Hernando Cortez Essay

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.

An Aztec prophecy told of a God, Quetzalcoatl, who promised to return to the empire and rescue them. Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, believed Cortes was the god who was returning to take back the Aztec empire. The prophecy described Quetzalcoatl’s appearance as

The Aztecs, part of modern day Mexico, were once the epitome of fine culture. They began their rule of southern and central Mexico during the 14th century and practiced an incredibly wealthy lifestyle. Nonetheless, this rule began to deteriorate when Spanish explorers disembarked at Tabasco and Vera Cruz on April 21st 1519. When the Spanish voyagers first arrived, they were welcomed warmly, respectfully and received Godlike treatment. Montezuma, the ruler at that time, believed that the Spanish military leader, Hernán Cortés, was the great god Quetzalcoatl. The Spanish took advantage of this Aztec belief and conquered Mexico within two years. By 1521, the Aztec culture was officially eradicated and a new culture, consisting of a

persuaded Velazquez to give him the command of an expedition to Mexico. And this is the beginning of Cortes’ legacy.

While greed was defiantly a starting point for Cortez's expedition, it was his greed while in Central Mexico that changed the tide of history. Cortez's first encounters with the natives in Central Mexico gave him crucial information about a large wealthy nation that was further inland. While still on the coast representatives from this nation canoed out to Cortez, which officially started relations between Spain and the Aztecs. Among many things given to the Spaniards during the first few days of contact with the Aztecs was a large chest of gold figures along many other expensive things. This gesture of good will by the Aztecs would eventually lead to their downfall. The moment Cortez started receiving all these wonderful items his mind was most likely made up that he would do whatever it took to plunder every valuable item of the Aztec kingdom. As Cortez gradually moved deeper into Aztec territory he steadily received more gifts from the Aztecs and from other city-states that surrounded Tenochtitlan. Each time Montezuma requested for Cortez and the Spaniards to return back to the coast and conduct meetings and trade from there. However, with each gift received just gave Cortez additional incentive to move towards Tenochtitlan. By the time the Spaniards were in Tenochtitlan the Aztecs saw their true colors and it was too late.

     Francisco Pizarro was a conquistador born in Trujillo, Spain in about 1471. His father, Gonzalo Pizarro, was an infantry captain and he taught Francisco how to fight at an early age. Francisco Pizarro never learned to read and write but he was full of adventure.

Before the 15th century, the Indians in the Americas were not connected with the world and would remain that way until Columbus's exploration. In the beginning of 15th century, the Aztecs were the dominant group in Mesoamerica leaded by Montezuma, the last leader, before the Spanish conquest. In 1519, Hernan Cortez led the Spanish mission to explore and conquer the New World. This paper will compare three primary sources about this event. First, an informing letter sent from Cortez to King Charles V, the king of Spain. Second, the Broken Spears which is an Indian recollection about the conquest of Mexico. Lastly, Bernal Diaz’s (one of Cortez’s men) account was written by him to share his experience with Aztec

After a mutiny and less then fruitful journeys, Pizarro convinced the Spanish government to allow an expedition with the prospect of being the future governor of the unclaimed land Peru (The Mariners' Museum, 2014). He made his way towards the city of Cajamarca in 1532, being allowed to travel inland by the Incan emperor, Atahualpa, believing they were “children of the sun” (Black, 2005). At the city, Pizarro hosted a huge feast, with many Inca nobles, including the emperor, attending. While at the feast, the Incan guests were rushed, killed, and the emperor taken hostage. After chats, Atahualpa agreed to ransom himself by agreeing to fill a room, and when that was not enough, he doubled the offer. The final offer consisting of over 3,000 cubic feet worth of gold and silver (The Mariners' Museum, 2014). Even after having to send their own troops out to help collect all the riches from across the Incan empire, eventually his men returned with a staggering load of riches. After all was said and done, by June 1533, Pizarro had 333lbs worth of gold and silver, a value of nearly 100 million US dollars (The Mariners' Museum, 2014). He sent his brother to turn his 1/5 portion due to the Spanish Crown and was promptly reward with fame, fortune, and royal titles whereas Atahualpa was executed, but not before he was converted. He still had to conquer Cuzco, the Capital of Peru. This would prove to be

Hernan Cortez was a Spanish conquistador that landed in Mexico in April of 1519. Upon his arrival, he met a native woman named Dona marina. Dona marina spoke many languages and was eventually Cortez’s interpreter when he found the Aztec empire. It was because that the Aztecs saw Cortez as some god and the weapon differences that he took advantage of that and killed off everyone leading to a defeated Aztec empire Cortez eventually claimed Mexico for Spain. Cortez is important to history because he began the European

Juan Nepomuceno Seguin – Was a 19th-century Texas Senator, mayor, judge, and Justice of the Peace and a prominent participant in the Texas Revolution. Juan Nepomuceno Seguin was born in San Antonio de Bexar on October 27, 1806. He was the older of two sons of Erasmo Seguin

When thinking of New York City, more often than not, the first things one visualizes is the beautiful skyline, the bright lights, and Times Square. But without a second glance, one might miss one of the important things about the city. New York is the most heavily Dominican populated city in the United States. It’s ironic that the first non-native American to migrate to and reside on what is today New York City, was from Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic. Throughout history, Dominicans have migrated to the US in search of economic opportunity. This is the factor that influences nearly every immigrant group that migrates to the US in history. In the early 1900s, The United States and the Dominican Republic had a very close diplomatic relationship, to the point where the President considered annexation. At one point, the United States completely controlled the Sugar industry, one of the country’s most profitable markets.

The Spanish Conquer The conquer of the Aztec Empire is viewed as a bloody battle. The Aztec Empire had placed trust in the Spaniards, but were overthrown by their allies. The thought of greed and disbelief created the distrust. The three ways of success that contributed to the Spanish conquest of Aztec Empire in the early 1500s began with the trustworthy relationship between the two leaders Moctezuma and Cortez, the trust began to falter with the Spanish due to the thought of losing everything if the alliance diminishes, and then the defeat of the Aztec Empire was very brutal and savage.

Hernando Cortes was one of the bravest military leaders of all time. Born in Medellin, Spain, he was a Spanish Conquistador who conquered most of Central America. He also gave Spain three-hundred years of control over Mexico. Cortes started exploring in the early 1500’s. He explored to find riches and conquered by being observant of the natives. With a small army, he conquered the Aztec Empire. Cortes went to the university in Salamanca, Spain. He attended the university to study Latin and Law. Unfortunately, Cortes completed only two years of school. He returned to his family in Medellin, Spain. However, life became boring for him. Nevertheless, Christopher Columbus inspired Cortes to explore the New World. Finally, Cortes was able to

Among many things given to the Spaniards during the first few days of contact with the Aztecs was a large chest of gold figures along many other expensive things. This gesture of good will by the Aztecs would eventually lead to their downfall. The moment Cortez started receiving all these wonderful items his mind was most likely made up that he would do whatever it took to plunder every valuable item of the Aztec kingdom. As Cortez gradually moved deeper into Aztec territory he steadily received more gifts from the Aztecs and from other city-states that surrounded Tenochtitlan. Each time Montezuma requested for Cortez and the Spaniards to return back to the coast and conduct meetings and trade from there. However, with each gift received just gave Cortez additional incentive to move towards Tenochtitlan. By the time the Spaniards were in Tenochtitlan the Aztecs saw their true colors and it was too late.

TODAY, Hernan Cortes and his 500 men arrived in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 11 ships filled with horses and cannons. In 1511, Cortes joined Diego Velasquez ‘s expedition to conquer Cuba. There, he served as a clerk to the treasurer and later as Mayor of a Cuban city. (Live Science, 2013) Velasquez organised another expedition and chose Hernan Cortes as the leader but as the day came closer, Velasquez ordered Cortes not to go as he feared that Cortes would become too powerful. (Ancient History encyclopaedia, 2016) However Cortes defied the authority of Velasquez and carried on with his expedition to Tenochtitlan, aided by a native woman named Malintzin also known as Marina or Malinche who spoke both Spanish and Nahuatl and could translate