HERNANDO CORTES

CONQUERER OF MEXICO

 
 
           Intro and Early Years
                   
                     There was a time during the Renaissance when exploring was very popular.Especially in Spain when people were eager for riches.When Queen Isabella and Ferdinand of Aragon got married they both  decided to encouraged exploration.Well, at that time many people were trying to colonize the mainland of America. The two first expeditions that had tried once to conquer it failed and their names were, Francisco Hernendez and Juan de Grijlva. Then only one person was capableof doing it at the age of 33 and his name was Hernando Cortes.
                           Hernando Cotes was born on 1485 in Medellin, Spain a small town in Estremadura. As a child Hernando (Hernan in Spanish) was often ill, but by the time he was fourteen his health had improved completely. He was so well that his parents shipped him off to the University of Salamanca, hoping he would become a lawyer. When Hernando went to college he proved himself to be anything but a scholar. He preferred to play dice, cards and get into fights instead of studying. Clearly all he wanted to learn was warfare so he took classes. Soon he became an excellent horseman and fencer. After two whole years at the University, he left and returned to his home in Medellin.  

            Exploration of Mexico

                Hernando traveled to Mexico on March 1, 1519. He traveled there with  a fleet of 11 ships, there with him were 500 soldiers. When the spanish got to the Maya, a town in Mexico facing them was  the might of an ancient empire.Even though the fight was bloody, thanks to the weapons of the spanish they won the figt against the Mayan Indians. After losing the Mayans promised to obey Cortes. Sailing westward along the Mexican Gulf Coastline, they ended up on a place where Cortes named Vera Cruz, where they met two indians. They were both Ambasadors sent by the great ruler Montezuma and every time they visited they brught gifts of gold and silver. The rulers plan was for them to have so much gold and not to come to Tenochtiltan, but instead all the gifts made them want to go more since it was the reason they went  to mexico in the first place for wealthy gold.

                   Then at last the spaiards couldn't take it they wanted gold so they went along and tried to find Tenochtitlan. on the journey they went through many dangers with both animals and humans and all of the battles were won by the spanish.Then after a few days they got to Tenochtitlan, when they got there both the spaniards and the aztecs were amazed. Spaniards were astonished by the buildings coming out of the water and al the beautiful flowers that grew everywhere then the aztecs were astonished by the way they spoe and dressed basically about their diffrences. When Hernando met Montezuma they becamefriend and then on that day November 8 ,1519 and on there was a turning point that changed almost everything for the Aztec people.

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                           Then after a long time of beingwith the Aztecs it was the Spaniard greed and religion that brought both types of people apart. The spaniards burnrd down gold that the Aztecs used for their gods to keep and get rich when they got back to spain. Then they suggested that the aztecs gods image was re-arranged with things that weren't permitted. Then after a time came Narvaez, a spanish commander that came to execute Hernando for going on a expedition to mexico when he was not permitted to go. Herando went ot to battle with his army of 500 against Narvaez's battle of about 700.  When Hernando's army won and killed Narvaez, he got to keep the soldiers that once worked for Narvaez and put him on his own army and all the weapons that had been in the ship and the ones they were using as well. In total Hernando had a crew of 1000 soldiers  and he had them at good time because there were mad Aztecs ready to attack  him and his crew as soon as he was back. When they got there and got to another battle half of his soldiers had died so Hernando ased his friend Montezuma to talk to his people. The Aztecs were so mad that they threw stones at Montezuma and one that hit his head and killed him.

                                  Hernando was in grave danger, after Montezuma was killed there were only about 100 soldiers that were capable of escaping with him from the aztecs. Then when all of the 100 soldiers and Hernando went to Outomba vally badly bruised tey saw that there were thousands of Aztecs ready for a battle, every single one of the spaniards knew well that they wouldmn't make it since they were starving and bruised bad enough already. They all went t attack anyways since they couldn't just escape cowardly. They won by pure luck when Hernando killed the new emperor and every other  Aztec  was too afraid to fight without the emporer. Ten boats started coming in from spain giving them food and shelter and many more weapons to help them. At the end they had killed over 200,000 Aztecs and were capable of  conquering Mexico.

                        Hernando's Impact

                                         Hernando didn't really do anything to impact our world but he did teach us a lesson. Great conquerers like cortes do much to shape the course of history ( Jacobs, William J. "Cortes the conquerer of Mexico pg.55 ). The lesson was that people may not ever change when they are forced upon it. Cortes was greedy enugh to kill 200,000 people to get them to change and give him gold, that was the way he conquered Mexico. Then in 1821 during the  Revolution which is the tme when Mexico won comlete freedom from Spain, people went up to Cortes's grave and ripped up his remain (his bones) Now even in Modern day thereis not one statue that stands in Mexico for Hernando Cortes because of his Harsh ways to get what he most desired RICHS.

                                                           

             Hernando died in Seville, Spain on      December 2, 1547