Hernan Cortez - Spanish conquistador, conqueror of Mexico (from the series “Great People”). Hernan Cortez - Travels of the former conquistador Cortez, what he discovered

Early biography

Expedition to Mexico

Map of the campaign 1519-1521.

The idea of conquering Mexico belonged to Velazquez, who was also the main sponsor of the campaign. In 1518, Cortes was appointed commander, but after another quarrel, the governor of Cuba canceled this order. Cortes, however, possessing great eloquence, hired a crew and soldiers, and sailed from Santiago de Cuba on November 18, 1518. The expedition was poorly supplied with food, so the conquistadors left Cuba on February 10, 1519. The expedition had 11 ships (one of them was commanded Lieutenant Alvarado, Cortez's deputy).

Cortez's army included 518 infantry, 16 horsemen (several of whom shared one horse, like Alvarado), 13 arquebusmen, 32 crossbowmen, 110 sailors and 200 slaves - Cuban Indians and blacks, as servants and porters. The equipment included 32 horses, 10 cannons and 4 falconets. Among the officers of Cortez's detachment, the future conquerors of Central America stood out: Alonso Hernandez Portocarero (he initially went to Malinche), Alonso Davila, Francisco de Montejo, Francisco de Salcedo, Juan Velazquez de Leon (a relative of the Cuban governor), Cristobal de Olid, Gonzalo de Sandoval and Pedro de Alvarado. Many of them were experienced soldiers who fought in Italy and the Antilles.

The main helmsman was Anton de Alaminos (participant of the third expedition of Columbus and the expedition of Ponce de Leon, Francisco de Cordoba and Juan de Grijalva).

The expedition set off along the well-known route to the Yucatan coast. The first contact with the high civilization of America took place on the island. Cozumel, home at the time to the Mayan principality of Ekab, center of veneration for the fertility goddess Ix-Chel. The Spaniards tried to destroy the sanctuary, horrified by the ritual of sacrifice. At first, an Indian slave youth served as a translator, from whom information was received about Jeronimo de Aguillar, a Spanish priest who was captured by the Mayans and learned their language. He became the expedition's chief translator. In March 1519, Cortes formally annexed Yucatan to the Spanish possessions (in fact, this only happened in 1535). Then the expedition went along the coast, and on March 14 they reached the mouth of the Tabasco River. The Spaniards attacked the Indian settlement, but found no gold. In Tabasco on March 19, Cortez received gifts from local rulers: a lot of gold, and 20 women, among whom was Malinche, who became Cortez's official translator and concubine. She was immediately baptized, the Spaniards called her “Doña Marina.”

In Tabasco, the Spaniards learned about the great country of Mexico, which lay further to the west, inland, and this is how the name “Mexico” appeared. In July 1519, Cortez's expedition landed on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and the port of Veracruz was founded, 70 km north of the modern city. By this act, Cortes placed himself under direct subordination to the king. To avoid provoking a riot, Cortez ordered the ships to be burned. Leaving the garrison, Cortes moved inland. His first allies were the Totonac people, whose capital, Sempoala, Cortes entered. At a meeting of 30 leaders of the people, war was declared on the Aztecs. The majority of Cortez's army was now made up of allied Totonac tribes. A treaty was concluded with the Totonacs, under the terms of which, after the conquest of Mexico, the Totonacs received independence. This agreement was never respected.

On August 16, 1519, the Spaniards marched to Tenochtitlan. Cortes had 500 infantry, 16 horsemen and about 13 thousand Totonac warriors. The conquistadors found a strong ally in Tlaxcala, an independent mountain principality waging war with the Aztec Confederation. As a sign of the alliance, the leader of Tlaxcala gave Cortes his daughter Xicotencatl, whom the conqueror gave to Alvarado. Under the name of Luis de Tlaxcala, she accompanied Alvarado on all his campaigns. Cortez's army was replenished with approximately 3,000 Tlaxcalans.

Massacre at Cholula. Indian image

In October 1519, Cortez's army reached Cholula, the second largest city-state of Central Mexico, the sacred center of the local religion. For unknown reasons, Cortez carried out a massacre of the local population in the city, and partially burned the city. Later, in his messages, Cortez explained this act as retaliation for a possible trap set by the Indians.

On the way to the Aztec capital, the Spaniards discovered the Popocatepetl volcano (Nahuatl “Hill that smokes”). Cortez's officer, Diego de Ordaz, decided to conquer the top of the volcano with two squires. Later, King Charles V allowed the inclusion of an image of a volcano in the coat of arms of Ordaz.

In January 1521, the siege of Tenochtitlan began, cut off from food supplies and sources of fresh water. At the same time, the city-states of the Valley of Mexico, allied with the Aztecs, were subjugated. During this period, Cortés discovered the plot of Villafana, who was forced to hang himself. In August 1521, the assault on the city began. On August 13, after the capture of the last Tlatoani, Cuauhtémoc, the Aztec state fell. Until 1524, Cortes ruled Mexico alone.

Ruler of Mexico

In the messages of Cortez and the biography written from his words by Gomara, there are numerous complaints about the injustice of the king and those around him, who allegedly underestimated Cortez. In fact, Cortes during this period desired sole power, and greatly damaged relations with his companions.

In 1524, Cortes was awarded the rank of captain general of the newly formed colony of New Spain of the Sea-Ocean. Along with the decree, four royal officials (Royal Audiencia) arrived, called upon to organize the administrative system and limit the ambitions of Cortez. During this period, Cortes supervised extensive construction: the new city of Mexico City was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, which became the main center of Spanish possessions in the New World. Large church construction was carried out: according to rumors transmitted by Gomara, Cortes vowed to build 365 temples on the ruins of pagan pyramids so that they could be used all year round. Cortes began to send his officers to conquer other peoples and states of Central America: for example, Alvarado was sent to Guatemala. Cortez began the production of cane sugar in Mexico and began to import African blacks to work on the plantations.

In 1523, the king sent Juan de Garay to conquer Northern Mexico without informing Cortez about it. As a result of a fierce struggle with Velazquez, Garay and Bishop Fonseca, Cortes won, but decided to leave Mexico City, setting off on an expedition to conquer Honduras (1524-1526). Here also a war took place with Cristobal de Olid, who was sent by the Cuban governor Velazquez to conquer this country. Due to the constant military danger and conspiracies arising among his inner circle, Cortes showed increasing cruelty. In 1525, he ordered the torture and execution of Cuauhtemoc, the last ruler of the Aztecs, and also intended to march on Cuba and deal with Velazquez (he died in 1524). Such ill-considered decisions prompted King Charles V to remove Cortes from office.

The king at that time was in Germany, busy with the war between Protestants and Catholics. Spain was ruled by Archbishop Hadrian. It was to him that Juan Ponce de Leon II (the son of the discoverer of Florida) turned to him, denouncing the crimes of Cortez and calling for his execution. Opposition grew, and in 1527 Cortes was forced to resign as governor, and in 1528 he went to Spain to report on his activities.

Map of California in the 17th century. The territory is depicted as an island

Visit to Spain and return to Mexico

Cortes in 1528 appeared before the king's court and brilliantly acquitted himself. The main arguments of his opponents were based on the fact that he sent much less gold and silver from Mexico than was required when paying the royal nickel. The king honored Cortes with an audience and granted him membership in the knightly order of Santiago de Compostela. In 1529, Cortes and his descendants were granted the title of Marquis of Oaxaca, which existed until 1811. Cortes was granted the right to keep 23,000 vassals in Oaxaca, but he was not restored to the governorship, and was not given any other position in return.

In the absence of Cortes, a serious political crisis occurred in Mexico: members of the Audiencia shared power, and the commander-in-chief Nuño de Guzman ruined the Indians. In 1528, an Indian delegation arrived in Spain with complaints about the colonists, and Cortez took their side! In 1530, Cortes was appointed military governor of Mexico, he had to share power with Don Antonio de Mendoza, appointed civilian governor. Cortez soon appeared in court again, accused of conspiracy to seize power and the murder of his first wife. The court materials were classified and have not been preserved, so it is unknown what verdict was reached. Until 1541, Cortes lived on his estate in Cuernavaca (48 km south of Mexico City). In 1536, he undertook an expedition to California, hoping to increase the possessions of the Spanish crown, as well as to find a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (which he never found in Honduras). This campaign, despite the high costs, did not bring him wealth and power.

Sources and literature

Primary sources

Cortes, Hernan, "Letters (excerpts)"
Hernán Cortes, Letters- available as Letters from Mexico translated by Anthony Pagden (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.) ISBN 0300090943
Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Hispania Victrix; First and Second Parts of the General History of the Indies, with the whole discovery and notable things that have happened since they were acquired until the year 1551, with the conquest of Mexico and New Spain Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1966.
Bernal Diaz del Castillo, The Conquest of New Spain- available as The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico: 1517-1521 ISBN 030681319X
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. - Expanded and updated edition. - Boston: Beacon Press, 1992. - ISBN ISBN 0-807-05501-8
History of the Conquest of Mexico, with a Preliminary View of Ancient Mexican Civilization, and the Life of the Conqueror, Hernando Cortes By William H. Prescott
Last Will and Testament of Hernán Cortés

Secondary sources

Conquest: Cortes, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas (1993) ISBN 0671511041
Cortes and the Downfall of the Aztec Empire by Jon Manchip White (1971) ISBN 0786702710
History of the Conquest of Mexico. by William H. Prescott ISBN 0375758038
The Rain God cries over Mexico by László Passuth
Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest by Matthew Restall, Oxford University Press (2003) ISBN 0195160770
The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov (1996) ISBN 0061320951
Hernando Cortes by Fisher, M. & Richardson K.
Hernando Cortes Crossroads Resource Online.
Hernando Cortes by Jacobs, W.J., New York, N.Y.: Franklin Watts, Inc. 1974.
The World's Greatest Explorers: Hernando Cortés. Chicago, by Stein, R.C., Illinois: Chicago Press Inc. 1991.
Myth and Reality: The Legacy of Spain in America by Jesus J. Chao. Culture/Society Opinion. February 12, 1992. The Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston
LeonPortilla, Miguel, ed., The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Boston: Beacon Press, 1962.

In Spanish

La Ruta de Hernán. Fernando Benítez ().
Hernán Cortes. Inventor de Mexico. Juan Miralles Ostos ().
Hernan Cortes. Salvador de Madariaga.
Hernan Cortes. Jose Luis Martinez. Edición del Fondo de Cultura Económica y UNAM. (1990)
Cortes. Christian Duverger ().
Hernán Cortés: el conquistador de lo imposible. Bartolomé Bennassar ().
El dios de la lluvia llora sobre Mexico. László Passuth. () ISBN 84-217-1968-8
Pasajes de la historia II: tiempo de heroes. Juan Antonio Cebrián () (Su vida se encuentra en el pasaje nº7, Hernán Cortés, símbolo de una conquista, páginas de 181 a 211).
Compostela de Indias, su origen y fundación. Salvador Gutiérrez Contreras (1949).
Hernán Cortes. mentalidad y propositos. Demetrio Ramos. ISBN 84-321-2787-6
Hernán Cortes. crónica de un imposible. José Luís Olaizola ().

Links

Letter from Cortés to Emperor Charles V, written in Segura de la Frontera on October 30, 1520
Persons in the history of Ancient Mesoamerica (including E. Cortes)
Zenon Kosidovsky"How Cortes conquered the Aztec country"

Discoverers of America
Before Columbus	Bjarni Herjulfsson \| Eric the Red \| Leif Eriksson \| Cortirial
Great maritime discoveries

Hernan Fernando Cortes was born in 1485 in Spain. The only son of a minor nobleman was not in good health. His parents predicted a career as a lawyer for him, but studying law at the university did not meet the young man’s ambitions.

At the age of 19, in search of wealth and fame, he left for the New World. There, on the island of Haiti, the dandy and philanderer Cortes decided to become a planter. But he failed to make capital. Six years later, he still had little money, but a lot of debt.

Meanwhile, conquerors, or conquistadors in Spanish, poured into America. Their only goal was gold. And Cortez decided to follow their example. He exchanged the quiet existence of a farmer for the adventurous life of a conquistador.

In 1511, Cortez participated in an expedition to capture Cuba. The cheerful disposition, openness and courage of Fernando Cortes pleased the leader of the expedition, Diego de Velazquez. And when Velazquez became governor of Cuba, Cortez did not miss the opportunity to profitably marry his sister and receive the post of mayor of Santiago. But Cortez's main dream was the untold riches of the Aztec empire.

34-year-old Cortes headed a military expedition into the Caribbean Sea. Although the official goal of the campaign was to convert the pagan Indians to Christianity, Cortez's detachment was armed with 15 cannons. When an expedition of 500 men landed on the deserted Mexican coast in 1519, Cortes, fearing the possible escape of his soldiers, ordered his own ships to be burned. The conquistadors could either win or die at the hands of the Indians. In the first battle on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, Cortez won, ahead was the Aztec capital - Tenochtitlan * and the untold wealth of the high priest.

The cunning Cortes entered into an alliance with the Indian tribes that were enslaved by the Aztecs. With the help of bribes, promises and threats, he gained tens of thousands of Indian warriors at his disposal. Cortez's enlarged detachment successfully advanced through the territory of the Aztec empire. The 16 horses taken on the expedition turned out to be an effective weapon, as the far-sighted Cortez expected. The Aztecs, who had never seen these animals before, were terrified of horses. It seemed to them that the horse and rider were one creature, powerful and merciless.

The success of the conquistadors was also helped by the Aztec legend about the white-skinned and long-bearded god Quetzalcoatl, who once taught them agriculture. The Aztecs believed in his return, and Cortez was quite suitable for the role of a god.

The entry of Hernan Cortez into the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. Beginning of the conquest of Mexico by the conquistadors
Event date: November 8, 1519

On November 8, 1519, the conquerors entered the Aztec capital without a fight. The treacherous Cortes put the Aztec ruler Montezuma II in shackles and demanded that the Aztec leaders pay tribute to the Spanish king. This is where the enormous wealth of the Aztecs was discovered. The conquistadors were not at all interested in the artistic value of the tribute, but only in its weight. For convenience when dividing the spoils, precious jewelry and figurines were cold-bloodedly melted into ingots. Cortes appropriated most of the gold for himself.

Two years later, the Aztec empire of five million people completely passed into the hands of the Spaniards. The capital Tenochtitlan was destroyed, and the city of Mexico City was built on its ruins from its stones. The country was forcibly converted to Christianity and called New Spain.

The year 1521 was the pinnacle of Cortez's glory. He prudently sent caravels with gold to the Spanish monarch, and in return received the post of governor of the conquered land. Five years later, the great conqueror arrived in Spain and was treated kindly by the king. But his triumph did not last long.

Cortez's greed turned out to be stronger than his art of diplomacy. And as a result of court intrigues, the king deprived him of his favor, and at the same time the post of governor of Mexico. Seeking to regain lost power, Cortes in 1536 led another expedition to the shores of the New World. In search of gold, he explored the coast of the California Peninsula. But the king rejected the request for a third expedition, and the position of governor was never returned to Cortes.

In 1540, offended and embittered, Cortes left New Spain forever and settled on an estate near Seville. He was very rich, but unfulfilled dreams of power poisoned the last seven years of his life. Having bequeathed his huge property in Mexico to his son, 62-year-old Fernando Cortez died in 1547 from dysentery.

But even after death he had no peace. His remains were transported to Mexico and buried at the site of the first meeting with Montezuma. Then, saving them from destruction by the Indians, they changed the burial place several times. Only 76 years after the death of the conquistador, his remains found an eternal home in Naples. Leaving unfulfilled the last wish of Hernan Fernando Cortes - to rest in the land where he knew success and triumph.

Note:

*Tenochtitlan is the capital of the Aztec state, located on the site of the modern city of Mexico City. Founded around 1325 on an island in the middle of the salt lake Texcoco, near the more ancient settlement of Tlatelolco. By the era of the Spanish conquest, both cities merged into one huge island capital (about 1000 hectares) with a population of about 100 thousand people. Tenochtitlan was connected to the coast by dams that converged on the central square, where the main Aztec temple in honor of the gods Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli (over 30 m high) was located. Around it were the palaces of the rulers, decorated with sculpture and paintings. In 1521, after a three-month siege by the troops of E. Cortes, Tenochtitlan fell. Fires and destruction almost completely destroyed the Aztec capital. On its ruins, the Spaniards built the city of Mexico City - the center of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

The Spanish fleet was equipped by the governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez. At the head of the expedition, he put Hernan Cortes, a “prominent hidalgo” from Extremadura, a dandy and a spendthrift. “He had little money, but a lot of debt.” He recruited a detachment of 508 people, took with him several guns and 16 horses; he had high hopes for them, since the Mexicans had never seen these “terrible” animals and did not know livestock at all.

On February 10, 1519, nine ships of Cortes were led to the “golden country” by Anton Alaminos. On the island of Cozumel, where there was a temple revered by the Mayan people, Cortes acted as the apostle of Christianity. By his order, the pagan idols were broken, the temple was turned into a Christian temple. The first battle with the Indians took place on the southern shore of the Bay of Campeche, in the country of Tabasco. Having broken their resistance, Cortes sent three detachments into the country. Having met large military forces, they retreated with great damage. Cortes sent his entire army against the attackers.

The Indians fought with great courage and were not afraid even of cannons. Then Cortes struck from the rear with his small cavalry detachment. “The Indians had never seen horses before, and it seemed to them that horse and rider were one creature, powerful and merciless.” From Tabasco the flotilla sailed to the island of San Juan de Ulua. On April 21, the Spaniards landed on the shore of the mainland and, to secure the rear, built the city of Veracruz. Montezuma, the supreme leader of the Aztecs, tried to bribe the Spaniards so that they would abandon their campaign against his capital. But the more gold and jewelry he gave the conquistadors, the more they sought to take possession of Tenochtitlan. Montezuma acted indecisively: he ordered the leaders under his control to resist the Spaniards with weapons in their hands, and if they failed, he did not help them, and even renounced them. Finally he agreed to let the Spaniards into Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards were housed in a huge building. Searching the room, they found a walled door. Cortez ordered it to be opened and discovered a secret room with a rich treasure of precious stones and gold. But the Spaniards saw that they were locked and surrounded by enemies in a huge city, and decided to take Montezuma himself as a hostage. Montezuma was temporarily put in chains for warning. From that time on, on his behalf, Cortés began to give orders throughout the entire country without permission. He forced the Aztec leaders to swear allegiance to the Spanish king, and then demanded that they, as vassals, pay tribute in gold. Discord began among the conquerors over the division of the loot. And at this time almost all of Mexico rebelled (1520). In five days, some 900 Spaniards and 1,300 of their Indian allies died, drowned, were killed, captured, and then sacrificed.

The Spaniards were rescued by the Tlaxcalans, who feared the revenge of the Aztecs. They gave the conquerors the opportunity to recover from the defeat and allocated several thousand soldiers to help them. Relying on them, Cortez carried out punitive expeditions against the Indians.

Having replenished the detachment with people and equipment, Cortes and 10 thousand Indians friendly to him in 1521 began a new systematic attack on Tenochtitlan. He ordered the construction of large flat-bottomed ships to take possession of the lake, surround and starve out the Aztec capital. He forbade the surrounding tribes from sending part of the harvest as tribute to them and provided them with assistance when Aztec troops came for tribute. He allowed the Tlaxcalans to plunder Aztec villages. Mexico was conquered. The victors seized all the treasures collected by the Aztecs in the cities and forced the indigenous population to work on the newly organized Spanish estates. Some were enslaved, but the rest of the enslaved Indians actually became slaves. Hundreds of thousands killed or died from exhaustion and infectious diseases brought by the conquistadors - this is the terrible result of the Spanish conquest of the country.

After the fall of Mexico City, Cortez sent troops in all directions to expand the borders of New Spain, and he himself conquered the indigenous region of the Aztecs - the Panuco River basin. Upon returning to Mexico, Cortez began research activities, equipping seven expeditions. Cortez, who led the fourth (1535 - 1536), discovered the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains and 500 km of the mainland coast of the Gulf of California. The fifth (1537 - 1538) traced this coast to the north for another 500 km. The sixth (1536 - 1539), under the command of Grijalva, completed the first crossing almost along the equator. The leader of the seventh (1539 - 1540) Francisco Ulda completed the discovery of the eastern seashore of the Gulf of California.

Hernan Fernando Cortes was born into a poor family of a minor nobleman in Medellin, Extremadura province. He studied law at the University of Salamanca and received an education rare for the Spanish conquistadors of that era. However, in his homeland he did not see an opportunity to realize his abilities and at the age of 19 he set off on a ship across the Atlantic Ocean to seek wealth and fame in the New World.

In 1504 he found himself in the West Indies. Things were going well for Cortez: he became a landowner and soon received the position of secretary of the governor of the island of Cuba, Diego de Velazquez, winning his favor and trust. Hernán Cortés married his sister and at one time served as alcalde of the city of Santiago de Barracoa. It was a time when the Spanish colonists dreamed of only one thing - the untold riches that the land of the Indians on the other side contained.. But to get to their gold, they first had to conquer these lands.

Diego de Velazquez had already tried twice to conquer the Aztec Empire, but each time his military campaigns ended in failure for various reasons. Velazquez began to equip a new, third military expedition to the mainland, where the Spaniards had visited a year before. Initially, he put his sister’s husband at the head of the expedition, but then reversed his decision because he began to seriously fear the ambitious intentions of Hernan Cortes, who did not hide them. If the expedition under his command was successful, the viceroy could lose his position at the royal court.

Cortez did not obey Velazquez's new decision, and in February 1519, on eleven small ships, he sailed into the Caribbean Sea and headed west, towards sunset. Under his command there were not many people, only four hundred soldiers, and a few cannons, with these small forces he hoped to conquer the Aztec empire.

The flotilla of Hernán Cortés circled the Yucatan Peninsula and entered the mouth of the Rio Tabasco. Having landed on the shore, the Spaniards easily captured the city of Tabasco. The Indians fought with great courage, not even afraid of cannons, but fled from a small cavalry detachment that attacked them from the rear. “The Indians had never seen horses before, and it seemed to them that horse and rider were one creature, powerful and merciless. The meadows and fields were filled with Indians fleeing into the nearby forest,” wrote chronicler Diaz. After a short battle, the Indians had to recognize the authority of the king of Spain and pay tribute.

A few days later, local leaders sent supplies and brought twenty young women. Hernán Cortés ordered them to be baptized immediately, and then distributed the “first Christian women of New Spain” among his commanders. To prevent the possible escape of his soldiers, many of whom were afraid to go to an unknown country, Cortez ordered the ships to be burned.

On the way to the Aztec capital, Cortez easily won victories over several local Indian tribes, including numerous Tlaxcalans. The defeated Indian tribes, dissatisfied with the rule of the Aztecs, willingly joined the conquistador. However, the inhabitants of the city of Cholulu offered strong resistance to the conquerors, and Cortes ordered a bloody massacre against them.

The advance of the Spaniards did not go unnoticed in the capital of Mexico, and the supreme leader of the Aztecs, Montezuma, sent his envoys to the Spaniards. The ambassadors gave Cortes rich gifts: “a lot of jewelry... made of beautiful gold and wonderful workmanship... ten bales of snow-white cotton fabric, amazing items made from bird feathers and many other valuable things...”, thereby Montezuma wanted to bribe the conquistadors, but only fueled his thirst even more gold from the Spaniards.

Soon, Hernan Cortes himself entered the Mexican capital of Tenochtitlan and took Montezuma into custody. He realized too late the danger that the Spaniards posed to his fatherland. Montezuma tried to prevent the conquerors from entering Tenochtitlan, but his actions were characterized by inconsistency that was surprising for a ruler. In addition, the warriors of the Aztecs, as well as other Indian tribes, were terrified of the firearms and horses of the conquerors, about whom they had not the slightest idea.

From that time on, on behalf of Montezuma, Cortes began to arbitrarily rule over the entire country. He forced the Aztec leaders to swear an oath of allegiance to the Spanish king, and then demanded that they, as vassals, pay tribute in gold. Montezuma's treasure was so large that it took three days to view it. All gold, including artistic items, was poured into square bars.

Meanwhile, the royal governor of Cuba, de Velazquez, sent a punitive expedition to the Mexican shores under the command of Panfilo de Narvaez to deal with the rebellious Cortes, who had broken the chain of command and exceeded his authority.. But Hernan was ready for such a turn of events. He left 150 Spanish soldiers in Tenochtitlan under the command of one of his officers, de Alvarado, and with the remaining 250 soldiers hastily marched to Veracruz. At night, the conquistadors attacked the camp of Panfilo de Narvaez and defeated the enemy. Narvaez and most of his warriors were captured. Cortes did not have much difficulty convincing the prisoners to enter his service.

After some time, all of Mexico was swept by an uprising under the leadership of the Aztec leader Cuauhtémoc. The capital was rocked by fierce fighting. Hernán Cortés demanded that Montezuma go to the roof of his house and order his “subjects” to stop the assault, since the Spaniards agreed to voluntarily leave the city. The Mexicans responded to this order with a hail of stones and arrows. The supreme leader of the Aztecs was mortally wounded and died in the arms of the Spaniards. Every day the enemy's forces increased and the Spanish forces decreased. Gunpowder supplies were depleted, food supplies and water were completely gone, and in July 1520 the Spaniards decided to leave the capital at night.

Near the village of Otumba, the Aztecs blocked the Spaniards, exhausted after a long retreat, from reaching the sea coast, towards Veracruz. On July 8, 1520, a battle between the troops of Cortes and the army of the rebel Aztecs took place here. Under the command of Cortez, only about 200 Spanish soldiers and several thousand Tlaxcalan warriors remained, and the Aztec army numbered about 200 thousand people. After many hours of battle, the Spanish detachment was on the verge of destruction.

The fate of the Battle of Otumba was decided by the conquistador himself. Cortes, at the head of a small detachment of cavalry, bravely attacked the core of the enemy army, where the Aztec military leaders were located. The Aztecs, at the mere sight of horses galloping on them, became dismayed and fled in disarray. The victory of the Spaniards was complete, and after that they continued unhindered to the Caribbean coast.

A year later, Cortez made a second campaign against the capital of Mexico. On his second campaign, Cortes set out with significant military forces. Cortez learned lessons from recent defeat by the Aztecs. Their capital stood on the shores of Lake Texcoco, on which there was a large flotilla of pirogues. During the uprising and fighting in Tenochtitlan, they quickly transferred large detachments of Indian warriors in the right direction. Hernán Cortés ordered the construction of several small galleys and armed them with cannons. These disassembled galleys were carried by Indian porters behind the Spanish detachment.

Approaching Tenochtitlan, which had prepared for defense, Spanish troops began bombarding the city with artillery guns. The first assault was successfully repulsed by numerous defenders of the city, bringing down a hail of spears, darts and stones on the heads of the attackers. The siege of the Aztec capital lasted three months. Only after destroying most of it did the Spaniards take possession of the city. A large number of Indian warriors and townspeople died during the siege of Tenochtitlan.

The galleys delivered by porters were assembled on the shores of Lake Teskogo and launched. With the help of cannons mounted on galleys, the Spaniards defeated the Aztec pirogue flotilla and finally blocked Tenochtitlan. Now it became difficult for the besieged to destroy bridges across the canals and prevent Spanish troops from moving along the dams.

Soon famine and epidemics began in the besieged city. Cortez knew about this and therefore was in no hurry to storm the Aztec capital. In August 1521, Cuauhtemoc and his family and other leaders tried to escape from Tenochtitlan on pirogues, but were overtaken and captured by a Spanish galley flotilla. Cuauhtemoc was subjected to severe torture, but the Spaniards were never able to find out from him where the Aztec treasures were kept. The leader was thrown into prison and soon killed (in modern Mexico, the Aztec military leader Cuauhtemoc is a national hero).

The besieged, left without their military leaders, stopped resisting. The city was severely destroyed and completely plundered by the conquerors. Hernán Cortés renamed Mexico New Spain and Tenochtitlan Mexico City. He sent the captured Aztec treasures to Spain. The response of the Spanish monarch Charles V was the appointment of Cortes, a former state criminal, as captain general and governor of New Spain. The first thing the governor-general of the new colony began his reign with was the inculcation of Christianity among the Indian tribes by force of arms.

In 1526, the great conqueror arrived in Spain in triumph. There he received from the king the title of Marquis del Valle de Oaxaca. At the royal court he already had many ill-wishers who were not happy with the proud and ambitious marquis. As a result of court intrigues, the king deprived Cortes of his governorship in New Spain. But this did not unbalance the canquistador for long.

In 1533, having received false information about the wealth of the “island” (California, the connection with the mainland of which was discovered later), he successfully reached it. The newly discovered “island” is one of the hottest countries on Earth. Contemporaries said that Cortez himself gave it the name “Calida fornax” (in Latin - hot oven), hence the abbreviated name “California”. Cortes appointed Francisco Ulloa as the head of the “island”. He penetrated in 1539 into the long Gulf of California, which he called the “Sea of Cortez”; but more often the bay was called the “Crimson Sea” - “from the red algae that colors the waters of some bays, or, rather... from the dark red sands bordering its shores” (E. Reclus). Ulloa did not find a way out of the “Crimson Sea” anywhere in the north, although he explored the western coast of the bay for about 1000 kilometers.

Three years after the California Expedition, Cortez tried to obtain royal permission to lead a detachment to search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. But the king rejected this request, choosing Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. Offended, he left New Spain forever and returned to Europe. Cortez settled on an estate near Seville and lived there until the end of his days, in luxury thanks to the treasures looted from the Aztec country.. In 1541, Hernán Cortés participated in the Algerian military expedition of Spanish troops, but did not achieve glory in North Africa.

Despite his life full of dangers, this great conquistador did not find his death in battle; in 1547, at the age of 62, he fell ill with dysentery and soon died, but his body did not find peace for a long time. After 15 years, his remains were transported to Mexico. There they were reburied several times to save them from destruction. Finally, they found the long-awaited peace in 1823 in Naples, in the crypt of the Dukes of Terranzova-Montemon.

Early biography

Expedition to Mexico

The idea of conquering Mexico belonged to Velazquez, who was also the main sponsor of the campaign. In 1518, Cortes was appointed commander, but after another quarrel, the governor of Cuba canceled this order. Cortes, however, possessing great eloquence, hired a crew and soldiers, and sailed from Santiago de Cuba on November 18, 1518. The expedition was poorly supplied with food, so the conquistadors left Cuba on February 10, 1519. The expedition had 11 ships (one of they were commanded by Lieutenant Alvarado, Cortez's deputy).

Cortez's army included 518 infantry, 16 mounted knights (several of whom shared one horse, like Alvarado), 13 arquebusmen, 32 crossbowmen, 110 sailors and 200 slaves - Cuban Indians and blacks, as servants and porters. The equipment included 32 horses, 10 cannons and 4 falconets. Among the officers of Cortez's detachment, the future conquerors of Central America stood out: Alonso Hernandez Portocarero (he initially went to Malinche), Alonso Davila, Francisco de Montejo, Francisco de Salcedo, Juan Velazquez de Leon (a relative of the Cuban governor), Cristobal de Olid, Gonzalo de Sandoval and Pedro de Alvarado. Many of them were experienced soldiers who fought in Italy and the Antilles.

The main helmsman was Anton de Alaminos (participant of the third expedition of Columbus and the expedition of Ponce de Leon, Francisco de Cordoba and Juan de Grijalva).

The expedition set off along the well-known route to the Yucatan coast. The first contact with the high civilization of America took place on the island. Cozumel, home at the time to the Mayan principality of Ekab, center of veneration for the fertility goddess Ix-Chel. The Spaniards tried to destroy the sanctuary, horrified by the ritual of sacrifice. At first, an Indian slave youth served as a translator, from whom information was received about Jeronimo de Aguillar, a Spanish priest who was captured by the Mayans and studied their language. He became the expedition's chief translator. In March 1519, Cortes formally annexed Yucatan to the Spanish possessions (in fact, this only happened in 1535). Then the expedition went along the coast, and on March 14 they reached the mouth of the Tabasco River. The Spaniards attacked the Indian settlement, but found no gold. In Tabasco on March 19, Cortez received gifts from local rulers: a lot of gold, and 20 women, among whom was Malinche, who became Cortez's official translator and concubine. She was immediately baptized, the Spaniards called her “Doña Marina.”

In Tabasco, the Spaniards learned about the great country of Mexico, which lay further to the west, inland, and this is how the name “Mexico” appeared. In July 1519, Cortez's expedition landed on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and the port of Veracruz was founded, 70 km north of the modern city. By this act, Cortes placed himself under direct subordination to the king. To avoid provoking a riot, Cortez ordered the ships to be burned. Leaving the garrison, Cortes moved inland. His first allies were the Totonac people, whose capital, Sempoala, Cortes entered without a fight. At a meeting of 30 leaders of the people, war was declared on the Aztecs. The majority of Cortez's army was now made up of allied Totonac tribes. A treaty was concluded with the Totonacs, under the terms of which, after the conquest of Mexico, the Totonacs received independence. This agreement was never respected.

On August 16, 1519, the Spaniards marched to Tenochtitlan. Cortes had 500 infantry, 16 knights and about 13 thousand Totonac warriors. The conquistadors found a strong ally in Tlaxcala, an independent mountain principality waging war with the Aztec Confederation. As a sign of the alliance, the leader of Tlaxcala gave Cortes his daughter Xicotencatl, whom the conqueror gave to Alvarado. Under the name of Luis de Tlaxcala, she accompanied Alvarado on all his campaigns. Cortez's army was replenished with approximately 3,000 Tlaxcalans. Tlaxcala became the main support of Spanish rule in Mexico, and its people did not pay taxes until the overthrow of the Spanish colonial regime.

Massacre at Cholula. Indian image

The Spaniards entered Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519, and were kindly greeted by the Aztec Tlatoani, Montezuma II. Montezuma awarded Cortez with many gold jewelry, which only strengthened the Spaniards' desire to take possession of this country. Cortez claimed in his reports that local residents mistook his soldiers and himself for messengers of the god Quetzalcoatl, so at first they did not resist. This version is disputed by modern historians. Soon, Indian messengers reported that the garrison of Veracruz was attacked, after which Cortes apparently decided to take the Aztec ruler hostage.

The Spaniards and Tlaxcalan allies settled in one of the royal residences, where the state treasury was soon discovered. Montezuma was persuaded to take an oath of allegiance to Charles V, leaving him in the Spanish residence. After six months of uncertainty, Cortez received news that Velazquez had sent a detachment of Panfilo de Narvaez to Mexico on 18 ships with orders to arrest Cortez and take him to Cuba. The situation was becoming critical: Cortes left Lieutenant Alvarado as commandant of the city with a hundred soldiers, and he himself went to Veracruz with a detachment of 300 people. (Spanish chroniclers did not like to indicate the number of allied Indians.) He managed to bribe the warriors of Narvaez, and with a significantly strengthened army, the conquerors returned to the Valley of Mexico City.

"Night of Sorrow" and the fall of Tenochtitlan

Alvarado, in the absence of Cortes, pursued a very tough policy, killing many representatives of the Aztec aristocracy during a religious holiday for no apparent reason. The traditional version - robbery - does not stand up to criticism. The Aztecs chose a new tlatoani - Cuitlahuaca, and began to prepare for war with the Spaniards. On June 24, 1520, Cortes returned to the city. At the height of the crisis, under unclear circumstances, Montezuma died (June 27 or 30, 1520). The Spaniards claimed that Montezuma was killed by rebel Indians; Indian sources and modern authors believe that Montezuma, no longer needed by the Spaniards as a hostage, was killed by them.

The bloody retreat of the Spaniards on the night of July 1 was called the “Night of Sorrow.” All artillery was lost, all the gold looted in Tenochtitlan. The exact scale of losses is difficult to establish: the maximum figures were given by Bernal Diaz - about 1000 Spaniards died, according to Cortez - no more than 150 people. Cortez writes very little about the “Night of Sorrow” in his report: one gets the impression that he was unpleasant to remember these events. Lieutenant Alvarado showed particular heroism.

A very controversial point of the conquest is the so-called. “Battle of Otumba” July 7, 1520, which modern historians tend to attribute to the mythology of the conquest. According to the official version, the Aztecs organized a pursuit, but the Spaniards defeated the Indian army. Cortez's bloodless detachment was warmly received in Tlaxcala, where preparations began for a proper siege of Tenochtitlan. The position of the Spaniards was greatly strengthened by the epidemics of influenza and smallpox brought by the Spaniards to Mexico. Cuitlauac died of smallpox, and Cuauhtémoc (Descent Eagle - Nahuatl) was elected the last ruler of the Aztecs. In Tlaxcala, reinforcements arrived from Cuba to Cortes, artillery appeared, and the construction of a fleet began. Disassembled ships were delivered by Indian porters to the coast of Lake Texcoco. In May 1521, the siege of Tenochtitlan began, cut off from food supplies and sources of fresh water. The help of Indian allies from Tlaxcala, Texcoco, Huexotzinco, Cholula and other places played an invaluable role: Cortes himself indicates in the “Third Letter of Message” that their number reached 150 thousand: “We were about nine hundred Spaniards, and there were more than one hundred and fifty thousand of them.” " At the same time, the city-states of the Valley of Mexico, allied with the Aztecs, were subjugated. During this period, Cortés discovered the plot of Villafana, who was forced to hang himself. In August 1521, the assault on the city began. On August 13, after the capture of the last Tlatoani, Cuauhtémoc, the Aztec state fell. Until 1524, Cortes ruled Mexico alone.

Ruler of Mexico

As a result of a fierce struggle with Velazquez and his patron Bishop Fonseca, Cortes won, and in October 1522 he was awarded the rank of captain general of the newly formed colony of New Spain Sea-Ocean (the corresponding documents, signed in Valladolid, were announced in Cuba in May of the following year ). Along with the royal decree in the summer of 1523, four royal officials arrived, designed to organize the administrative system and limit Cortez's ambitions. During this period, Cortes supervised extensive construction: the new city of Mexico City was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, which became the main center of Spanish possessions in the New World. Large church construction was carried out: according to rumors transmitted by Gomara, Cortes vowed to build 365 temples on the ruins of pagan pyramids so that they could be used all year round. Cortes began to send his officers to conquer other peoples and states of Central America: for example, Alvarado was sent to Guatemala. Cortez began the production of cane sugar in Mexico and began to import African blacks to work on the plantations.

In 1523, the king sent Juan de Garay to conquer Northern Mexico without informing Cortez about it. Cortez forced Garay to abandon his conquests (during negotiations with Cortez in Mexico City in December 1523, Garay died allegedly from pneumonia, although Cortez was accused of this murder), nevertheless, Cortez decided to leave Mexico City, going on an expedition to punish Cristobal de Olida, who had been sent earlier by Cortes to conquer Honduras, but, having conspired with the Cuban governor Velazquez, withdrew from submission to Cortes (1524-1526). Due to the constant military danger and conspiracies arising among his inner circle, Cortes showed increasing cruelty. He ordered the torture and execution of Cuauhtemoc, the last ruler of the Aztecs, in 1525, and also intended to march on Cuba and deal with Velazquez (he died in 1524). Such ill-considered decisions prompted King Charles V to remove Cortez from office, and just a month after returning from a campaign in Honduras, at the end of June 1526, Juan Ponce de Leon II (son of the discoverer of Florida), who had previously exposed the crimes of Cortez, arrived in Mexico City. At one time he secured an appointment to the post of governor of New Spain. However, after a very short time the new governor died (later Cortez was accused of poisoning him), the next rulers, Marcos de Aguilar and Alonso de Estrada, also treated Cortez with hostility, and at the end of 1527 Cortez was forced to leave Mexico to go to Spain and report on its activities.

Map of California in the 17th century. The territory is depicted as an island

Visit to Spain and return to Mexico

In 1539, de Ulloa called the Gulf of California the Sea of Cortez, but this name was not established.

Return to Europe. last years of life

In 1541, another trial related to abuse of power forced Cortes to return to Spain. His position changed: he barely managed to achieve a royal audience. Legend has it that, overwhelmed by the crowd of courtiers, Cortez broke through and hung on the running board of the royal carriage. To the king’s indignant question: “Who are you?”, Cortes replied: “I am the man who gave Your Majesty more countries than your ancestors left you cities!”

In 1541, by order of the king, Cortes joined the campaign of the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria to conquer Algeria. Cortés attempted to capture the Algerian Pasha Hayretdin Barbarossa, but a strong storm nearly killed the entire Spanish force. The campaign turned out to be extremely unsuccessful militarily, and left Cortes with many debts, for he equipped the expedition with his own funds. In 1544, Cortes even filed a lawsuit with the royal treasury, but the legal proceedings dragged on until 1547 and did not produce results. Cortés tried to return to Mexico, but contracted dysentery and died near Seville on December 2, 1547 in the town of Castilleja de la Cuesta at the age of approximately 62 years. All these years, Cortes was accompanied by the priest Francisco Lopez de Gomara, who became his confessor and recorded the memories of the conqueror and the guests who visited him.

In his will, Cortez asked to be buried in Mexico, and also expressed a desire to give legal status to his mestizo children from Indian concubines, including his first-born, Martin Cortez, born of Malinche. It was done.

Personal life

Cortez had many affairs in Spain, and many Indian concubines in Mexico. His relationship with Malinche was highly romanticized in the 19th century.

Cortes was officially married twice: in Cuba he married Catalina Suarez Marzaida, who died in 1522 in Coyoacan. Their marriage was childless. In 1529, Cortés married Doña Juana Ramirez de Orellano de Zúñiga, daughter of Carlos Ramirez de Orellano, second Count of Aguillar. In this marriage he had six children:

Don Luis Cortes y Ramirez de Orellano, died in infancy in 1530.
Doña Catalina Cortes de Zúñiga, died after birth in 1531.
Don Martin Cortes y Ramirez de Orellana, born in 1532. He was married to his cousin de Orellana, this marriage was childless. It was Martin Cortes who inherited the title of Marquis del Valle. The work of Francisco Lopez de Gomar was dedicated to him.
Doña Maria de Cortes y Zúñiga, born between 1533 and 1537. She was married to the fifth Earl of Luna.
Doña Catalina de Cortes y Zúñiga, born between 1533 and 1536, died shortly after the death of her father in Seville.
Doña Juana de Cortes y Zúñiga, born between 1533 and 1536. She was married to the second Duke of Alcalá, and had issue.

Cortés left behind the following illegitimate descendants:

Don Martin Cortez, son of Malinche, originally adopted by Juan de Zúñiga, one of Cortez's officers. He was nicknamed “The First Mestizos”. His descendants still live in Mexico.
Don Luis Cortes, illegitimate son of Dona Antonia Hermosillo.
Doña Catalina Pizarro, daughter of Cortez's relative, Doña Leonor Pizarro.
Doña Leonor, mestizo, born from Montezuma’s eldest daughter, Doña Isabel de Montezuma (her descendants until the 19th century received a pension from the Spanish government).

Special mention should be made:

Doña Maria Cortes de Montezuma (b. 1510?), adopted by Cortes, daughter of Montezuma II.

Memory

Burial

Cortez bequeathed to bury him in Mexico, in the Hospital of Jesus of Nazareth in Mexico City. In total, his remains were reburied at least 8 times. From 1547 to 1550 he rested in Seville, in the monastery of San Isidoro, in the crypt of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia. In 1550 the remains were moved, but remained in the monastery. In 1566, Cortez's ashes were transferred to Mexico, to Texcoco, where, together with the remains of his daughter, they rested until 1629. From 1629 to 1716, Cortez rested in the monastery of San Francisco on the main square of Mexico City. Due to repair work, the ashes were also transferred in 1716, and only in 1794 was Cortez’s will fulfilled. In 1823, a campaign was launched in Mexico City to destroy the remains of Cortez, and on September 15, 1823, the tombstone was dismantled, but the ashes remained in place. In 1836, the remains were transferred to a special crypt in the same place. In 1947, the remains were opened and examined, which confirmed their authenticity. It was last reburied in 1981, after an Indian nationalist group threatened to destroy the remains. Since then, by order of President López Portillo, Cortés's burial place has been kept secret.

Controversial issues

Cortes did not stand out in any way until his conquest of Mexico, and only then did researchers become interested in his biography. The best source is Cortes's own letters, sent in the form of reports to the King of Spain, so the events described there are tendentiously covered. A fairly reliable source is the chronicle of Francisco Lopez de Gomar, written from the words of Cortes and his entourage in Spain. However, Gomara was a fan of chivalric romances and had never been to Mexico. The third most important source is the monumental work of an old soldier of Cortez's army - Bernal Diaz del Castillo, and it was written as a refutation of the work of Gomar, who overly idealized Cortez.

Bartolomé de las Casas, with whom Cortes communicated in Spain, wrote sharply negatively about Cortez and considered him an excellent interlocutor. It was de Las Casas who laid the foundation for the “black legend”, which accused the conquistadors of every conceivable crime against humanity. Indian sources cited in the chronicle of Bernardino de Sahagun also do not describe Cortes in the best light. As a result, all modern works about Cortez are clearly divided into two directions: in the first, he appears as a romantic hero-conqueror, in the second type of research - almost a fiend of hell.

The attitude towards Cortez in modern Mexico is extremely contradictory: although he is cursed by the natives of America, he is nevertheless revered. There are many monuments to Cortes in the country; at least two settlements bear his name.

It is hardly possible at the present time to write an impartial portrait of the conquistador. However, one should take into account Cortez's generally respectful attitude towards the Indians: he adopted Montezuma's youngest daughter, and built a castle for her descendants in Spain, which has survived to this day. He supported the Mexican Indians in their struggle against the encomienda. Cortes had no physical aversion to the Indians, and he duly respected them as combat opponents.

Sources and literature