Hernán Cortés
The conquistador who, with a few hundred Spaniards and Indigenous allies, conquered the Aztec Empire.
Life
Extremadura
Cortés came from a family of petty nobles in Extremadura, Spain. He arrived in Hispaniola in 1504 and later took part in the conquest of Cuba.
Conquest of the Aztecs
In 1519, defying the orders of the governor of Cuba, he landed on the Gulf Coast of Mexico with more than 500 men and scuttled his ships to cut off any retreat. Aided by La Malinche as interpreter and allied with Tlaxcala and other city-states hostile to the Aztecs, he entered Tenochtitlan and took Moctezuma II captive. In 1520 the Spaniards were driven out of the city ("La Noche Triste"); the following year, helped by Indigenous allied forces and a smallpox epidemic, he captured Tenochtitlan after a siege of several months.
Fall from favor
He built Mexico City on the ruins and for a time served as governor of New Spain, but the Spanish Crown soon stripped him of real power. He later organized expeditions that reached Baja California, and he died in Spain in 1547.
Legacy
Cortés's conquest began Spanish colonial rule on the American mainland; in today's Mexico he is viewed extremely negatively.
Major works & achievements
- Letters to the King
Did you know? His remains were moved several times and still lie, secretly, in the Church of the Hospital de Jesús in Mexico City.
Key dates
- 1504Arrives in Hispaniola
- 1519Lands in Mexico
- 1520La Noche Triste
- 1521Captures Tenochtitlan
- 1535Explores Baja California
- 1547Dies in Spain