Gerónimo de Aguilar

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gernimo-de-aguilar

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Gerónimo de Aguilar born?1489
2. Where was Gerónimo de Aguilar born?Écija, Spain
3. What is the career?Franciscan friar, missionary, and translator
4. What is the related topics?Spanish conquest of Mexico, Maya civilization, Hernán Cortés, early colonial period
5. What happened to Gerónimo de Aguilar when he was on a ship?He was shipwrecked near the Yucatán Peninsula in 1511, leaving him stranded on the coast and forcing him to survive with the Maya people.
6. How did he learn to speak Maya?While living with the Maya, he listened, practiced, and learned their language and customs, becoming fluent over time.

Franciscan friar: A member of a Catholic religious order founded by St. Francis of Assisi, characterized by vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, often engaged in missionary work.
Yucatán Peninsula: A geographical region in southeastern Mexico and parts of Central America, historically significant as the heartland of the Maya civilization.
Conquistador: Spanish and Portuguese soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who conquered and colonized territories in the Americas and the Philippines from the 15th to the 17th centuries.
Cultural intermediary: An individual who facilitates communication and understanding between different cultural groups, often by bridging linguistic and social divides.