Cortés, Hernán (c. 1485–1547)

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CORTÉS, HERNÁN (c. 1485–1547)

CORTÉS, HERNÁN (c. 1485–1547), Spanish explorer and conqueror of Mexico. The son of Martín Cortés de Monroy and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano, Hernán Cortés was born in Medellín, in southwestern Spain. His father sent him at age fourteen to study law at the University of Salamanca, but Hernán had little taste for academic life. He was drawn instead to adventure and in 1504 sailed for the Caribbean, where he won lasting fame by conquering Aztec Mexico.

On Hispaniola, Cortés served briefly as a notary and then assisted Diego Velázquez in the conquest of Cuba. He received an encomienda (grant of indigenous tribute) and claimed several gold mines. Around 1515 Cortés married Catalina Suárez Marcaida. Velázquez, governor of Cuba, appointed him to lead an exploratory and trading expedition to the Yucatán. Before Cortés sailed in late 1518, however, Velázquez grew suspicious of his protégé's loyalty and tried to block his departure.

Cortés departed anyway, having personally financed much of the expedition of 11 ships, 508 soldiers, and 16 horses. His men responded enthusiastically to his energy, charisma, and seriousness of purpose. They landed at Cozumel in mid-February 1519 and then moved westward around the Yucatán, fighting and trading as they went. At one town they received a gift of twenty women, including one, La Malinche or Doña Marina, who became Cortés's mistress. More important, she spoke both Maya and Nahuatl and, after learning Spanish, proved invaluable to Cortés as both a translator and a cultural interpreter.

By April 1519 Cortés had become aware of the rich, powerful Aztec empire and its ruler Montezuma (Motecuhzoma II). Cortés disbanded his expedition and founded the city of Veracruz on the Mexican coast. He and his men then organized a town government (cabildo), which appointed him to invade the Aztec empire and conquer it for Spain. This was a clever strategy by Cortés to free him from subordination to Velázquez.

In late summer 1519, Cortés marched inland toward the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. When the Spaniards arrived at Tlaxcala, bitter fighting erupted. The Tlaxcalans suspected that Cortés was an ally of their enemy Montezuma. Eventually, the Spaniards and the Tlaxcalans broke off battle and became allies themselves, seeing in each other potential help against the Aztecs. This proved crucial to the conquest: the Tlaxcalans provided manpower, food, and other logistical support and remained loyal, even during Spanish setbacks.

In November 1519, Cortés reached the densely populated valley of Central Mexico. Tenochtitlán lay on an island in Lake Texcoco, connected by causeways to the shore, and the other large cities "seemed like an enchanted vision from the tale of Amadis." Montezuma welcomed Cortés to the capital, and the Spaniards seized the Aztec ruler and held him prisoner. For a while, Cortés managed to rule through Montezuma. Meanwhile, Velázquez sent a force under Pánfilo de Narváez to Veracruz to arrest Cortés. Leaving some of his men in Tenochtitlán under Pedro de Alvarado, Cortés returned to the coast, defeated Narváez, and persuaded many of his men to join in the campaign against the Aztecs. Returned to Tenochtitlán, however, Cortés discovered the populace in an uproar: Alvarado, fearing an attack, had massacred Aztecs participating in a public celebration. Besieged in the capital, Cortés fought his way out during the Noche Triste (Sorrowful Night), 30 June 1520. Montezuma was killed. Cortés lost hundreds of Spaniards and thousands of his indigenous allies, but managed to retreat to Tlaxacala and regroup.

Ever resourceful, Cortés gathered reinforcements and supplies, fabricated thirteen small ships to protect his men on the lake, and then returned to Tenochtitlán. During his absence, smallpox devastated the valley, weakening Aztec military might. Nonetheless, Cortés had to besiege the city from May to August 1521 before finally conquering the Aztecs and capturing their new ruler, Cuauhtémoc. To win the king's support, Cortés sent to Spain gold and feathered shields received as gifts from the Aztecs, along with reports of his exploits.

The conquest made Cortés a heroic figure, wealthy and powerful, yet his victory proved difficult to consolidate. He worked vigorously to subjugate other regions of Mexico and zealously pushed for the conversion of the indigenous population to Catholicism. From 1524 to 1526, he campaigned in Central America, trying to assert his right to Guatemala and Honduras. In his absence, chaos enveloped Mexico as factions struggled to control the spoils of conquest, especially when a rumor spread that Cortés had died. In 1527 he went to Spain and obtained from Charles I the title of Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, along with a vast encomienda. But the king was suspicious of Cortés's power in Mexico and stripped him of political command. A marriage to Juana de Zúñiga produced Martín, his heir. The conqueror returned to Mexico for a few years in the 1530s but in a further attempt to defend his estate and actions went back to Spain, where he died at Castilleja de la Cuesta near Seville in 1547.

See also Colonialism ; Exploration ; Spanish Colonies: Mexico .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cortés, Hernán. Letters from Mexico. Translated by A. R. Pagden. New York, 1971. The dispatches Cortés sent to the Spanish king.

Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. The Conquest of New Spain. Translated by J. M. Cohen. New York and London, 1963. Famous account of the conquest written by one of the men who accompanied Cortés.