Hernán Cortés: Education, Background, and the Conquest of an Empire
Hernán Cortés, a name synonymous with conquest and the fall of empires, remains a figure of immense historical significance. Born in Medellín, Spain, in 1485, his life was a tapestry woven with ambition, strategic brilliance, and ruthless determination. This article explores Cortés's early life, education, and the events that led him to become one of the most successful and controversial conquistadors in history.
Early Life and Education
Hernán Cortés was born in 1485 in the village of Medellín, located in the Estremadura province of Spain. His parents were Martín Cortés de Monroy and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano. Cortés’ family was noble but not extremely wealthy. He was also a distant cousin to Francisco Pizarro, the explorer who conquered the Incan empire in Peru.
As a young child, Cortés was frequently ill, but his health improved when he was a teenager. In 1499, at the age of 14, he was sent to the University of Salamanca to prepare for a law career. According to Francisco López de Gómara, Cortés's secretary, he was sent to Salamanca "because he was very intelligent and clever in everything he did." However, Cortés eventually grew tired of his studies and after two years dropped out of school and returned home. Gómara described him as ruthless, haughty, mischievous, and quarrelsome, “a source of trouble to his parents,” and “much given to women.”
The Allure of the New World
Cortés wanted a life of action and was fascinated by the tales of gold and riches in the New World. Talk of the New World and the allure of wealth continued to captivate young Cortés. He initially set out for the east coast port of Valencia with the idea of serving in the Italian wars, but instead he “wandered idly about for nearly a year.” Clearly Spain’s southern ports, with ships coming in full of the wealth and colour of the Indies, proved a greater attraction.
In 1504, he sought passage on a ship to Santo Domingo, Hispaniola (modern day Dominican Republic). In Hispaniola he became a farmer and notary to a town council; for the first six years or so, he seems to have been content to establish his position. He contracted syphilis and, as a result, missed the ill-fated expeditions of Diego de Nicuesa and Alonso de Ojeda, which sailed for the South American mainland in 1509. By 1511 he had recovered, and he sailed with Diego Velázquez to conquer Cuba. There Velázquez was appointed governor, and Cortés clerk to the treasurer. Cortés received a repartimiento (gift of land and Indian slaves) and the first house in the new capital of Santiago. He was now in a position of some power and the man to whom dissident elements in the colony began to turn for leadership. Cortés was twice elected alcalde (“mayor”) of the town of Santiago and was a man who “in all he did, in his presence, bearing, conversation, manner of eating and of dressing, gave signs of being a great lord.”
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Cortés began farming in the Spanish colony, which brought him much wealth, and owned several native slaves. He finally got his first taste of exploration when he joined a mission under led by Diégo Velasquez in 1511. When he returned, he promised to marry Catalina Suarez, the sister of his friend Juan Suarez, but backed out at the last minute. Velasquez, now governor of Cuba, imprisoned Cortés for not upholding his promise. Eventually, Cortés agreed to marry Catalina, but relations between Velázquez and Cortés remained tense.
The Expedition to Mexico
In 1518, Velázquez appointed Cortés to lead an expedition to conquer the interior of Mexico. He then withdrew the order because he grew suspicious of Cortés’ strong will and thirst for power. Cortés ignored the order, setting sail for Mexico with more than 500 men and 11 ships that year.
When Cortés finally sailed for the coast of Yucatán on February 18, 1519, he had 11 ships, 508 soldiers, about 100 sailors, and-most important-16 horses. In March 1519 he landed at Tabasco, where he stayed for a time in order to gain intelligence from the local Indians. He won them over and received presents from them, including 20 women, one of whom, Marina (“Malinche”), became his mistress and interpreter and bore him a son, Martín. Cortés sailed to another spot on the southeastern Mexican coast and founded Veracruz, mainly to have himself elected captain general and chief justice by his soldiers as citizens, thus shaking off the authority of Velázquez. On the mainland Cortés did what no other expedition leader had done: he exercised and disciplined his army, welding it into a cohesive force. But the ultimate expression of his determination to deal with disaffection occurred when he sank his ships. This brazen decision eliminated the possibility of any retreat.
In 1519, Hernán Cortés left Cuba with about 600 men, and set out for the Yucatan region of Mexico. He first arrived in Cozumel, and began to explore the land for colonization. He encountered natives, and their large pyramid. He noticed the blood stains and human remains, and learned that this pyramid was used for human sacrifices to their gods. Appalled, Cortés began his efforts to convert the natives to Christianity. He tore down their idols and replaced them with crosses and statues of the Virgin Mary. Cortés relied on native translators and guides to communicate with the natives, and travel the land.
Soon after, Cortés and his men sailed on and landed at Tabasco. Here, Cortés and his men clashed with the natives. On March 25, 1519, in the Cintla Valley, the two sides fought in a battle known as the Battle of Cintla. The natives were no match for the Spanish soldiers weaponry and armor. One of the chieftains gifted a slave woman to Cortés named Malinche. She was bilingual so she spoke both Aztec and Mayan languages, which made her very useful to Cortés. She eventually learned Spanish, and became Cortés’s personal interpreter, guide, and mistress. They had a son named Martin.
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Strategic Alliances and the March to Tenochtitlán
Having conquered the Tabascan people, Cortés moved up the coast to Tlaxcala, a city of the mighty Aztec empire. The Aztecs were not always popular rulers among their subjected cities. When Cortés learned of this, he used it to his advantage. He met with Aztec ambassadors, and told them he wished to meet the great Aztec ruler Montezuma. Xicotenga, a ruler in the city Tlaxcala, saw an ally in Cortés, and an opportunity to overthrow the capital city of Tenochtitlán. They formed an allegiance, and Cortés was given several thousand warriors to add to his ranks.
By this time, Cortés’ men were beginning to grumble about Cortés. He continued ignoring Velázquez’s orders to return to Cuba, and the men felt he was overstepping his authority. Cortés and his men marched to Tenochtitlán. They reached the capital of the Aztec empire on November 8, 1519.
The key to Cortés’s subsequent conquests lay in the political crisis within the Aztec empire; the Aztecs were bitterly resented by many of the subject peoples who had to pay tribute to them. The ability of Cortés as a leader is nowhere more apparent than in his quick grasp of the situation-a grasp that was ultimately to give him more than 200,000 Indian allies. The nation of Tlaxcala, for instance, which was in a state of chronic war with Montezuma II, ruler of the Aztec empire of Mexico, resisted Cortés at first but became his most faithful ally. Rejecting all of Montezuma’s threats and blandishments to keep him away from Tenochtitlán or Mexico, the capital (rebuilt as Mexico City after 1521), Cortés entered the city on November 8, 1519, with his small Spanish force and only 1,000 Tlaxcaltecs. In accordance with the diplomatic customs of Mexico, Montezuma received him with great honour. Cortés soon decided to seize Montezuma in order to hold the country through its monarch and achieve not only its political conquest but its religious conversion.
The Fall of the Aztec Empire
The ruler of the Aztec civilization was Montezuma II. Montezuma, though uncertain of the Spaniards’ intent, welcomed them graciously. He gave them a tour of his palace, and they were given extravagant gifts. This fueled the Spaniards’ greed and relations turned hostile shortly after. Cortés took Montezuma captive and the Spaniards raided the city. Montezuma was murdered shortly after from being stoned by his own people.
In 1520, Spanish troops had been sent to Mexico to arrest Cortés for disobeying orders. As Cortés left to fight the expedition, an Aztec revolt began in Tenochtitlán. Cortés returned and obliged Montezuma to face the crowd, but the Aztec leader was struck by a stone and died. Cortés left Tenochtitlán to face the opposing Spaniards. After defeating them, Cortés returned to the Aztec capital to find a rebellion in progress. The Spaniards had been driven from the city. The Spaniards’ retreat from the capital was performed, but with a heavy loss in lives and most of the treasure they had accumulated. After six days of retreat Cortés won the battle of Otumba over the Aztecs sent in pursuit (July 7, 1520).
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Cortés reorganized his men and allies, and seized control of neighboring territories around the capital. They regained control of the city by August of 1521. This marked the fall of the Aztec empire. In their bloody battles for domination over the Aztecs, Cortés and his men are estimated to have killed as many as 100,000 Indigenous peoples. Cortés had become the absolute ruler of a huge territory extending from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
Later Years and Death
Several years after his conquest of Mexico, Cortés endured many challenges to his status and position. Spanish politics and envy were to bedevil Cortés throughout his meteoric career. In the meantime, Velázquez was mounting an insidious political attack on Cortés in Spain through Bishop Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca and the Council of the Indies. Fully conscious of the vulnerability of a successful conqueror whose field of operations was 5,000 miles (8,000 km) from the centre of political power, Cortés countered with lengthy and detailed dispatches-five remarkable letters to the Spanish king Charles V. His acceptance by the Indians and even his popularity as a relatively benign ruler was such that he could have established Mexico as an independent kingdom. Indeed, this is what the Council of the Indies feared. But his upbringing in a feudal world in which the king commanded absolute allegiance was against it.
He had been appointed the governor, yet was removed from power after returning from a trip to Honduras in 1524 to stop a rebellion against him in the area. Cortés went to Spain to met with the Spanish king in order to reclaim his title, but never gained it back. King Charles I of Spain (also known as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) appointed him the governor of New Spain in 1522.
On his return to Mexico, his powers were significantly limited and his activities monitored. He returned to Mexico after his failing with the king and partook in several more expeditions throughout the New World. In 1536, Cortés led an expedition to the northwestern part of Mexico, in the process exploring Baja California and Mexico's Pacific coast. This was to be his last major expedition.
Back in the capital city, Cortés found himself unceremoniously removed from power. He traveled to Spain to plead his case to the king, but he was not reappointed to his governorship. In 1541, Cortés retired to Spain. He spent much of his later years desperately seeking recognition for his achievements and support from the Spanish royal court. Wealthy but embittered from his lack of support and acclaim, Cortés died in Spain in 1547. Hernán Cortés remains one of the most successful of the Spanish conquistadors.
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