Preview

1504 Hernan Cortez's Conquest Of Mexico

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
442 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
1504 Hernan Cortez's Conquest Of Mexico
Cortez was born around 1482 AD. He was born into a noble family. He was a conquistador. He’s known as the man who conquered the Aztec Empire and claimed Mexico for the Spanish. He commanded his own expedition to Mexico, even after he was commanded not to.

Cortez was born in the kingdom of Castille, in the city of Medellin. He was born into a upper class family (noble family), but his parents were not very wealthy; he was an only son. When he was 14 years old his parents sent him to the University of Salamanca to study law and he was very unhappy there. After two years he failed his course and returned home, where he first started to hear stories about the “New World”; this is when he decided he wanted to explore the “New World” too.

In 1504 Hernan Cortez took his first voyage westward on a ship commanded by Quintero. At this point, he is in Hispaniola
…show more content…
This was also the start to a great conquest that eventually lead to Spain having one of the most powerful empires in the history of the world. His conquest also spread the idea of Christianity. The spread of Christianity actually wasn’t a choice for the Natives, the Spanish forced them to convert. All the gold and riches sent back home to Spain helped finance the country. The monarchs used the wealth (gained from Mexico) to fight many religious wars, including the big invasion from England in which they used the Spanish Armada to fend them off.

Hernan Cortez died, on December 2, 1547, of pleurisy in Spain. This was twenty-six years after initially conquered the Aztecs. That is the legacy he left behind, he manned the defeat and conquering of the great barbaric Aztecs. He never even got to truly rule the empire that he created, and that’s all he wanted; he wanted power. This guy went from studying law in Salamanca, to conquering Mexico and Central America. Without Cortez, Mexico would probably not be the same as it is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Hernando Cortes

    • 1802 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hernando Cortez was a Spanish conquistador that is mainly known for defeating and conquering the Aztec Empire. He was born in Medellin, Spain in 1485 from a high class family with low wealth, but that did not stop his big ambitions and dreams. Cortes spent most of his early years as a farmer, although he did go to a prestige university to study law and Latin at age 14. Soon after this, he wanted to conquer his dreams of finding the New World. He missed his first chance of capturing his dreams when he was late to board the ship due to injury, having an affair with a local lady. Hernan soon became a soldier and boarded a ship with the famous and ambitious Alonso Quintero. In Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, you have to be eighteen years old to purchase land to farm and to start a building plot. Cortes, just meeting the requirement, went right along and started building his colony. Over the next few years, he earned slaves from the governor and took part in conquests in Hispaniola and Cuba, which earned him more native slaves. Eventually, Hernando started to…

    • 1802 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Beringia Facts

    • 4829 Words
    • 20 Pages

    Hernán Cortés is probably one of the most infamous (more well-known in common knowledge) of the Spanish conquistadores who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the Spanish Crown. He is mentioned by Zinn in chapter 1 as an example of the brutality of the conquistadores as well as the motivation and mindset towards their work. In August 1521, the Aztec Empire subjugated to Spanish control, and Cortés was able to claim it for Spain, renaming it as Mexico City. At the start of the expedition, Cortés explored and secured the interior of Mexico for colonization, using a woman Malinche (Doña Marina) as a translator. Cortés is significant in history for his part in the downfall of great civilization and start of Spanish colonization of…

    • 4829 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Spanish

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Some reasons Cortez wanted to conquer the Aztecs was because he was in a deep whole. He took names without Spain's approval & knew if he messed up, he would be in trouble.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Spanish 2.02 workfile

    • 2178 Words
    • 9 Pages

    What were some of the reasons that Cortez wanted to conquer the Aztecs? Cortez wanted to conquer the Aztecs for greed of money and land.…

    • 2178 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hernan Cortés was a Spaniard who defeated the Mexica Confederation in many different ways. The most successful tactic he used to defeat the Aztecs were by European Weapons, but he also had different ways. Cortés had different advantages that the Aztecs didn't, the Spanish brought over small pox. Many of his people were immune to it while the Mexica Confederation was not. Many people thought the Spanish were gods and gave them many gifts. Motecuhzoma thought Hernan Cortés was Quetzalcoatl, which was a god they were waiting for. He had two translators that were able to help him through his journey. The two translators knew different dialect; he had La Malinche and Geronimo de Aguilar. Hernan Cortés had many advantages that allowed…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hernán Cortéz (1519): sailed for Mexico and picked up 2 interpreters of the Aztec language on the way. He learned of gold in Tenochtitlán and the Aztec chief Moctezuma.…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coranado was born on September 22,1954. He was born in Salamanca, Spain. His father was a wealthy aristocrat. Even though Coranado had a wealthy upbringing, he had no prospects of inheriting the family fortune. He instead wanted to make it on his own in the new world, which led to his occupation: exploring. Coranado traveled to New Spain in 1535 and enjoyed the support of Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroy of Mexico. He got a position in the Spanish government, and married well also. His newly wed wife, Dona Beatriz, was the daughter of Alonso de Estrada, the colonial treasurer of Mexico. Later on, Coranado rose in rank in the government, receiving an appointment to governorship of Nueva Galicia. Tales of gold and other riches located north…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Between the years of 1321 and 1521 c.e, the Aztec Empire of Central Mexico was the most powerful culture in the New World. The Aztecs ruled most of Mexico and some parts of Central America. The Aztecs weren’t always known as ‘Aztecs’. They used to be known as ‘Mexica’. This term was used when they were slaves for the Toltec Empire in Southern Mexico. The Toltec trained the Mexica for an army. War broke out between the Mexica and the Toltec. Using their knowledge from training, the Mexica won the war. That’s when they escaped into the swampy jungle of Central Mexico. They built their capital city a little after they escaped into the jungle. After they built their capital city, their empire grew and the Aztecs had at least 20 cities. The Aztecs were good at Math, Astronomy, Engineering, and Stone Construction Techniques. In 1519, Hernando Cotes, a Spanish explorer, arrived in Vera Cruz, Mexico. He arrived the same month and year that Quetzalcoatl, a god some Aztecs believed in, was to return. The Aztecs believed Cortes to be Quetzalcoatl. Cortes, along with his conquistadors, took over the Aztec Empire. To begin with, Cortes faked being Quetzalcoatl. He then imprisoned Moctezuma, an Aztec ruler, and seized control of Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was eventually destroyed along with the entire Aztec Empire on August 13th, 1521 and Moctezuma was killed in 1524. The Aztecs were killed not only by the Spanish allies, but also from the diseases brought by the Spaniards. The Spaniards renamed the Aztec Capital, New Spain.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Poop 404 Error

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Some reasons Cortez wanted to conquer the Aztecs was bacause they had gold and he felt that they were superior.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Diego de Almagro was an important conquistador who played a key role in the conquest of the mighty Inca Empire. He was later defeated and executed by his former friend and ally Francisco Pizarro in the civil wars that followed the conquest.…

    • 2220 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Juan Diego is important because he is the first Mexican Catholic person to see Our Lady of Guadalupe and have her tell him to build a church in her honor. He is also important because he is the one Mexican to have Our Lady of Guadalupe come to him in a vision and have people actually have people believe him and people not believe. The Aztec Empire flourished between c. 1345 and 1521 CE and dominated ancient Mesoamerica, regular tributes were extracted, and captives were taken back to Tenochitian for ritual sacrifice. This influence spread of Christianity in Mexico by the history of the Roman Catholic Church was founded in Mexico dates back from the period of the Spanish conquest 1519 to 1521 and has continued as an institution in Mexico into…

    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cortez Quiz

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    DVD Summary: Hernan Cortes was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Cortes was a part of the generation of Spanish conquistadores that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1485 – Hernan Cortes was a Spanish Conquistador who conquered the Aztec s. He gave the control of Mexico and its plentiful supply of gold to Spain…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cortés is perhaps the most famous and ruthless of the conquistadores. The first interaction he had with the Aztecs, Montezuma sent him extensive tributes, because Montezuma thought he was the reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl. This generosity made Cortés lust for more and more gold, until finally Montezuma and the Aztecs forced them out of the city. Cortés responded in tune by laying siege to Tenochitlán, eventually taking the city after it suffered innumerable losses from a smallpox epidemic. In response, Cortés made the economy his own by introducing Spanish crops and livestock.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Francisco Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, Spain, in 1475 and passed away on June 26, 1541. He was a conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire and founded the city of Lima, Peru. This is why he was best known as the Spaniard who conquered the Incas. He was the son of Gonzalo Pizarro Rodríguez de Aguilar (senior) who as colonel of infantry. His mother was Francisca González Mateos, a poor woman from Trujillo. His parents never got married; he was brought up by his mothers parents Pizarro never went to school so he didn’t learn to read, but he was taught Roman Catholic. That’s why he couldn’t have access to a proper job and ended up herding pigs for more than 14 years.…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays