Despite his disability, however, Cervantes continued to serve as a soldier for several more years. Stationed on the ship La Marquesa, he fought against the Ottoman Empire and sustained serious injuries in the conflict, suffering two chest wounds and the complete maiming of his left hand. Known for his bravery, Cervantes took part in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. But by the following year, Cervantes had put his pen aside and, instead, picked up a weapon, joining a Spanish military unit in Italy. Poet SoldierĬervantes's first known published writing dates to 1569, when he contributed some poetry to a memorial collection after the death of Elizabeth of Valois, the wife of Spain's King Philip II.

Based on analyses of Cervantes's later work, some believe that he may have been taught by the Jesuits, however, others dispute this claim. But whether he had much in the way of formal education has been a subject of debate among scholars. Whatever his family's financial conditions, Cervantes was an avid reader as a child-a skill he was reportedly taught by a relative. His father, Rodrigo, deaf from birth, worked as a surgeon-a lowly trade at the time-and the family moved around often in Cervantes youth as his father searched for better prospects. The fourth of seven children, Miguel de Cervantes struggled financially for almost his entire life. After less successful earlier efforts, Cervantes finally achieved literary success in his later years, publishing the first part of Don Quixote in 1605. before he was ransomed and returned home. Captured by the Turks in 1575, Cervantes spent five years in prison. He became a soldier in 1570 and was badly wounded in the Battle of Lepanto. Miguel de Cervantes was born near Madrid in 1547.

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