Cortés was the son of Martín Cortés de Monroy and of Doña Catalina Pizarro Altamarino—names of ancient lineage. Cortés (full name Don Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca) was born in Medellín, in the province of Extremadura, in the Kingdom of Castile in Spain in 1485, to a family of lesser nobility, Cortés first served as a soldier in an expedition of Cuba led by Diego Velázquez in 1511.
He studied in Salamanca for a time but soon grew restless and left Spain in 1504 to explore the New World. In 1511 he sailed with Diego Velázquez to conquer Cuba. There Velázquez was appointed governor, and Cortés clerk to the treasurer.
In 1519 he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland, an expedition which he partly funded.
His enmity with the governor of Cuba Diego Velázquez resulted in the latter calling back the expedition in the last moment, an order which was ignored by Cortés in an act of disobedience. Cortés traveled to Mexico anyway, setting his sights on overthrowing ruler Montezuma II in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
Cortés arrived with around 500 men, 16 horses, and some cannon. He founded a small settlement that would eventually become the city of Veracruz. Montezuma II's messengers returned to the emperor with the terrifying reports of their encounter with the Spainards: their guns, horses, dogs and their lust for gold.
Hernan Cortés and his men landed on the Mexican coast on April of 1519. Montezuma II sent Cortés gifts of gold and chocolate to welcome the Spanish. Although Montezuma II did not trust Cortés, he also was worried that Cortés was the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. Aztec mythology said that Quetzalcoatl would come to Earth as a man and Cortés had arrived on Quetzalcoatl's birthday.
The Aztecs eventually drove the Spanish from Tenochtitlan, but Cortés returned to defeat the natives and take the city in 1521. Tenochtitlan at the time was one of greatest civilizations on earth. An Aztec city built on a lake with heigh pyramids along with a network of roads and bridges.
When the Governor of Cuba sent emissaries to arrest Cortés he fought them and won and used the extra troops as reinforcements. Instead he wrote letters directly to the king asking to be acknowledged for his successes instead of punished for mutiny.
Cortés continued to seek opportunities to gain wealth and land. He sent more expeditions out into new areas, including what is present-day Honduras. He spent much of his later years seeking recognition for his achievements and support from the Spanish royal court.
Cortés died in Spain on December 2, 1547.
Hernán Cortés
