Hernán+Cortés.

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__1-Hernán Cortés´life__
ernán Cortés or Hernando,was born in [|Medellin](Province of Extremadura,Spain)in 1485;died near Seville 2nd Decembre 1547.His parents were Martín Cortés and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano,both of them were from good family. When he was 14 he was sent to the University of Salamanca,but two years after returned home.Then he determined upon a life of adventure and became accompaniament of Nicolas de Ovand(a native of Extremadura),who was about to sail for Santo Domingo to supersede Bobadilla in his commande,but there was an accident in this expedition and he left it. After his remained for a year in [|Italy](he was having experiencing great hardship and poverty), he returned to Medellin where he was able in 1504 to sail from San Lucar to Santo Domingo .He obtained employment under [|Diego Velazquez],by this time he was remarkable of a graceful physiognomy and amiable manner as well as for a skill and adress in military matters.In 1511 he accompanied Diego Velasquez,who was sent out by [|Diego Columbus] to colonized [|Cuba].Later he held the office of mayor of Santiago in the new colony,and he married Catalina Suárez.

Grijalva(a lieutenant of Velazquez)discovered [|Mexico] where Hernán Cortés conquered the [|Aztec Empire](with a force of 600 Spanish soldiers he was able to conquer a vast Empire that had tens of thousand of warriors.He did it through a combination of ruthlessness,guile,violence and luck).At the last moment,Velasquez appeared to have regretted the appointement possibly fearing that Cortés would carried off all the glory as well as the profit of the enterprised, and endeavored to recall the expedition; but Cortés hastened his preparations,and on the 18th of November 1518, left Santiago with the 10 vessels,550 Spaniards,nearly 300 Indians,a few Negroes at Trinidad and later at Habana(at both of which places he found orders from Velazquez,depriving him of his command. After writing a letter of remonstrance to the governor,he sailed,on 10th Feb.,1519,for the island of Cozumel(coast of [|Yucatan]).On 4th March his first landed on the shores of Mexico,advancing slowly along the gulf. Cortés returned to [|Tenochtitlán] with his reinforcements,but found it in a state of uproar,[|Pedro de Alvarado],had ordered a massacre of Aztect nobility in his absence.Aztec Emperor Montezuma was killed by his own people.Cortés never could have pulled off the defeat of the Aztec Empire.First of all ,he had found Gerónimo de Aguilar (a Spanish priest).Between Aguilar and a woman slave named Malinche who could speak [|Maya] and [|Nahuatl],Cortés was able to communicate effectively during his conquest.He had a lot of luck in many times.From 1521 to 1528 Cortés seved as governor of New Spain,as Mexico came to be known.He oversaw the rebuilding of the city and exploration expeditions into other parts of Mexico.In 1528 he returned to "Spain" to declare his case for more power.He was also,howwever,removed from the governorship and would never again have much power in the New World.

And finally: Cortés never lost the spirit of adventure.He financed and led an expedition to explore [|Baja California] in the late 1530´s and fought with royal forces in [|Algiers] in 1541.He decided to return to Mexico,but he died of pleuritis( which is a,illnes that normaly is cause by a pneumonia,it´s an inflamation of the parietal pleura and in the visceral pleura) in 1547 at the age of 62.

**2-__Conquest of Mexico__**


ccompanied by about 11 ships, 500 men, 13 horses and a small number of cannons, Hernán Cortés landed in the [|Yucatan Peninsula]in Mayan territory.He met Gerónimo de Aguilar(Franciscan priest) who had learned Maya during his captivityand who could translate to Cortés. In March 1519 he claimed the land for the Spanish Crown.He stopped in Trinidad where he obtained more horses and more soldiers.He continued to Tabasco and won a battle against the native, there were many women and among this women was La Malinche his future mistress and mother of his son Martin.Through the help of this women he learned from the Tabascan about the wealthy Aztec Empire.

In July 1519 his men took over Veracruz,because of that Cortés refused the authority of the Governor of Cuba to be directly under the orders of Charles V.To eliminate any idea to remove Cortés triped out his ships.At the mid-August 1519, leaving a lot of men in Veracruz,Cortés went to Tenochtitlán with 600 men,15 riders, 15 guns and a lot of air accompanies and indian warriors.In October 1519 he and his men with 3,000 tlaxcaltecas went to Cholula, the second city biggest of Mexico.

In November 8th,they were recibed by the emperor Montezuma II cordialy due of the mexican tradition and diplomatic customs.Montezuma let Cortés to enter in the heart of the Aztec Empire with the hopes of knew better its weaknesses and to attack him after.However,Cortés realized that the Spanish people had attacked the coast and he decided to keep Montezuma as hostage.

Meanwhile,Velasquez had sent another expedition ahead [|Pánfilo de Narváez],to oppose Cortés,which reached Mexico in April 1520 with 1,100 men.Cortés left 200 men in Tenochtitlán and the rest were with him to attack Narváez.Cortés beat Narváez and he cinvinced Narváez´ people to join him.In Mexico,one of the people which lived there,Pedro de Alvarado ,did a slaughter in the Temple,which caused a local rebellion. Because of that Cortés went to Mexico,and he proposed an armistice to win the life of Montezuma.But this was stoned and died in July 1st 1520 and Cortés decided to flee.After the battle of [|Otumba] he went to[| Tlaxcala],after had lost 870 men.Cortés had destroyed a city of Tenochtitlán. And finally with the catch of the governor of Tenochtitlán,in August 13th 1521,the Aztec Empire dissapeared and Cortés changed the name of the old "New Spain" to the Mexican´city.From 1521 to 1524 he personally was in charge of the government of Mexico. Now you are going to see a video which explain the route which Hernán Cortés followed to reach Mexico: media type="youtube" key="v_EZjjkvS2k" height="390" width="480"

__**3-Anecdotes that happened to Cortés**__
__**1.The Lovesick Cortés**__ day,when he was walking on the street of Seville a passage girlfriend proposed Cortés to meet outside the village, where the women lived. But the girl said:"Hernán you have to jump a wall of a mansion",but although he had to do it he went.When he was jumping the wall... As the wall was not in a very good condition the wall broke and Cortés fell down.He broke several ribs and he could not go to [|" La Española"]with [|Nicolas de Ovando] how he had plained before,althoug he did it later//.//

uring some time that Hernán was absent in Tenochtitlán there was a discursion and all the inhabitants were revolutionized because by that time there was a religious custom: they opened the chest and picked up the heart and cut the head.By that time Pedro de Alvarado ruled over that territories and decided do a killing of all the indigenous.So when Cortés returned forced to Montezuma to calm all his people,but all this people did a rebellion against Montezuma(or many people think so but it is not very sure because there was a religion that prevented it) and they killed him.So Hernán Cortés decided escape but they were discovered and they were involved in a fight between them and mexican.And in that fight were killed a half of his army.So that why he left Tenochtitlán(30th June),with a few people,poor people.To this defeat was called **"the sad night"**
 * //2__.The Sad Night.__//**

·**__3.The legend says.__** ne of the first flukes was Quetzalcoatl (the feathered snake).A number of matches that give to the conquest the character of a fairy tale: Many time ago,the legend says,Quetzalcoatl had come down to earth as a man with white skin and black beard,after twenty years he had shipped to the east .Was said that at any time he went to returne to reset his domain.His return would join in a Year One Reed and would bring many trials and sufferings.According to the Aztec calendar year 1519 was Year One Reed. Quetzalcoatl is composed by two words coatl which means snake; and quetzal which means beautiful feathered bird.To Aztec´ culture it was Te zcatlipoca´brother but to the toltecas it was rival.Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl were names -among another else-used to name supreme beings in its fuctions as a creator. This is a the Quetzalcoatl which is in "El Museo De La Plata"

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