Cortés, Hernán

Cortés, Hernán
later marqués del Valle de Oaxaca

born 1485, Medellín, near Mérida, Extremadura, Castile
died Dec. 2, 1547, Castilleja de la Cuesta, near Sevilla

Spanish conquistador who won Mexico for Spain.

Cortés left Spain for the New World at age 19, joining Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (b. 1465
d. 1524) in the conquest of Cuba (1511). In 1519, with 508 men and 16 horses, he burned his ships on Mexico's southeastern coast, thus committing himself to conquest. After accumulating thousands of Indian allies who resented Aztec domination, he forged ahead to Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital (today Mexico City). The emperor Montezuma II, believing Cortés to be the god Quetzalcóatl, welcomed him but was taken prisoner. Hearing that a Spanish force from Cuba was coming to relieve him of command, Cortés left Tenochtitlán under the command of a captain and set out to defeat his Spanish opponents. Returning with the opposition forces now under his command, he discovered that the city had revolted; he led his troops away by night in a costly retreat, but he returned in 1521 to conquer the city and with it the empire. The absolute ruler of a huge territory, he was forced to retire after a disastrous expedition in 1524 to the Honduran jungles. His final years were beset by misfortune.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cortés, Hernán, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca — ▪ Spanish conquistador Introduction Cortés also spelled  Cortéz  born 1485, Medellín, near Mérida, Extremadura, Castile [Spain] died December 2, 1547, Castilleja de la Cuesta, near Sevilla  Spanish conquistador who overthrew the Aztec empire… …   Universalium

  • Cortés, Hernán — ► (1485 1547) Conquistador español. En 1519 emprendió la conquista de México. Fundó Veracruz y se internó en el país. Hizo prisionero a Moctezuma, y conquistó la ciudad de México (Tenochtitlán). Recibió el título de marqués del valle de Oaxaca. * …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Hernan Cortes — Hernán Cortés, Museo de América, Madrid Hernán (auch Hernando) Cortés (* 1485 in Medellín in der heutigen Provinz Badajoz, Extremadura; † 2. Dezember 1547 in Castilleja de la Cuesta bei Sevilla) war ein spanischer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Hernan Cortez — Hernán Cortés, Museo de América, Madrid Hernán (auch Hernando) Cortés (* 1485 in Medellín in der heutigen Provinz Badajoz, Extremadura; † 2. Dezember 1547 in Castilleja de la Cuesta bei Sevilla) war ein spanischer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • cortès — [ kɔrtɛs ] n. f. pl. • 1519; esp. cortes, plur. de corte « cour » ♦ LES CORTÈS : assemblée représentative en Espagne et au Portugal. Spécialt Parlement espagnol formé de deux Chambres. ● Cortes ou Cortès nom féminin pluriel (espagnol Cortes)… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Hernán Cortés — Para otros usos de este término, véase Hernán Cortés (desambiguación). Hernán Cortés Monroy Pizarro Altamirano Conquistador y explorador …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hernán Cortés — This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Cortés de Monroy and the second or maternal family name is Pizarro. Hernán Cortés …   Wikipedia

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