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| - Johnny was born on May 16, 1497. to James and Anna Goldtimbers that resided in Toledo, Spain. When growing up Johnny was always being dragged along Europe with his mother that would perform her opera duets in fancy opera houses. Johnny and his mother travelled to Venice Italy where his mother was born to enjoy the last few days of traveling and back to Spain the next week. Johnny had nothing on him but his cloths on his back and well of course a large amount of allowance money he saved up. He gazed in awe at the Venice sunset at the bridges across the cannels. He went to the nearest art supply shop and bough a paper, paint, and brushes. He tried and tried over again to draw the beautiful image he remembered in his head even when he left Italy and went back to Spain. His parents enrolled him into art school at the age of 12. For two long years he finally got better at art and his first painting sold for 156 gold pieces. Years past and Johnny took an interest in swords rather than art. War struck Spain and France and a draft was called upon all men, one from each family must serve in the war. His father was ill with the deadly Italian plague. Johnny proudly went to war in his father’s place. After he rose in rank and age he was a most promised Lieutenant General. Johnny Recorded his Adventures with his friend Hernán Cortés in a Log. "'I was told of discovery and conquest, gold, Indians, and strange unknown lands and when the chance for me to travel to the New World, I grasped it with excitement. My childhood friend knew Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres who was Governor of Hispaniola thus I went on the next ship to Hispaniola. I reached Hispaniola in a ship commanded by a man by the name of Alonso Quintero, who tried to deceive his superiors and reach the New World before them in order to secure personal advantages which included the lust of Gold as Cortés told me more about him. I arrived in 1504 in Santo Domingo, the capital of Hispaniola. I registered as a Colonist and a Citizen. The Governor Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres made me a repartimiento of Indians due to my friendship with Cortés. In the year of 1506, I took part in the conquest of Hispaniola and Cuba, and then receiving a large estate of land for my glorious efforts from the leader of the conquest. Later on in 1511 I accompanied Hernán Cortés who joined Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in his expedition to conquer the island called Cuba. Velázquez was appointed as governor soon after becoming victorious. I was made a Lieutenant in the Spanish Navy while Hernán was made Clerk of the Treasury with the responsibility of ensuring that the Crown received the customary one-fifth of the profits from the expedition. I was secured a high political position in the colony in which I became Advisor for Governor Velázquez. But soon enough my relations with Velázquez made me question him at many points. Hernán as well did not take kindly of him and his actions. Once news of Juan de Grijalva, establishing a colony on the mainland of the New World where there was a large quantity of silver and gold, reached the Greedy Governor, Velázquez he became more and more Greedy in which he appointed me Teniente Genera or Lieutenant General and sent me on a expedition with Cortés to the mainland. I was able to gather two ships and 189 men, within the month Cortés ordered me to. Predictably, Velázquez's jealousy exploded and the fool decided to place the leadership of the expedition in other hands. But I quickly gathered more men and ships in other Cuban ports to aid with Cortés’s long Journey ahead of him. Finally Velázquez put Cortés in command of the expedition after his constant mind changing which annoyed me so. Our mission was to explore and secure the interior of this land called Mexico for colonization and for Spain! In February 1519, in an act of open mutiny Cortés kept his friends close and his enemies even closer. I was accompanied by 11 ships, 500 men armed with Crossbows and Muskets, 13 horses and a small number of cannons, all under the command of Captain-General Cortés by which we travelled to the land called Mexico. I landed in the mainland where I came across a Franciscan priest, Geronimo de Aguilar, a Spaniard who had survived from a shipwreck and joined our troops. Geronimo had learned Maya during his captivity which proved most helpful on the way. I did not realize this importance until later while Cortés did. By March 1519, I have assisted Cortés as he claimed the unknown land for the Spanish crown. We stopped in many Azteca Cities such as a large city called Trinidad to hire more soldiers and to spread the Catholic Faith. Then we proceeded to Tabasco and won a battle against the barbaric and devious natives. At this time Cortés received from the vanquished natives twenty young indigenous women and I converted them all to the Catholic Faith due to my years in the Church. Among these women was La Malinche who would be Cortés’s lucky lady and mother of his child. Malinche knew both the Aztec language which was pronounced “Nahuatl” as well she spoke Maya, thus enabling us to communicate in both Maya and Aztec. Through her time she helped Cortés she grew a romance with him as well as she proved a most valued resource as we learned from the Tabascans about the wealthy Aztec Empire and its riches of Gold and Precious Jewels. By July 1519, my men took over the land in which Cortés named Veracruz and by this noble act I have done. By this time the Emperor of the Aztec Empire, Moctezuma II sent an embassy with a parade of Warriors and servants to meet us in Veracruz. He offered me and Cortés gold and precious jewels and treasures. I saw that there was so little gold so I said to Cortés to ask them about a more plentiful source. He smiled and asked the Ambassador, “You see me and my men suffer from an illness in which can only be cured by gold, Do you have more?” The Ambassador responded with “yes, plenty more” with that said I and men grew determined to make my way into the interior with Cortés to claim more gold. With a smile on Cortés’s face he had dismissed the authority of the Governor of Cuba to place himself directly under the orders of King Charles V of Spain. By doing this we did not entitle the Claim to that corrupt Governor anymore longer! In order to eliminate any ideas of retreat due to the talk of mutiny and the surprise to the Conquistadors the expedition would continue inland I had told Cortés to immobilze all 11 of the ships by which he did. He had all the ships burned but one in which Cortés sent with his most loyal back to Spain filled with the riches of this Mexico. Lucky for me he wanted me to stay with him to help Conquer the Aztecs. In Veracruz, I met a few of Moctezuma's Ambassadors and asked them to arrange a meeting with Moctezuma on behalf of Cortés. Moctezuma knowing him to fear us repeatedly turned down the meeting, but Cortés did not care because he was determined to meet this Emperor. We left for the interior leaving a hundred men in Veracruz just in case any other Explorers dare try to take the Claim; it took us weeks as we marched to Tenochtitlan until mid-August 1519 where along with 600 of the men, 15 horsemen, 15 cannons, and hundreds of indigenous carriers and warriors Cortés had convinced to join us in our Conquest. On the way to Tenochtitlan, I made many alliances with tribes who did not take kindly to the Aztec Empire while Cortés did the same. By October 1519, me, Cortés and the men accompanied by about 3,000 Natives, marched to Cholula which was the second largest city in Aztec Empire. I made an effort to place a instill fear upon the Aztecs waiting for me at Tenochtitlan wishing to make an example when I myself feared the native’s treachery and warned Cortés of these evils and Cortés thought of a idea to give them a hint. He had a killing of thousands of unarmed members of the nobility gathered at the central plaza, then somewhat burned the city. By the time we arrived in Tenochtitlan we had a large army to face the Aztec Ruler. On the date November 8, 1519, Cortés, me and the men were peacefully greeted by the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II, which was by their customs. Moctezuma deliberately let us enter the heart of the Aztec Empire. I was eager to get to know their weaknesses better and to help Cortés crush them later. He gave lavish gifts in gold to me, Cortés and many of the men which provoked them to plunder the vast amounts of gold within the City streets. But as quickly as I learned that my Spaniards on the coast had been attacked, Cortés decided to take the opportunity to strike and he decided to take Moctezuma as a hostage in his own palace, and ordering him to swear allegiance to The Crown and to Spain. Velasquez sent another expedition to take the claim of Mexico. The expedition arrived in Mexico in April 1520 with 1,100 men. I knowing Cortés must meet them at the coast; he left 200 of the finest men in Tenochtitlan to guard the captive Emperor and took me and the rest to confront the Spaniards. By chance of his persuasion, by which I was astonished that he convinced the Spaniards send to arrest him to join him in my Conquest. Unfortunately in the Capital, one of the lieutenants Pedro de Alvarado committed a massacre in the Main Temple, which caused a local rebellion. Cortés’s eyes grew wider as he heard this and we raced to Tenochtitlan and proposed that peace would be restored if they stopped their revolt but it failed. We attempted to end this chaos by using Moctezuma to quell his people but it failed when he was stoned to death by his subjects. That most definitely worried me so. Knowing we had no leverage against the Natives I convinced Cortés to make a moveable bridge out of the temple rafters and we fled for Tlaxcala at nightfall. As we managed a narrow escape from Tenochtitlan across the causeway, while our backs were being shot at and many of the men were being massacred much of my treasure looted was lost as well as the artillery when the natives pushed them into the waters below. They almost even sunk the horse that carried the King’s Gold! We managed to reach Tlaxcala, after having lost 870 men. With the assistance of our allies, Cortés, and I along with the remanding men finally prevailed with reinforcements that arrived from Cuba. We began a siege and a blockade of the island city of Tenochtitlán cutting off supplies and sending the Aztecs allied cities changing sides to aid me in the Siege. {C In January 1521, I discovered a conspiracy against Cortés who lead us to victory. Villafana the ring leader of the conspiracy met his end when I told Cortés and he sentenced him to be hanged. Finally, with the capture of Cuauhtémoc, the New Emperor of Tenochtitlán, on the 13th of August, 1521, the Aztec Empire crumbled and Cortés and I have become the conquerors of it all, but Cortés took most of the credit but I am not a man to complain from what I have been through. Cortés later claimed all this newly conquered lands for Spain, in which he renamed it after the land it was originally called and deemed it the city, Mexico City." ~ Giovanni El Elegido Del Mar Goldtimbers, Late 1400's to the Early 1500s He returned home after a long time of the Corruption of Spain to see his parents. Has soon has he returned home fully dressed in his Spanish military amour he looked at his mother and has quickly has she told him of a terrible death in the family his smile turned to a frown. The family member that died was his grandfather Felice Goldtimbers. His mother had told him he died of the Italian plague. When he rushed to see his father, to his surprise a miracle of God happened. His father was well and alive.
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