Hernan Cortes Hero or Villain?

Conquistador: Hernán Cortés, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs written by Buddy Levy tells the story of a conquistador named Hernán Cortés who sailed to an unknown land and in less than two years, conquered the entire Aztec empire. Levy addresses many issues but is mainly concerned about the differences between the two cultures, which causes an issue between both the Spaniards and the Aztecs, and argues that people cannot take over an empire without clashing cultures. Religion and culture have been an issue then and now and although people are free to practice their own religion and culture, it is inappropriate for the Spaniards to impose their religion and culture to the Aztecs as this could also cause tension between ethnic groups.

When Moctezuma met Cortes did not trust him at first. The reason being is because his looked very sketchy. But the Aztecs said to trust him. So Moctezuma trusted Cortes and passed the thrown down to him. The reason why it happened so fast they said that because there was a tail that said that one day their true leader so that’s what they thought about Cortes, he’s the one. From that point on it was fine until something happened. The Aztecs attacked Moctezuma. During the battle, Moctezuma was killed and at that very moment Cortes became the true leader and took his position. The aztecs lost that battle, they didn’t know how to react. The Aztecs became slaves for Cortes. All slaves were forced into becoming christians. Today, in spain, holds

I’ve heard that people wanted Hernan Cortes to be in a museum of historical explorers, but I'm here to tell you that he should not be in that museum of historical explorers for being another villain in history. So I hope that with this information, you don’t put him in your museum. He would be better known as an explorer with one goal, fame and fortune.

Hernan Cortes’ conquest of the Aztec Empire gave birth to three hundred years of Spanish rule in Mexico. Miguel Hidalgo, a Catholic priest, and leader of the independence movement united: indigenous peasants, poor creoles, nobility in Spanish America and the Catholic church within the colony to depose Spaniard royalist power which Cortes had given birth to (Mckay 684). This unlikely alliance stemmed from the widespread discontent of Spaniard viceroy assumption of control of the government of New Spain from its capital in Mexico City after Napoleon’s coup in 1808 (Mckay 684). The signing of Iturbide’s Plan of Iguala ended eleven years of struggle for independence, and the end of Spaniard control. This plan not only established Mexico as a constitutional monarchy but as well solidified the cultural transition from the polytheism of the Aztec Empire to the strong monotheism of the newly emerging Catholic Church. Because “the colonial system depended on the loyalty of the clergy: the priests controlled the people,” this allowed the Catholic Church’s influence to grow within the colony (Lynch 109). The separation of the Catholic Church from the Spanish crown played a vital role in the attainment of independence. Considering the separation of the Catholic Church from the Spanish crown and how the Plan de Iguala concluded the Mexican War of independence, I intend to explore: How the Catholic Church changed the Mexican War of Independence?

came back and helped kill over 10,000 Aztecs and in the act, thousands of Spaniards died. Suddenly, Cortes started

As a young man hernan cortes studied law, but decided to seek a fortune in the recently found New World that Christopher Columbus had recently stumbled upon. Cortes ended up first in the island of Santo Domingo the Dominican Republic in 1504 when Cortes was only 19 years of age. Hernan stayed for 11 years but then he took part in the conquest of Cuba, the year was 1511. Cortes was appointed mayor of Santiago de Cuba up until 1518. Hernan Cortes had a taste of power and enjoyed it greatly and because of this his appetite for more conquests was immense. Hernan Cortes was a hero for joining two worlds and conquering the most powerful civilization of America. Some people thought Cortes was a villain for making the Aztec Empire disappear. Hernan

When the fighting started, the Spanish were outnumbered, and soon the Mexicans didn’t fear the Spaniards. Mexican soldiers attacked villages, leaving a blood bath behind. First, they attacked the silver mines, and then the Stone Fortress. Finally, the Spaniards stopped Hidalgo and his army at Calderon. Hidalgo was captured and executed by firing

Cortes came back with reinforcements, Tenochtitlán was in control by him by cutting off the supplies and later destroying the Tenochitlán. After conquering the Aztecs, Cortés did not stop. His army defeated town after town, he was able to do so because his army of 508 men were strong and word traveled fast that he was doing mass killings, which scared many civilians. According to American Firsthand, Cortés and his mistress were feared and admired as mythical liberators. Hernando Cortéz realized that his political take over would take a little more than two years before taking over the city of Tenochtitlán. When it came to the end of the seize Hernando Cortés killed 200,000 natives and declared the creation of a Christian New Spain. Cuba heard about Cortés taking over and the spanish became worried that cortes would take the wealth for himself. Cuba decided to try and sabotage Cortés. Hernando Cortés trusted no one after Havana taking away his possessions and seizing relieving him of

Cortez and his force arrived in Tenochtitlan on November 8th, 1519. Tenochtitlan was the capital of what we know today as Mexico. Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the world at that time. Tenochtitlan was run by the Aztecs. Cortes then met Montezuma, the Aztecs’s emperor. Montezuma and the Aztecs thought Hernan Cortes was a god. They thought he was Quetzalcoatl. Cortez was there at the right time because the god was supposed to arrive the same year Cortes was there. Since they thought he was a god they would do anything for his command. Later on Montezuma suspected Cortez not to be the god. He gave him gold and jewels to try and get him to leave. It had the opposite affect and increased the Spaniards greed. Cortez then captured Montezuma as hostage to prevent the Aztecs attacking.

Cortes prepared for this expedition. However, Velasquez became regretful of his decision. He thought Cortes wanted to conquer the Mayans for his own personal gains. Velasquez attempted to change his orders, but it was too late. Cortes set sail and continued to put his fleet together. In 1519, Cortes explored the Yucatan coastline. Landing in Tabasco, Cortes captured the natives. Although, Tabasco people possessed little of value, they told Cortes of the great treasures of the Aztec Empire. Cortes moved his troops northward and conquered the port of Vera Cruz. In addition to, Cortes was making plans to advance against the Aztecs. He took a Tabasco woman and enlisted her help to supplement his army. Cortes used her to translate the native language to Aguilar. Aguilar was another Spaniard that had been shipped wreck at the port of Vera Cruz. He had learned the language of the natives. Aguilar translated the language to Cortes troops. They learned about the traditions of the Aztec people in Tenochtitlan. Cortes used this information he gathered to defeat the Aztecs. Finally, he convinced the native tribes to fight with him against the Aztecs. He knew he needed these allies to conquer the Aztec empire. With the knowledge of a myth about a white god, he was able to betray Montezuma II. “Quetzalcoatl was an Aztecan god. His name means “the feathered serpent” in the Nahuatl language. Quetzalcoatl was the patron of priests and the inventor of

     The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire. While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script, a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines

When one thinks of ancient Indian empires, the Aztecs usually come to mind; the tremendous amount of luck and personal courage in rivaling and ultimately defeating this massive Indian empire in the new-found world should be a huge focus. Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition to achieve wealth in the new-found world. When arriving Cortes found himself situated near a large Aztec civilization located in Mexico City. Cortes eventually gathered a large number of compadres and local tribes together and took over this once thriving civilization. That being said, Cortes and his men did show courage but that alone could not come near to the amount of luck the conquistadors

A hero is something that society has formed an idea about the characteristic it should posses from history. Through the stories told from the past a hero is developed through their qualities and characteristics they value. When one views a hero from a different culture they can form an opinion on what matters to that culture. One will notice that through all these different heroes that they all share common features. In ancient Hebrew culture Moses represents a hero and for ancient Greek culture Odysseus represents heroic figures.

Heroes are those who have gone above what the average person would do to ensure the welfare of others. Natural disasters, terrorism, poverty, and war are some of the many things that destroy and end people’s lives. Throughout history, many people have made a difference. However, as history progresses, what we consider to be socially normal changes along with our definition of a hero. In Ancient Greece, Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus were considered heroes, but today only Theseus and Perseus would be considered heroes because Hercules would be shunned by society.

The difference found between a hero and villain is in why they fight. A hero fights for a greater good found beyond himself, while a villain fights specifically for himself. While a hero fights for the sake of peace, a villain fights for the purpose of continued war. Against the desire of a hero, a villain takes advantage of the apparent power he obtains, to destroy others and bring destruction upon all until he is left the only one standing. Simply put, a hero fights for good, and a villain fights for