Conqueror of Mexico, b. at Medellin in Spain c. 1485; d. at Castilleja de la Cuesta near Seville, 2 December, 1547. He was married first to Catalina Xuares, from which marriage there was no issue, and, after her death, to Doña Juana de Zuñiga, niece of the Duke of Bejar. From this union there sprang four children, one son (Martín) and three daughters. His parents were Martín Cortés de Monroy and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano, both of honourable extraction, belonging to the middle class of nobility, but not wealthy. They sent their son to school at Salamanca when he was fourteen years of age, but study was irksome to him, his restless and ambitious temper chafed under restraint, and he returned home much to the displeasure of his parents. As he was the only son, they looked upon him as their hope and future support, and had wished that he would adopt the profession of the law. Dissatisfied at home Cortés turned his eyes to the newly discovered Western world, and after an unsuccessful attempt to embark for the West Indies with Ovando, succeeded in reaching Española in a craft commanded by one Quintero, who signalized himself during the voyage by trying to deceive his superiors and reach the New World before them in order to secure personal advantages. It may be that the example of Quintero was a school for Cortés in his subsequent career. The life Cortés led in the Antilles was that of the military man of his time, with intervals of rest on such estates as he gradually acquired. He was a favourite of both Ovando and Velazquez, but he quarrelled with the latter, deceived him and made him a mortal enemy. The consequences were very serious, for Velazquez was Governor of Cuba and a man of influence at court. The conduct of Cortés during his stay in the Antilles (1504-1519) revealed, besides military aptitude (which he had small opportunity of displaying), shrewdness, daring (in his dealings with Velazquez), and no excess of scruples in morals.
In 1517 Cordova reached the coast of Yucatan, while commanding a modest expedition despatched by Velazquez. He was mortally wounded and only a remnant of his crew reached Cuba again, bringing back news of the superior culture of the people they had met. Another expedition was determined upon, and was carried out the year following under the leadership of Grijalva. It touched the coast of Mexico, and brought home metallic ob...
... middle of paper ...
...s, for or against him, are dispersed through the voluminous collection above cited and through the "Colección de Documentos de Indias", as well as in tyhe "Documentos para la Historia de México" of Ycazbalceta. Of his letters on the conquest there are a number of reprints and translations into various languages.
See articles on AZTECS and MEXICO for the bulk of literature on the conquest of Mexico and the part played by Cortés in it. PETER MARTYR and especially OVIEDO were contemporaries; their statements therefore deserve particular attention, although absolute impartiality and reliability cannot be expected. On the sinister occurrence of the death of Ponce de León and of Catalina Xuarez the Documentos de Indias contain the authentic investigations. The early life of Cortés is described at length in a fragment from the sixteenth century, De Rebus Gestiis Ferdinand Cortesii, author unknown, published by YCAZBALCETA in his Documentos, I, first series. BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO gives many very valuable data on Cortés, but he must be classed among writers on the conquest.
AD. F. BANDELIER
Transcribed by WGKofron
With thanks to St. Mary's Church, Akron, Ohio
Admittedly, these men are responsible for much of the exploration of the America’s, but to focus on so few of the explorers ignores how reactive their actions were, and the larger narrative of the world at that time (4). For example, Columbus is praised and idolized for discovering the America’s, however it was only by luck that he arrived on those shores. Moreover, there were many other explorers at the time who could have reached the America’s if Columbus had not done so first (9). Another man who is seen as the key figure in the actual Conquest is Cortes. Cortes’ campaign in the America’s is commonly viewed as the standard to strive for, yet it is also the exception to a typical conquest (19). He is viewed as some above-it-all conquistador idol, when in all actuality he merely followed the standard protocol of the Conquest (19). This does not mean that Cortes’ actions were any less inspirational, merely that they were not uncharacteristic acts that he created (19). Both Columbus and Cortes were merely following standard procedure of the time, yet they are written about as if they were heroes of their time, bravely going and doing what none had done before. And in some sense, they were the first to discover and conquer, but it is foolish to assume that just because they were the first to be in the America’s
From a proud Conquistador, to a castaway, a slave and trader, and then medicine man, Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to explore much of the southern coast of Texas. Cabeza was a 37 year old military veteran in 1527 when he left on the Narvaez Expedition to find gold and colonize the Gulf Coast. He was the expedition’s treasurer. Cabeza de Vaca was enslaved by Indians in 1528 when one of the rafts the crew made crashed on present day Galveston island, he then escaped in 1530 and joined/was enslaved by another tribe called the Charrucos until his escape with 3 other survivors in 1534. He then walked to Mexico City. Cabeza survived this ordeal because of the incredible patience he had, his skills of diplomacy and goodwill, and his amazing wilderness survival skills.
Portilla starts out by giving a thorough background of the culture and religious beliefs. The reader can draw many theories on how this carried over to the Aztecs way of thinking and fighting. In addition to the religion and culture, Portilla shows the technology advantages the Spanish had over the Aztecs. He also goes on to describe the poor leadership of Motecuhzoma. Motecuhzoma will be portrayed as a coward. Portilla also writes about the strategy that worked rather well for the Spanish as they made alliances with the Tlaxcalatecas and other cities. He finally talks about plague that wiped out much of the Aztecs. This may have been the greatest factor in the fall of the Aztecs Empire. All of these factors combined effectively show how the Spaniards prevailed over this great Aztec Empire of the 15th and early 16th century.
... will”, which gives Cortes all the power of the kingdom. Plus, Moctezuma is willing to give all the gold to Cortes without interfer. After all the lecture, Moctezuma take off, Cortes and his soldiers rest. All this was recorded during the presence of the great Moctezuma and the conquistador Hernan cortes, which later on would conquer Aztec’s empire, a thing that Moctezuma was afraid.
In 1518 Hernán Cortés took command of an expedition to secure the interior of Mexico in the name of the Spanish Crown. In the letters he detailed his expedition and the land and peoples they conquered and encountered. The first letter, dated 1519, is a problematic document as it is written in the third person and was most likely not actually wire by cortez. The second and third letters are much more reliable and were published in Seville in 1522 and 1523 respectively. The culture, geography, economy and other details of the Aztec civilization, as well as Cortés and his forces’ interaction with them, are detailed in his letters which are addressed to the monarch of the sponsor of his force, Spain. In his letters Cortés also gave justification and explanation of the actions he took in Mexico.
C. W. Hackett, ed., Historical Documents relating to New Mexico, Nueva Vizcaya, and Approaches Thereto, to 1773, vol. III (Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1937), 327-35.
The history based on primary source and secondary source, and the history has to have both primary source and secondary source because it has real facts and analyzes. Examples of Primary Sources are speeches, news, photographs..,etc., and examples of secondary sources interpreted topics. This article is primary source essay, and Primary sources are original documents. Primary sources for this article are Christopher Columbus’s Letter,1493 and Fray Bernardino de Sahagun Relates an Aztec Chronicler’s Account of the Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs,1519.
De Soto was born somewhere around the year 1500 in Jerez de los Caballeros in Extremadura in what is now Spain (Milanich & Hudson 26). Contemporaries of de Soto would include Cortez, Balboa, and Francisco Pizzaro with whom he would share a great adventure. De Soto's ancestors had been part of the reconquista and as aristocrats many had been knighted for their part in driving the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula (Milanich & Hudson 26). Hernando would have played no part in the expulsion of the Moors; however, family legacy would have played no small part in developing his frame of reference. It is thought that by the time do Soto was fourteen he was on his way to the new world.
When the Spaniards arrived on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in 1519, they encountered the advanced society of the Aztecs. With Tenochititlan at its capital, the Aztec empire was vast. The Aztecs had substantial wealth from trading and extensive payments of tribute from conquered peoples. Bernal Diaz in his The Conquest of New Spain comments, "We were dazzled at the richness of the country that we passed through" (282). The Spaniards encountered a powerful, advanced people in the New World, making Cortes and his crew of approximately 600 seemingly ensured of defeat. The Aztec religion lends much to Spanish success in conquest.
“The Conquest of New Spain” is the first hand account of Bernal Diaz (translated by J.M. Cohen) who writes about his personal accounts of the conquest of Mexico by himself and other conquistadors beginning in 1517. Unlike other authors who wrote about their first hand accounts, Diaz offers a more positive outlook of the conquest and the conquistadors motives as they moved through mainland Mexico. The beginning chapters go into detail about the expeditions of some Spanish conquistadors such as Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, Juan de Grijalva and Hernando Cotes. This book, though, focuses mainly on Diaz’s travels with Hernando Cortes. Bernal Diaz’s uses the idea of the “Just War Theory” as his argument for why the conquests were justifiable
Spanish 10th essay Ponce De Leon Don Juan Ponce de Leon "To bad he had to kick the bucket!" Don Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish conqueror and explorer. He was born around 1460 in San Tervas de Campos, Spain. Ponce de Leon lived in an age of great discovery and excitement. Ponce de Leon is well known, claiming and naming what is now Florida, the discovery of Puerto Rico, and his never-ending search for the old time classic, the Fountain of Youth! On November 19, 1493 Ponce de Leon was one of the first Europeans to see the small island of Borinquen, the Indian name for Puerto Rico.
The Conquest of New Spain Cortés came not to the New World to conquer by force, but by manipulation. Bernal Daz del Castillo, in the "Conquest of New Spain," describes how Cortés and his soldiers manipulated the Aztec people and their king Montezuma from the time they traveled from Iztapalaopa to the time when Montezuma took Cortés to the top of the great Cue and showed him the whole of Mexico and its countryside, and the three causeways which led into Mexico. Castillo's purpose for recording the mission was to keep an account of the wealth of Montezuma and Mexico, the traditions, and the economic potential that could benefit Cortés' upcoming conquest. However, through these recordings, we are able to see and understand Cortés' strategy in making Mexico "New Spain." He came as a wolf in sheep's clothing and manipulated Montezuma through his apparent innocence.
One of the principle themes in the Aztec downfall was the immense greed of the Europeans. The principle goal of every major faction in Europe was to gain power and wealth it didn’t matter from what source. Everyone from popes and kings to the lowly soldier envisioned rivers of gold and fame. Ever since they had boats Europeans have been looking for lucrative trade routes and other ways to turn a profit. The ruling monarchs of these countries contributed a great deal to this. They saw vast profits from these ventures through taxes and the customary “ Royal Fifth” which was a fifth of all profits would go straight to the King and/or Queen. Also royalty or other nobility within the country personally funded a large majority of explorations. Trading and exploration companies just helped push the trend further and made the exploitation of newly discovered lands big business. While greed was defiantly a starting point for Cortez’s expedition, it was his greed while in Central Mexico that changed the tide of history. Cortez’s first encounters with the natives in Central...
Cortes was able to conquer the Aztecs for several very different reasons. In combination these reasons allowed him to have the upper hand in the conquest of Mexico. Arguably these reasons can be sorted into six different categories. The various causes for Cortes' success will be assessed in a climax pattern. To begin with the Aztecs had a harsh tribute system that was not popular among the people of Mexico. This cruel tribute system allowed Cortes to act as a liberator. Furthermore, with the Spanish brought several diseases into Mexico in witch they were immune to but the Aztecs were not. The spread of diseases such as small pox reduced the Aztec population and furthered Cortes' success unintentionally Also Marina was a tribal girl given as a gift to Cortes, she proved invaluable in translating local dialects in combination with Geronimo de Aguilar. Also an important aspect of his success was due to Montezuma's belief that Cortes was Quetzakoatl. A predominant reason for the Spanish success was due to their weaponry especially their armour and firepower. Perhaps the most important reason of all was that of Cortes' Indian allies such as the Tlaxcalans who made up the majority of his combined army. All these reasons worked together to allow Cortes, originally with 508 men to conquer the Aztec Empire of millions of people.
Victors and Vanquished by Stuart Schwartz attempts to explore differing perspectives of the conquest of Mexico as the historical narratives are from both the outlook of the Spanish conquistadors as well as the Nahua peoples. In these primary sources, there was a fundamental focus on the encounters between the Spaniards and the Mexica. The first source is an excerpt from The True History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a foot solider in the conquest of Mexico with Hernán Cortés. Although Díaz del Castillo was a witness of the conquest, he wrote his account of what he had witnessed decades after the Spanish victory, in 1521. In his account, Díaz del Castillo concentrated on the ways in which the Spanish viewed the Nahua peoples. The second source is taken from the Florentine Codex and is one which was collected twenty