Francisco Cervantes de Salazar (1514? Р1575) was a Spanish humanist, writer, and chronicler, considered the first professor of rhetoric at the Real y Pontificia Universidad de M̩xico.
He was born in Toledo between 1514 and 1518 into a family of ancient nobility. He first studied in Toledo under the guidance of Alejo Venegas, then at the University of Salamanca, where he obtained the degree of bachiller in canon law. In his youth he accompanied Pedro Girón on a diplomatic mission to Flanders, an experience that allowed him to frequent humanist circles and to meet Juan Luis Vives.
After returning to Spain, he entered the service of Cardinal GarcÃÂa de LoaÃÂsa as Latin secretary. LoaÃÂsa was archbishop of Seville and president of the Council of the Indies. In 1544 he published a translation of VivesâÂÂs Introductio ad sapientiam, followed by the Apólogo de la ociosidad y el trabajo by Luis MexÃÂa and the Diálogo de la dignidad del hombre by Fernán Pérez de Oliva, all of which he enriched with notes and glosses. After the deaths of LoaÃÂsa (1546) and Hernán Cortés (1547), with whom he had come into contact in his final years, he moved to the Americas. Arriving in Mexico City around 1551, he taught Latin grammar and from 1553 held the chair of rhetoric at the newly founded Real y Pontificia Universidad de México, where he delivered the inaugural lecture. In 1554 he published a commentary on the Dialogues of Vives, integrating them with seven original dialogues in Latin, three of which constitute a valuable description of the capital of New Spain.
Ordained a priest in 1555, he obtained various academic degrees up to a doctorate in theology. He served several times as rector of the University and as a canon of Mexico City Cathedral. In 1560 he published the Túmulo Imperial, a description of the solemn funeral rites celebrated in Mexico for Charles V. He also participated in inquisitorial activities and served as an adviser to the Holy Office. Although he aspired to further ecclesiastical advancement, he never rose beyond the dignity of canon.
He died in Mexico City on 14 November 1575, leaving behind a rich library and unfinished manuscripts.
The Crónica de la Nueva España is an unfinished historical work written between about 1557 and 1564 in Mexico City. It is considered one of the earliest historiographical chronicles composed in New Spain. The work was commissioned from Cervantes de Salazar by the cabildo (city council) of Mexico City, which from 1558 granted him an annual salary and the assistance of an amanuensis for its composition. The chronicler began writing the text shortly after 1557 and continued for several years, but never completed it.
The Crónica is inspired by the Conquista de México of Francisco López de Gómara, but Cervantes did not limit himself to reproducing that model: he compared various sources and collected direct testimonies from elderly conquistadors still living in Mexico. Certain episodes, such as the adventures of Gerónimo de Aguilar, the Noche Triste, or the siege of Tenochtitlán, are narrated in versions that are more detailed and divergent than those found in earlier chronicles. The work deals primarily with the discovery and conquest of New Spain, interweaving historical and geographical descriptions. It includes chapters devoted to the fauna and geography of the territory, as well as an expanded description of Mexico City, also based on the Latin dialogues that Cervantes had published in 1554. The narrative is marked by literary vividness: figures ranging from Hernán Cortés to Moctezuma II are portrayed with human traits, and the style alternates concise sententiae with oratorical eloquence, in accordance with models of Renaissance historiography.
The manuscript remained unpublished and unfinished. It was delivered in installments to the cabildo, in fascicles, but was never printed in its entirety. In the 17th century it was extensively used by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas for his Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las islas y tierra firme del mar océano. The text survives in a manuscript version, now preserved in Mexico, and is considered one of the most significant sources for colonial history.