brother who dedicates his life to God and helping others. Aguilar traveled to Panama to work as a missionary, sharing his faith. In 1511, his ship was wrecked near the Yucatán Peninsula. He was captured by the Maya people. Eight years later, in 1519, Hernán Cortés found Aguilar and asked him to be a translator during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.

An Unexpected Journey

Jerónimo de Aguilar arrived in a Spanish colony in Panama around 1510. In 1511, he left Panama on a ship called a caravel. A caravel was a small, fast sailing ship used by explorers. Aguilar was heading to Santo Domingo, carrying important papers and some gold.

The ship had sixteen men and two women on board. Sadly, it hit a sandbar near the Yucatán Peninsula and was wrecked. The survivors quickly got into a small boat. They hoped to reach Cuba or Jamaica, but strong ocean currents pushed them towards the coast of what is now Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Life with the Maya

Aguilar and about eleven other survivors were captured by a local Maya tribe. Some of the captured people did not survive. Others became enslaved. Aguilar and another sailor named Gonzalo Guerrero managed to escape. They were then taken in by a different Maya chief named Xamanzana. This chief was an enemy of the first tribe.

Living with the Maya, Aguilar and Guerrero learned the local language. Aguilar lived as a slave for eight years. He remained true to his religious beliefs during this time. Guerrero, however, became a respected war chief for another Maya leader. He married a wealthy Maya woman and had children. These children were among the first mestizo people in Mexico, meaning they had both European and Indigenous heritage.

A Key Translator

In 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico. He heard stories about bearded men living among a nearby tribe. Cortés thought they might be fellow Spaniards, so he sent a message to them. Eventually, Aguilar found Cortés and joined his expedition.

Aguilar showed his strong faith by remembering the exact day of the week. He had kept his prayer book, called a breviary, throughout his captivity. This helped him keep track of time.

Aguilar could speak both Maya and Spanish. This made him very important to Cortés. He worked alongside La Malinche, an Indigenous woman who spoke Maya and Nahuatl. Together, they translated for Cortés during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Aguilar would translate from Spanish to Maya, and Malinche would translate from Maya to Nahuatl.

Later, La Malinche learned Spanish herself. This meant she could translate directly from Nahuatl to Spanish. At this point, she became Cortés's main interpreter, and Aguilar's role as a translator became less central.

Later Life

After the conquest, Jerónimo de Aguilar became a resident of Mexico City. For his help, he was given two encomiendas in 1526. An encomienda was a grant from the Spanish Crown that gave a Spaniard control over a group of Indigenous people and their land. Aguilar died in 1531 without any children. His encomiendas then went back to the Spanish Crown.

His house in Mexico City later became a very important place. It was where the first printing press in the Americas began to operate.

See also

In Spanish: Gerónimo de Aguilar para niños