Hernan cortes biography video of charles
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Hernan Cortes Biography
Mayor of Santiago, Cuba
Hernando Cortez (Hernan Cortes was his real name) was born in Medellin, Spain, in (or around) 1485. He was a Spanish conquistador known for conquering the Aztec Empire of Mexico. He came from a noble family and was well educated. From an early age, however, Cortes was described as a troublemaker, mischievous, quarrelsome, and even ruthless. Excited by tales of the New World, he sailed to Hispaniola in the West Indies at the age of 19. During his stay on Hispaniola, he served as both a farmer and notary (a public official) before sailing on an expedition to Cuba in 1511, led by Diego Velasquez. Cortez proved a natural leader and became mayor of Santiago, Cuba.
A Killing Spree on the Way to Tenochtitlán
In the fall of 1518, he set off for Mexico on his own expedition with 600 soldiers and sailors and 16 horses on 11 ships. They landed on the Mexican coast in early 1519 at Tabasco on the Yucatan Peninsula, where he and his army defeat
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Hernán Cortés
(1485-1547)
Who Was Hernán Cortés?
Born around 1485, Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who defeated the Aztecs and claimed Mexico for Spain.
He first set sail to the New World at the age of 19. Cortés later joined an expedition to Cuba. In 1518, he set off to explore Mexico.
Cortés strategically aligned some Indigenous peoples against others and eventually overthrew the vast and powerful Aztec empire. As a reward, King Charles I appointed him governor of New Spain in 1522.
Early Life
Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca, was born around 1485 in Medellín, Spain. He came from a lesser noble family in Spain. Some reports indicate that he studied at the University of Salamanca for a time.
In 1504, Cortés left Spain to seek his fortune in New World. He traveled to the island of Santo Domingo, or Hispaniola. Settling in the new town of Azúa, Cortés served as a notary for several years.
He joined an expedition of Cuba led by Diego Velázquez
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Late in James K. Polk’s presidency, his wife Sarah Childress Polk received an unusual gift that implicitly equated expansionism with imperialism. As a tribute to President Polk’s success as commander in chief during the Mexican-American War, General William J. Worth gave the first lady a life-size, three-quarter-length portrait of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.1 Copied from the unattributed original that hung at the Hospital dem Jesús Nazareno in Mexico City, the painting called to mind the U.S. Army’s advance from the port of Ver