How Is Hernando Cortes Guilty

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

Hernando Cortes was a Spanish conquistador coming from a poor family in Spain. Since Cortes was a conquistador, he came to the New World in search of gold or riches. Cortes was not full into the Catholic religion but he was a Catholic and knew right from wrong in the eyes of God. When Cortes heard of the Aztec empire and of their human sacrificing to false gods, he showed them little by little the true God. Cortes ended up overthrowing the Aztec empire because one of his goals going to the New World was to seek rich land, and claim it for Spain. When Cortes first landed in the New Word it is said that he was dressed in all black because it was Good Friday.

Cortes challenged the native forces and entered Tenochtitlan taking the Aztec leader, Montezuma, as their hostage, this led to the uprising. However, both the Spanish and the Aztecs were superior in regards to their communication, their religion and their weapons.

- Cortes actions played a vital role in helping establish Spanish settlement in the new world. He and his fleet of about 600 men traveled into Mexico in hopes of finding gold as well as glory. During his time in Mexico he persuaded Indian societies who were rivals of the Aztec Empire, to join his force to take over this mighty empire. He used terror and intimidation to do so along the way. After a few years he took down the Aztec Empire, which opened the door for other explorers to invade the new world as well in their hopes of finding gold as well.

The capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, and what is known today as Mexico City was conquered in 1521 by the Spanish explorer named Hernando Cortez. Cortez was born Medellin, Spain in 1485. He was the only son of a noble family and his father was a captain in the Spanish army. He was fascinated with Christopher Columbus’ journeys in the new world. This was a far cry from his parents wish for him to be lawyer. Before reaching the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Cortes along with Diego Velazquez, were powerful figures in the island of Cuba. Their partnership soon ended when Cortes went against Velasquez’s wishes to marry his sister and sailed to the mainland of Mexico against his orders. On 1519 Cortez reached the harbor of central Veracruz (“True Cross”). He arrived with 11 ships, 15 horses and a fleet of 500 men in search for gold. Cortes soon learned that the land was ruled by the great Aztec lord in the city of Tenochtitlán: King Monezuma II.

Some hardships Cortez faced included him becoming allies with natives, and others. he used deadly force to conquer Mexico. He fought Tiaxacan and Cholula warriors. He marched to Tenochtitlan and captured the ruler Montezuma II., although , he had to leave because the Spanish troops were coming to arrest him for disobeying orders. But he did return later because the Spanish was set out by the Aztecs. In 1515, he conquered the Aztecs and King Charles appointed him to be the governor of New Spain.

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador which meant that he went out to conquer land with his army. He and his army were thirsty for gold, taking other people’s treasure to make it into theirs an example of that were the Aztecs. The Aztecs were people who had build a big empire in in Tenochtitlan and they had large amounts of gold but soon enough that empire was destroyed by Hernan killing and conquering people to the point that the Aztecs became afraid of the Spanish.Therefore, Hernan Cortes is a villain because of all of the pain and destruction he caused.

In 1519, Hernan Cortes set sail toward Yucatan, Mexico. The Spaniards were excited for being able to settle in this place for the first time. In Tabasco, Mexico Cortes ran into some resistant natives. He cleared them out with ease, until they were forced to surrender. They gave him supplies and then he left. His mind was set to conquering the Aztecs. He had heard of them and he knew that they were very important in Mexico and he wanted to overthrow them. While they were parading through Mexico they encountered the rivals of the Aztecs, called Tlaxcalans, which were another tribe in Mexico. They became very important allies for the Spanish, during their upcoming siege on the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlan. When Cortes arrived, the Aztecs actually though he was their God, Quetzalcoatl, and their leader treated him with a big party. This was because their God was supposed to be returning to Earth that day. The Spaniards wanted to make themselves look powerful, so they fired shots into the air, to scare the Aztecs. They further entered the city and started to sack the whole thing, with the help of the Tlaxcalans and Doña Marina. They took Montezuma (the Aztec leader) hostage. Cortes manipulated him and ruled the city that way. While Montezuma was captured and the Spaniards were ruling the city, another Spanish force arrived from Cuba. Cortes stormed the

Hernán Cortés first landed on the coast of modern day Mexico in 1519. He had traveled by sea from Spain and brought men, horses, cannons, and many other supplies with him. He had heard of a few Spanish explores that tried to take the land were repelled by native indians know as the Aztecs but was determined to claim the land. At first the Aztecs thought that Cortés was a god and respected him, but that only lasted for a little while and then they saw him as an enemy. Cortés and his men marched toward the Aztec capital called Tinochitlán and when they finally reached it they were blown away by its beauty and design.

In fifteen thousand four he went to the new world to look for fortune. It took three months to get to Tenochtitlán which is the Aztec capital because of rough terrain. He conquered Montezuma and the Aztec empire. In fifteen eighteen he was put in command by Veláquez of an expedition to secure inside of Mexico. He ignored these orders. He stopped in Cuba to get more soldiers and more horses. He arrived in Mexico in February of fifteen nineteen. He tricked the Aztecs into giving him a lot of gold when he first arrived in Mexico. The Talascan Indians attacked him and his crew when he first arrived in Mexico. Two of his men died and eight hundred Indians died. He became allies with a lot of the natives, but with others he used deadly force. In March of fifteen nineteen he finally claimed land for the Spanish crown. He won a battle against the natives in Tabasco. He received twenty women and converted them all to Christianity. Cortés took Montezuma hostage and his soldiers looted the city. Cortés was defeated by the Aztecs but came back and defeated them in fifteen twenty one. After this he continued to fight for opportunities to gain land and wealth. He discovered the peninsula of California in fifteen thirty six. He was offered a drink called Xocolatl and he used these beans as money and for making a drink. He brought the drink back to Spain but it was not popular because it was strong and bitter. When sugar, cinnamon and other spices started getting added the drink became popular. Only the rich could afford it because the taxes on it were high. Cortés started plantations in Mexico, Haiti Trinidad, Java and other places in the Caribbean. The Spanish ruled the cocoa industry for many years. Since they gained so much money off of this drink, they kept details of how they made it secret. The work was done by monks and their secret was guarded until fifteen eighty when a chocolate production plant was made in

Cortez temporarily left the city leaving Pedro De Alvarado in charge. Pedro ended up murdering several priests and religious leaders which caused the Aztecs to revolt. Cortez then arrived back in the middle of the revolt. He had Montezuma talk to them and made them calm down, but the Aztecs still considered him a traitor. Montezuma was killed by the protesters throwing stones.

Cortes showed up to the Aztec’s land planning on conquering it to be part of Spain. He did not want to negotiate with the Aztecs, he just wanted their land, with or without them. The Aztecs thought that he was a God and gave him extreme amounts of gold when he first arrived, but that did not satisfy Cortes. Cortes held a meeting with the leader of the Aztecs, Montezuma, and captured him, causing the Aztecs to fight the Spanish to get their leader back. Once the Spanish started to make a move to defeat the Aztecs, they realized that they were all dead or extremely ill. This was because the Aztecs were not immune to the Spanish diseases that came into their land, spreading over their people. Cortes eventually got the Aztec land, making it a part of Spain.

During a time when there were many expeditions to the new world, Hernan Cortez was a man who set out to expand Spain’s grasp on newly discovered land. The Governor had scheduled for Cortez to explore the newly discovered Mexico area in a small expedition. It was ultimately canceled, but Cortez still set out on February 18th, 1519 with Spanish men to the new land.

Cortés was intelligent and proficient in law and knew that he was committing treason when he first departed Cuba for the unknown. Frank Ross wrote in “The Codex Cortés: Inscribing the Conquest of Mexico” that Cortés had “conceived of his defense as a legal case which depended on showing that his sense of personal loyalty to the King motivated his actions.” He had to provide evidence that his expedition into the unknown was for the benefit of Spain, especially economically. In the Second Letter of Hernán Cortés to Charles V, Cortés describes the Tenochtitlan market as packed with sixty thousand people

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