Hernando Cortez

1
Hernando Cortez

• The Conqueror of the Aztecs

2
Early Life

• Born in 1485.
• Town of Medellin, Spain.
• Attended Salamanca U. at age 14 for law.
• 1501 gave up education for a life at sea.
• 1504 set sail for the Dominican Republic.
• At 18 joined the army of Diego Velazquez.

3
Life in Cuba

• Cortez played a major part in the conquest of
  Cuba in Governor Velazquezs army.
• Cortez became Mayor-Judge of Santiago, Cuba under
  governor Diego Velazquez.
• Velazquez noticed Cortezs increasing ego and
  self authority, and found him dangerous.
• Velazquez attempted to take him out of as many
  power positions as possible.

4
Cortezs proposed colony

• In 1518, Juan Grijovalva discovered Mexico.
• Cortez convinced Velazquez to let him lead an
  expedition into Mexico and set up a colony for
  exploration.
• However, the expedition was cancelled for fear of
  Cortez having ulterior motives.
• Eventually, on Feb. 19, 1519, Cortez managed to
  set sail to Mexico with 600 men, 20 horses, and
  one cannon.

5
The Fall of Tabasco and the Establishment of La
Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz

• In March of 1519, Cortez landed near and
  conquered the town of Tabasco.
• He conquered the town and took many slaves from
  the tribe of Tlaxcala and met his future wife,
  Malinche.
• She was the interpreter/guide for the Spaniards.
• Following his first victory, Cortez established a
  town North of Tabasco, La Villa Rica de la Vera
  Cruz.
• The tribe of the Tlaxcala lived where the new
  town was established, and the tribe joined his
  forces.
• Cortez named himself the ruler of his new town.
• In order to keep his troops in Mexico, he burned
  his ships. He also immediately betrayed
  Velazquez, and went on a conquest.

6
On to Tenochtitlan

• Cortez learned about the fearsome Aztecs from the
  Tlaxcala tribe and the incredible amounts of
  Aztec gold in the capital, Tenochtitlan.
• The Aztecs had a belief in a bearded god with
  white skin and a white horse who went to the
  East, Quetzalcoatl. They were supposed to honor
  his return with ceremony. The Aztecs believed
  Cortez to be this god.
• Cortez impersonated the god for quite some time,
  using the Aztecs beliefs to his advantage. Even
  the ruler Montezuma II believed him to be a god.
• Soon after, Cortez began the onslaught of
  Tenochtitlan.
• The Spanish horses, weaponry, and military
  tactics shocked the Aztecs at first, which helped
  the first attack.

7
Montezuma Captured!

• In 1519, Montezuma and his great city fell to
  Cortezs army.
• The capital had been captured, the remaining
  Aztecs had been driven out, and Montezuma was
  being held hostage and forced to swear allegiance
  to the king of Spain.
• Montezuma was held for a large ransom of gold and
  jewels. He refused to give the ruler up after he
  received the payment, and instead held him for
  three more ransoms.
• However, he did not return the ruler.

8
A secret fleet is sent to Mexico

• While Cortez was occupying Tenochtitlan, he got
  word from one of his spies that a fleet of 1,400
  men was on its way from governor Velazquez.
• He intercepted their fleet, and with his
  incredible linguistics, convinced the men to join
  him instead of fight him.
• Cortez now had an army of about 2,000 men. He was
  ready to conquer the Aztec empire now.

9
Cortez joins Aztecs enemies one more time

• Cortez had to rush out of the city Tenochtitlan
  so that he could intercept the Spanish forces,
  and now that he had a larger force, he returned
  to once and for all conquer the great Aztec
  Empire.
• He joined forces with the Tlaxcalan tribe and
  other enemies of the Aztecs, and attacked
  Tenochtitlan once again.
• To calm the angered Aztecs, Cortez first returned
  the captured ruler Montezuma, but his own people
  threw rocks and stones at him until he died.

10
Tenochtitlan falls

• Cortezs army attacked again in 1521, completely
  demolishing Tenochtitlan.
• Cortez and his army slaughtered thousands of
  Aztecs, including 600 nobles from neighboring
  towns. The Aztecs and the Spaniards battled for
  months.
• On August 13, 1521, the capital fell, but mostly
  due to the plague that the Spaniards had brought
  with them from Spain.
• Cortez stole all of the riches that the city
  held, and began to gather ships to transport the
  wealth back to Spain with.

11
The aftermath

• In 1528, Cortez returned to Spain.
• He was called home on charges of misconduct. He
  cleared his name, however.
• Cortez was given the title Marques del Valle de
  Oaxaca, meaning Marques of the Valley of Oaxaca.
• Cortez returned to the New World in 1534 to
  explore California for a year. He then returned
  to his home in Spain to flourish in the riches he
  had acquired for Spain and himself.
• He also later fought against the Pirates of
  Algiers in 1541 and led a force against the
  Mayas.
• Cortez died in Spain near Seville on December
  2nd, 1547.

12
Conclusions

• Cortezs success contributed a large amount of
  wealth to Spain, helping make it one of the
  wealthiest countries.
• Cortez set an example for many other
  conquistadors after him, especially Francisco
  Pizarro in Peru.
• Cortez is usually made out to be a villain in
  history, but was in fact a good person.
• The people that he fought were made out to be
  innocent, peaceful people, but they were actually
  a very violent tribe, who brutally sacrificed
  people every day. They also were very violent
  towards their enemy tribes.
• Cortez was one of the most ingenious people ever
  to live. He had an incredible mind for business,
  and also had great military tactics.

13
A Map of Cortezs Journeys
14
Journal entry 1

• August 21, 1519
• I have just got word from one of my spies that
  Governor Velazquez has sent a fleet over from
  Cuba with orders to arrest me. I am currently on
  my way from The Savages Capital, Tenochtitlan.
  The savage people were still fighting with the
  tribes that they routinely had wars with. They
  were completely relentless in battle with each
  othertheir forms of utter murder I am not able
  to write on paper.
• I need to quickly devise a way to gain the
  soldiers sent for my arrest to support memy less
  than 600 men will never be able to defeat them.
  Their leader is a low-ranking soldier, not even a
  Sergeant, which means that he will not have much
  support from his troops. This will give me a
  chance to divide up the large group of soldiers
  and attempt to win them over in sections. If this
  works, I will be able to take on the Great
  Capital of Savages.
• Hernando Cortez

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Journal entry 2

• May 14, 1521
• My forces have begun the march to Tenochtitlan.
  Thousands of Aztec savages have already begun
  attacking my troops on the way to the capital. I
  think that this will be a very bloody battle
• The savages that are fighting against my
  enemies are fighting as relentlessly and without
  mercy as everit is not a pleasing sight to see
  two savages fight.
• Thousands more savages have been called upon to
  fight against my forces, or so I have heard from
  my spies. With thousands against me, and less
  than two thousand in my own forces, even with our
  superior firearms and tactics I dont understand
  how Spain can possibly win this battle.
• These savages are so wild, so
  unsophisticatedwhen their ruler was finally
  returned to them, after having paid ransoms on
  his behalf, they killed him with
  stones. Hernando Cortez

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Timeline

• 1485 Born.
• 1501 Became a sailor.
• 1504 Sailed to West Indies.
• 1518 Mexico is discovered.
• 1518 Cortez leaves to trade with the
  Indians/set up a colony in Mexico
• 1519 Set sail for Mexico with 600 men.
• 1519 (later) Cortez enters Tenochitlan, begins
  first battle. Later set up base in an Aztec
  temple, and captures ruler Montezuma II.
• 1520 A fleet of ships from Cuba come to capture
  Cortez, but Cortez convinces them to join him
  instead.
• 1521 Cortez regroups his forces with Aztec
  enemies and newly acquired Spanish troops.
• 1521 (later) Cortez begins second attack on
  Tenochitlan, soon the city falls to plague and
  Spanish attack.
• 1527 Called back to Spain on charges of
  misconduct, returned to Cuba after.
• 1547 Cortez dies at age 62 near Seville, Spain.

17
Bibliography

• http//www.fcps.k12.va.us/OakViewES/harris/97-98/a
  merica/exploration/cortez.html
• http//www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/timeline
  /1.html
• http//si.unm.edu/si2002/BRENDA_B/BRE_0001/TIM_001
  3.HTM
• http//www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancie
  nt_religions/Central_america/timeline_of_aztecs.ht
  m
• http//www.umich.edu/ece/student_projects/conques
  t/timeline.htm
• http//www.thinkquest.org/library/websitena.html?J
  002678
• http//ntap.k12.ca.us/whs/projects/history/cortez.
  html
• http//www.carpenoctem.tv/military/cortes.html