Walk Into the Life of Spanish Explorers

 THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF HERNAND CORTEZ 

        Hernando Cortes, also known as Hernan or Fernando, was a Spanish explorer that conquered central and southern Mexico. He lived was born in Medellion, Extremadura, Spain and lived from 1485 to 1547. Through his life there are so many adventures he went on. He did what he thought was best and didn’t let anything get in his way. With lots of important decisions, this explorer had many obstacles in his way, but made it through. This is why he is such a great explorer.

~HERNANDO CORTES PORTRAIT~

         Hernando Cortes was born in 1485 in Medellin, Extremadura, Spain. He was born in a noble family and his parents were Martin Cortes de Monroy and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano. When he grew up he wanted to be a general in the army. In 1499, when he was 14, he was sent to the University of Salamanca but in 1501 he failed at Law and left the University. Some good things although did come out of going to school, he got better at writing and learned Latin.This was his parents choice because they wanted their only son to become a lawyer to support the family.  He was tired of school and returned back to Medellin after 2 years claiming he was looking for adventure in his life. This got his parents upset since they wanted to see him pursue a legal career. He moved to Santo Domingo in the West Indies in 1504. Hernando Cortes soon married a Spanish lady by the name of Catalina Xuarez Marcaida, although he did not have any children at that time. When his wife died he soon remarried Juana Ramirez de Arellano de Zuniga and had four children which were one son, and three daughters. In 1502, Hernando was introduced to the stories of the New World and joined an expedition led by Nicolas de Ovando with Diego Velazquez. The expedition was to the West Indies and Hernando was under command of a man named Quintera. The voyage had 30 ships and 2500 settlers. Soon, the expedition reached Hispaniola and Hernando was proven an amazing soldier.

         In 1511, Hernando Cortes was chosen to accompany Velazquez on the expedition to Cuba which contained 4 vessels and 300 men. Cortes fought under the governor. In 1518 Cortes was choosen by Velazquez to lead the expedition to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and then a center of Maya civilization. With all the expense that the expedition would cost him, he canceled the trip and asked for Cortes not to go. Hernando Cortes, although, did not like this and went to Yucatan in 1519 with more than 11 ships and 500 men.

       It took two years just to conquer Mexico, but there are things he did at the start that lead him to that. First, Cortes made communications with Indians. Malinche was one young Indian that advised Hernando through his journey. Next, Hernando Cortes moved from Yucatan and moved along the coast of the Golf of Mexico. Soon he established the first Spanish settlement in Mexico, La Villa Rica de Vera Cruz. The town council there gave called him captain general with authority to conquer Mexico under Spanish law.

 ~HERNANDO CORTES ON HIS WAY TO VICTORY~

        Cortes then went toward Tenochtitlan, which today is Mexico City in August 1519. This is also the capital of the Aztec Empire. The Empire had been built when Mexico City had built a union, which was called the Triple Alliance, with the nearby cities. These cities were Tlacopan and Texcoco. This had lead to the formation of a whole empire. This empire, although was used just to get money from the Indian villagers. They would get money from them by giving them taxes to pay and making them provide human sacrifices for their religious ceremonies. The Indians did not like this so they helped Hernando Cortes defeat it. Many others joined him after he defeated them in battle. There was only one problem though. The Aztec refused to meet with Hernando Cortes at first.  But when November 1519 came around, Montezuma let them into Tenochtitlan. Soon, Hernando Cortes had captured Montezuma and kept him hostage. Cortes then tried to rule the Empire through him.

        Cortes left the city after 6 months to go challenge an expedition that had been sent by Velazquez so he could arrest Cortes. This expedition was led by Panfilo de Narvaez, which was soon captured by Hernando. With his persuasive words, he easily convinced Marvaez’s troops to join him. On the other side, the people of Tenochtitlan did not like the idea and refused to join Cortes. After the return of Cortes, Montezuma did not survive and the Spanish soldiers marched into the city.

          Hernando had something else in mind in December 1520. He had started to organize an attack against Tenochtitlan and even its own new leader, Cuauhtmoc. The city soon was no more, so Cuauhtemoc asked to die. Hernando, on the other hand had something else in mind. He tortured him because he thought he knew where Aztec treasures were hidden. Even through all this torture, Cuauhtemoc would not tell any of the secrets. Cortes had no choice but to hang him in 1525.

          After the conquest, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V called Hernando Cortes “governor and captain general of the newly conquered territory.” He also received the title “ Marques del Valle de Oaxaca” in 1528. Soon. Hernando found new cities and supported efforts to convert Indians to Christianity and sponsored new explorations. Hernando Cortes also had led many expeditions, for example expeditions to Honduras, which was in 1524. Also, he led expeditions to Baja California in northwestern Mexico, which was in 1535 and 1536. After about 4 years, Cortes went back to Spain for the last time. In 1541, he is given permission to fight against the Moors and the Pirates of Algiers. Sadly, Hernando Cortes died on December 2, 1547 near Seville.

         As you can, Hernando Cortes was a great Spanish explorer that conquered central and southern Mexico. He also went through many adventures in his life and he never gave up. There were many obstacles, but he never backed down. He was also a very persuasive man and knew what he wanted. He didn’t stop until he got what he wanted, which makes him such a great explorer. In conclusion, Hernando Cortes is definitely an outstanding and excellent explorer!

*RESOURCES* 

10) Ossian, Rob. "Hernando Cortes". April 19,2010 <http://www.thepirateking.com/bios/cortez_hernando.htm>.           

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