We explain who Hernán Cortés was, what his life was like and his role in the conquest of Mexico. Also, what are its characteristics.
Hernán Cortés stood out for his alliances with indigenous populations in the conquest of Mexico.
Who was Hernán Cortés?
Hernán Cortés, together with Francisco Pizarro, was one of the most important conquerors of the American territory. He was born in Spain in 1485 and died in 1547.
In addition to being a successful military man, Cortés was Very skilled in creating alliances with the indigenous Mesoamerican populationswho not only provided him with information and troops, but also protected him in his moments of greatest weakness.
His greatest achievements were the conquest of Mexico after defeating the Aztec Empire and the discovery of California. He was also the first ruler of the region that was called New Spain.
Hernán Cortés is a controversial character since Spanish historiography used to consider him a herowhile certain more recent historiographical positions, especially American, consider him responsible for massacres of indigenous people that some even consider to be genocide.
Biography of Hernan Cortes
Cortés began the conquest of Mexico in 1519.
Hernan Cortes was born in 1485, in the city of Medellín, Extremadura, Spain. The Cortés family belonged to the nobility but of minor nobility. His father was Martín Cortés de Monroy and his mother was Catalina Pizarro Altamirano.
He studied law for a short time in the city of Salamanca. His first trip to the Spanish territories in America was in 1504. He settled on the island of Hispaniola (present-day Santo Domingo) where he managed a plantation and worked as a notary. His first expeditionary trip to Cuba was in 1511 and the beginning of the conquest of Mexico was in 1519.
His first marriage was with Catalina Suárez Marcayda in 1512, with whom he had no children and who died in 1522. His second marriage was with Juana de Zúñiga and Ramírez de Arellano in 1528, with whom he had two sons (the first died shortly after birth) and four daughters. He also had at least five other children from extramarital relationships.
He died in 1547 in Castilleja de la Cuesta, Andalusia, Spain.
The conquest of Cuba
Cortés arrived in Cuba in 1511 and participated in the conquest under the command of Diego Velázquez with the function of secretary to the treasurer. He obtained land on the island and natives under an encomienda regime, which allowed him to accumulate wealth. He was also elected mayor of the new city of Santiago.
In 1518 Velázquez, who had been appointed governor of the island of Cuba Under the authority of the Spanish crown, he entrusted Cortés with leading an expedition to Mexico on the mainland. Although he later changed his mind and tried to stop the march, Cortés brought forward the departure and set sail in February 1519.
Thanks to the governor’s financing and his own wealth and negotiating skills gathered some boats with more than 500 armed menaround 100 sailors, some horses and artillery pieces.
The conquest of Mexico
Causes of the conquest of Mexico
The expedition to Mexico included the personal motivations of Hernán Cortés.
The conquest of Mexico It occurred in the larger context of the Spanish conquest of American territoryso some of their motivations coincide: explore new territories, obtain wealth through exploitation and trade, spread evangelization.
However, the expedition to Mexico in particular included the personal motivations of Hernán Cortéswho possibly wanted both to contribute to the expansion of Spanish domination and Christianity and to obtain for himself riches and the glory of the conquest.
Furthermore, since He had fallen out with the governor of CubaDiego Velázquez, the successful conquest of Mexican territory could win him the favor of Emperor Charles V.
The expedition to Mexico
Cortés first arrived at the island of Cozumel and then landed in Tabasco in March 1519.. There he initially dedicated himself to gathering information about geography and local populations.
He met two people who acted as interpreters and were of great importance to the success of the mission: the Spanish cleric Jerónimo de Aguilar, who had been taken prisoner by the Mayans and knew their languageand Malintzin (later baptized Marina and better known as “la Malinche”), a slave woman of Nahua origin who was given as a slave by the Mayans to the Spanish and with whom Cortés later had a son.
Cortés later founded the city of Veracruz in another place on the Mesoamerican coast. and he was elected captain general of his town council, which guaranteed that he was no longer under the authority of the governor of Cuba. La Malinche told him what she knew about the Aztec (or Mexica) Empire, its ways of waging war, its alliances and its enmity with other indigenous populations (especially the Tlaxcalans). All this information was taken into account by Cortés when undertaking the conquest. Previously, to avoid desertions of his troops, he ordered his own ships to be sunk.
The situation of indigenous peoples
When Hernán Cortés arrived in America, Many indigenous peoples were at odds with each otherFor example, when the Spanish arrived in the Yucatan Peninsula, various peoples who belonged to the Mayan culture had conflicts that they usually resolved through war.
In the central territory of Mesoamerica the Mexicas dominated (also called Aztecs), centered in Tenochtitlán (on which Mexico City was later founded). The Mexicas of Tenochtitlán established alliances with the rulers of Texcoco and Tlacopan but retained many enemies. Long before the arrival of Cortés, the Aztec Empire had submitted or maintained wars with populations such as those that inhabited Huejotzingo, Cholula and Tlaxcala.
Cuts He became aware of these enmities and used them to his advantage.: He promised territories and wealth to the people who supported him against the Mexica. These alliances were of vital importance for his triumph.
The Malinche
Malitzin, later baptized as Marina and known as “la Malinche”, She was one of Cortés’s interpreters. This woman, who was given as a slave by the Mayan populations of Tabasco after being defeated by the Spanish, was of great use to the conqueror for speaking the Nahuatl language and the Mayan language.
She is one of the few indigenous people who He showed unconditional loyalty to the Spanish and especially to Cortés.with whom she even had a son named Martín. Since she had a deep knowledge of the customs, needs and ambitions of the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica, she was one of the central pieces of Cortés’ strategies and acted as his advisor.
Montezuma
Moctezuma allowed Cortés to settle in his city.
Montezuma was the emperor of the Aztec (or Mexica) Empire who received Cortés in his city, Tenochtitlán (where Mexico City is now located). Some historians have suggested that Moctezuma believed that Cortés was of divine origin since, according to Aztec mythology, the god Quetzalcoatl would send emissaries before arriving from the east. However, there are no sources to support this belief. The ruler’s decisions seem to have been due rather to misguided strategic considerations.
Moctezuma allowed Cortés and his troops (accompanied by a thousand Tlaxcalans who were enemies of the Mexica) to settle inside the city in November 1519, but as soon as misgivings began to arise between them and the local settlers, the invaders captured the emperor.
In May 1520 Cortés had to go to the coast to face an expedition sent against him by Governor Diego Velázquez and directed by Pánfilo de Narváez. After defeating these troops he returned to Tenochtitlán but here the Spanish garrison had been besieged by the Mexicas dissatisfied with the presence of the Spanish and with the massacre of nobles carried out by Pedro de Alvarado (known as the Matanza del Templo Mayor).
In an event called “the sad night”, on June 30, 1520 The Spaniards fled secretly from the city but were attacked by the military forces and the Mexican settlers.which caused significant human losses. Moctezuma had also died previously, although it is not clear whether he was killed by his subjects or by the Spanish.
The fall of Tenochtitlán
After being expelled from the city of Tenochtitlán, The Spanish took refuge in Tlaxcala, an indigenous city allied to Cortés. From July 1520 to April 1521 the Spanish forces and their indigenous allies prepared to undertake the conquest of Tenochtitlán. With the help of the Tlaxcalans, the Spanish dismantled the ships they had on the coast and reassembled them on the lake that surrounded the city, since Tenochtitlán was an island.
Thanks to these ships, The Spanish carried out the siege of Tenochtitlán, which lasted approximately 75 days., between May and August 1521. The fighting was fierce but Cortés’ strategy was more efficient. The Mexica were decimated and with the fall of Tenochtitlán on August 13, 1521, the Aztec Empire also fell.
Cortés was appointed governor of New Spain by a royal decree of 1522 and, in addition to administering the conquered territory, he continued to lead expeditions against hostile populations. In 1524 he traveled to Honduras and established a new city there, but his two-year absence caused some of his subordinates in Mexico to seize his property and draw the attention of the Spanish crown for the cruelty displayed against the natives.
The black legend
It is believed that Cortés promoted the massacre, torture and slavery of indigenous Mesoamericans.
The black legend is called stories that maintain that conquistadors like Hernán Cortés massacred, tortured, and enslaved in large numbers to the indigenous populations of the Americas. The term alludes to the supposed anti-Spanish propaganda character of the first accounts that would have been promoted by Spain’s rival powers.
The emblematic example in relation to Hernán Cortés is the torture of Cuauhtémocthe ruler of Tenochtitlán after the death of Moctezuma, from whom attempts were unsuccessful to extract information about the place where the gold and other riches were supposedly hidden. Cortés’ participation in the torture is highlighted by some, while others consider that the conquistador did not order it to be carried out but merely consented to it.
Those who argue against the black legend maintain that Cortés could not have carried out the conquest without the alliances of various local peoples and often highlight the cruelty of the Mexica rulers themselves.
However, the fact that some indigenous groups have benefited from the arrival of Cortés does not negate the fact that many others were decimated or…