Hernán Cortés: Conquistador of Mexico

1. Hernán Cortés 1485-1547

2. Hernán Cortés was the conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain • Cortés was part of a new generation that would establish the Spanish Empire in the Americas

3. Early Life • Born in Medellin, in the Kingdom of Castile in Spain in 1485 • His father, Martín Cortés de Monroy, was an infantry captain of distinguished ancestry but slender means. • His mother was Catalina Pizarro Altamirano • Second cousin to Francisco Pizarro, who later conquered the Inca empire of modern-day Peru • Studied at the University of Salamanca

4. Arrival in the New World • It was planned in 1502 for Cortés to sail to the Americas • Finally arrived in 1503, reaching Hispaniola • Later sailed to Santo Domingo, the capital of Hispaniola and applied for citizenship • Citizenship entitled him to land

5. The Invasion of Mexico • Most notable achievement of Cortés career, was the invasion of Mexico and the conquest of the Aztec empire • The decisive battle in this campaign was the seige of Tenochtitlan • Victory over the Aztecs enabled the eventual Spanish conquest of Mexico

6. Appointment to Governorship of Mexico • Because of his conquests, Cortés was very popular back home in Spain. • King Charles I of Spain, appointed Cortés governor and captain general of the newly conquered territory. • Cortés received the title Marques del Valle de Oaxaca in 1528.

7. Appointment to Governorship of Mexico (con...) • Cortés began the construction of Mexico City on the Aztec ruins and brought many Spaniards over to live there. • Became the most important European city in North America • Cortés also supported efforts to convert Indians to Christianity • Cortés spent the next seven years establishing peace among the Indians of Mexico and developing mines and farmlands.

8. Exploration of Honduras • In 1524, his restless urge to explore and conquer took Cortés south to the jungles of Honduras. • Cortés took off on an expedition through Guatemala to Honduras to punish a fellow Spaniard who had betrayed him, and with his departure all shadow of personal authority left Mexico. • The two arduous years that he spent on this disastrous expedition damaged his health and his position.

9. Final Days and Death • Having spent a great deal of his own money to finance expeditions, he was now heavily in debt. • In February 1544 he made a claim on the royal treasury, but was given a royal runaround for the next three years. • Disgusted, he decided to return to Mexico in 1547. When he reached Seville, he was stricken with dysentery • He died in Castilleja de la Cuesta, Seville province, on Dec. 2, 1547, from a case of pleurisy at age 62.

10. Assessment of Cortés • In Mexico today, Cortés is condemned as a modern-day damnatio memoriae. • In all of Mexico only the castle in the center of Cuernavaca city bears his name. • Muralists depict him as a deformed monster with the face of Evil Incarnate

11. Facts • You can spell his last name either Cortes or Cortez. • Hernando and Fernando are Hernan's nicknames. • He was the governor of Cuba.