The names Hernan, Hernando and Fernando are all equally correct. The latter two were most commonly used during his lifetime, but the former shortened form has become common in both the Spanish and English languages in modern times, and is the name which many people know him by today. [1] Early life Cortes was born in Medellin, in the province of Extremadura, in the Kingdom of Castile in Spain in 1485.
His father, Martin Cortes de Monroy, born in 1449 to Rodrigo or Ruy Fernandez de Monroy and his wife Maria Cortes, was an infantry captain of distinguished ancestry but slender means. Hernan’s mother was Catalina Pizarro Altamirano. Through his mother, Hernan was the second cousin once removed of Francisco Pizarro, who later conquered the Inca Empire of modern-day Peru (not to be confused with another Francisco Pizarro who joined Cortes to conquer the Aztecs), through her parents Diego Altamirano and wife and cousin Leonor Sanchez Pizarro Altamirano, first cousin of Pizarro’s father. Through his father, Hernan was a twice distant relative of Nicolas de Ovando y Caceres, the third Governor of Hispaniola. His paternal grandfather was a son of Rodrigo de Monroy y Almaraz, 5th Lord of Monroy, and wife Mencia de Orellana y Carvajal. Hernan Cortes is described as a pale, sickly child by his biographer, chaplain, and friend Francisco Lopez de Gomara. At the age of 14, Cortes was sent to study at the University of Salamanca in west-central Spain. This was Spain’s great center of learning, and while accounts vary as to the nature of Cortes’ studies, his later writings and actions suggest he studied Law and probably Latin.
After two years, Cortes, tired of schooling, returned home to Medellin, much to the irritation of his parents, who had hoped to see him equipped for a profitable legal career. However, those two years at Salamanca, plus his long period of training and experience as a notary, first in Seville and later in Hispaniola, would give him a close acquaintance with the legal codes of Castile that helped him to justify his unauthorized conquest of Mexico. [citation needed] At this point in his life, Cortes was described by Gomara as restless, haughty and mischievous. 3] This was probably a fair description of a 16-year-old boy who had returned home only to find himself frustrated by life in his small provincial town. By this time, news of the exciting discoveries of Columbus in the New World was streaming back to Spain. Departure for the New World Plans were made for Cortes to sail to the Americas with a family acquaintance and distant relative, Nicolas de Ovando y Caceres, the newly appointed governor of Hispaniola (currently Haiti and the Dominican Republic), but an injury he sustained while hurriedly escaping from the bedroom of a married woman from Medellin, prevented him from making the journey.
Instead, he spent the next year wandering the country, probably spending most of his time in the heady atmosphere of Spain’s southern ports of Cadiz, Palos, Sanlucai and Seville, listening to the tales of those returning from the Indies, who told of discovery and conquest, gold, Indians and strange unknown lands[citation needed]. He finally left for Hispaniola in 1504 where he became a colonist. [4] Arrival
Cortes did not arrive in the “New World” until he finally succeeded in reaching Hispaniola in a ship commanded by Alonso Quintero, who tried to deceive his superiors and reach the New World before them in order to secure personal advantages. Quintero’s mutinous conduct may have served as a model for Cortes in his subsequent career. The history of the conquistadores is rife with accounts of rivalry, jockeying for positions, mutiny and betrayal. [5] Upon his arrival in 1504 in Santo Domingo, the capital of Hispaniola, the 18-year-old Cortes registered as a citizen, which entitled him to a building plot and land to farm.
Soon afterwards, Nicolas de Ovando, still the governor, gave him a repartimiento of Indians and made him a notary of the town of Azua de Compostela. His next five years seemed to help establish him in the colony; in 1506, Cortes took part in the conquest of Hispaniola and Cuba, receiving a large estate of land and Indian slaves for his efforts from the leader of the expedition. In Cuba In 1511, Cortes had recovered from syphilis and accompanied Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, an aide of the Governor of Hispaniola, in his expedition to conquer Cuba. Velazquez was appointed as governor.
At the age of 26, Cortes was made clerk to the treasurer with the responsibility of ensuring that the Crown received the quinto, or customary one-fifth of the profits from the expedition. The Governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez, was so impressed with Cortes that he secured a high political position for him in the colony. Cortes continued to build a reputation as a daring and bold leader. He became secretary for Governor Velazquez. Cortes was twice appointed municipal magistrate (alcalde) of Santiago. In Cuba, Cortes became a man of substance with a repartimiento (gift of land and Indian slaves), mines and cattle.
This new position of power also made him the new source of leadership, which opposing forces in the colony could then turn to. In 1514, Cortes led a group which demanded that more Indians be assigned to the settlers. As time went on, relations between Cortes and Governor Velazquez became strained. [citation needed] This all began once news of Juan de Grijalva, establishing a colony on the mainland where there was a lot of silver and gold, reached Velazquez; it was decided to send him help. Cortes was appointed Captain-General of this new expedition in October 1518, but was advised to move fast before Velazquez changed his mind.
With Cortes’experience as an administrator, knowledge gained from many failed expeditions, and his impeccable rhetoric he was able to gather six ships and 300 men, within a month. Predictably, Velazquez’s jealousy exploded and decided to place the leadership of the expedition in other hands. However, Cortes quickly gathered more men and ships in other Cuban ports. Cortes also found time to become romantically involved with Catalina Xuarez (or Juarez), the sister-in-law of Governor Velazquez. Part of Velazquez’ displeasure seems to have been based on a belief that Cortes was trifling with Catalina’s affections.
Cortes was temporarily distracted by one of Catalina’s sisters but finally married Catalina, reluctantly, under pressure from Governor Velazquez. However, by doing so, he hoped to secure the good will of both her family and that of Velazquez. [6] It was not until he had been almost 15 years in the Indies, that Cortes began to look beyond his substantial status as mayor of the capital of Cuba and as a man of affairs in the thriving colony. He missed the first two expeditions, under the orders of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba and then Juan de Grijalva, sent by Diego Velazquez to Mexico in 1518.
Conquest of Mexico Main article: Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire Map depicting Cortes’ invasion route In 1518 Velazquez put him in command of an expedition to explore and secure the interior of Mexico for colonization. At the last minute, due to the old gripe between Velazquez and Cortes, he changed his mind and revoked his charter. Cortes ignored the orders and went ahead anyway, in February 1519, in an act of open mutiny. Accompanied by about 11 ships, 500 men, 13 horses and a small number of cannons, he landed in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mayan territory. 7] There, he met Geronimo de Aguilar, a Spaniard who had survived from a shipwreck and joined the troops. [7] Geronimo de Aguilar, a Franciscan priest, had learned Maya during his captivity, and could thus translate for Cortes. In March 1519, Cortes formally claimed the land for the Spanish crown. He stopped in Trinidad to hire more soldiers and obtain more horses. Then he proceeded to Tabasco and won a battle against the natives, who did not want to welcome the Spaniards, during which time he received from the vanquished twenty young indigenous women and he converted them all. 8] Among these women was La Malinche, his future mistress and mother of his child Martin. Malinche knew both the (Aztec) Nahuatl language and Maya, thus enabling Hernan Cortes to communicate in both. She became a very valuable interpreter and counselor. Through her help, Cortes learned from the Tabascans about the wealthy Aztec Empire and its riches. In July 1519, his men took over Veracruz: by this act, Cortes dismissed the authority of the Governor of Cuba to place himself directly under the orders of Charles V. [7] In order to eliminate any ideas of retreat, Cortes scuttled his ships.
In Veracruz, he met some of Moctezuma’s tributaries and asked them to arrange a meeting with Moctezuma. Moctezuma repeatedly turned down the meeting, but Cortes was determined. Leaving a hundred men in Veracruz, Cortes marched on Tenochtitlan in mid-August 1519, along with 600 men, 15 horsemen, 15 cannons, and hundreds of indigenous carriers and warriors. [7] On the way to Tenochtitlan, Cortes made alliances with native American tribes such as the Nahuas of Tlaxcala, the Tlaxcaltec, who surrounded the Spanish and about 2,000 porters onto of a hilltop and the Totonacs of Cempoala.
In October 1519, Cortes and his men, accompanied by about 3,000 Tlaxcalteca, marched to Cholula, the second largest city in central Mexico. Cortes, either in a pre-meditated effort to instill fear upon the Aztecs waiting for him at Tenochtitlan or (as he later claimed when under investigation) wishing to make an example when he feared native treachery, infamously massacred thousands of unarmed members of the nobility gathered at the central plaza, then partially burned the city. By the time he arrived in Tenochtitlan the Spaniards had a large army.
On November 8, 1519, they were peacefully received by the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II, due to Mexican tradition and diplomatic customs. Moctezuma deliberately let Cortes enter the heart of the Aztec Empire, hoping to get to know their weaknesses better and to crush them later. [7] He gave lavish gifts in gold to the Spaniards which enticed them to plunder vast amounts of gold. In his letters to Charles V, Cortes claimed to have learned at this point that he was considered by the Aztecs to be either an emissary of the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl or Quetzalcoatl himself — a belief which has been contested by a few modern historians. 9] But quickly Cortes learned that Spaniards on the coast had been attacked, and decided to take Moctezuma as a hostage in his own palace, requesting him to swear allegiance to Charles V. Meanwhile, Velasquez sent another expedition, led by Panfilo de Narvaez, to oppose Cortes, arriving in Mexico in April 1520 with 1,100 men. [7] Cortes left 200 men in Tenochtitlan and took the rest to confront Narvaez. He overcame Narvaez, despite his numerical inferiority, and convinced the rest of Narvaez’s men to join him. [7] In Mexico, one of Cortes’ lieutenants Pedro de Alvarado, committed a massacre in the Main Temple, triggering a local rebellion.
Cortes speedily returned to Mexico and proposed an armistice, attempting to support himself on Moctezuma, but the latter was stoned to death by his subjects on July 1, 1520 and Cortes decided to flee for Tlaxcala. During the Noche Triste (30 June-1 July 1520), the Spaniards managed a narrow escape from Tenochtitlan across the causeway, while their backguard was being massacred. Much of the treasure looted by Cortes was lost (as well as his artillery) during this panicked escape from Tenochtitlan. [7] After a battle in Otumba, they managed to reach Tlaxcala, after having lost 870 men. 7] With the assistance of their allies, Cortes’ men finally prevailed with reinforcements arriving from Cuba. Cortes began a policy of attrition towards the island city of Tenochtitlan cutting off supplies and subduing the Aztecs’ allied cities thus changing the balance and organizing the siege of Tenochtitlan, destroying the city. In January 1521, Cortes countered a conspiracy against him, headed by Villafana, who was hanged. [7] Finally, with the capture of Cuauhtemoc, the Tlatoani (ruler) of Tenochtitlan, on 13 August 1521, the Aztec Empire disappeared, and Cortes was able to claim it for Spain, thus renaming the city Mexico City.
From 1521 to 1524, Cortes personally governed Mexico. [7] Appointment to governorship of Mexico and internal dissensions A painting from Diego Munoz Camargo’s History of Tlaxcala (Lienzo Tlaxcala), c. 1585, showing La Malinche and Hernan Cortes. Many historical sources have conveyed an impression that Cortes was unjustly treated by the Spanish Crown, and that he received nothing but ingratitude for his role in establishing New Spain. This picture is the one Cortes presents in his letters and in the later biography written by Gomara.
However, there may be more to the picture than this. Cortes’ own greed and vanity may have played a part in his deteriorating position with the king “Cortes personally was not ungenerously rewarded, but he speedily complained of insufficient compensation to himself and his comrades. Thinking himself beyond reach of restraint, he disobeyed many of the orders of the Crown, and, what was more imprudent, said so in a letter to the emperor, dated October 15, 1524 (Ycazbalceta, “Documentos para la Historia de Mexico”, Mexico, 1858, I).
In this letter Cortes, besides recalling in a rather abrupt manner that the conquest of Mexico was due to him alone, deliberately acknowledges his disobedience in terms which could not fail to create a most unfavourable impression. “[10] King Charles I of Spain, who had become Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1519, appointed Cortes as governor, captain general and chief justice of the newly conquered territory, dubbed “New Spain of the Ocean Sea”. But also, much to the dismay of Cortes, four royal officials were appointed at the same time to assist him in his governing — in effect submitting him to close observation and administration.
Cortes initiated the construction of Mexico City, destroying Aztec temples and buildings and then rebuilding on the Aztec ruins what soon became the most important European city in the Americas. Cortes managed the founding of new cities and appointed men to extend Spanish rule to all of New Spain, imposing the encomienda land tenure system in 1524. [7] He also supported efforts to evangelize the indigenous people to Christianity and sponsored new explorations. He then spent the next seven years establishing peace mong the Indians of Mexico and developing mines and farmlands. Cortes was one of the first Spaniards to attempt to grow sugar in Mexico and one of the first to import African slaves to early colonial Mexico. At the time of his death his estate contained at least 200 slaves who were either native Africans or of African descent. [citation needed] In 1523, the Crown (possibly influenced by Cortes’ enemy, Bishop Fonseca[11]), sent a military force under the command of Juan de Garay to conquer and settle the northern part of Mexico, the region of Panuco.
This was another setback for Cortes who mentioned this in his fourth letter to the King in which he describes himself as the victim of a conspiracy by his archenemies Diego Velazquez, Diego Columbus and Bishop Fonseca as well as Juan Garay. The influence of Garay was effectively stopped by this appeal to the King who sent out a decree forbidding Garay to interfere in the politics of New Spain, causing him to give up without a fight. From 1524 to 1526, Cortes headed an expedition to Honduras where he defeated Cristobal de Olid, who had claimed Honduras as his own under the influence of the Governor of Cuba Diego Velazquez.
Fearing that Cuauhtemoc might head an insurrection in Mexico, he brought him with him in Honduras and hanged him during the journey. Raging over Olid’s treason, Cortes issued a decree to arrest Velazquez, whom he was sure was behind Olid’s treason. This, however, only served to further estrange the Crown of Castile and the Council of Indies, both of which were already beginning to feel anxious about Cortes’ rising power. [12] The crest awarded to Cortes, by Charles V
Cortes’s fifth letter to Charles V attempts to justify his conduct, concludes with a bitter attack on “various and powerful rivals and enemies” who have “obscured the eyes of your Majesty. ”[13] Unfortunately, the Holy Roman Emperor had little time for distant colonies (much of Charles’s reign was taken up with wars with France, the German Protestants and the expanding Ottoman Empire),[14] except insofar as they contributed to finance his wars. In 1521, year of the Conquest, Charles V was attending to matters in his German domains and Spain was ruled by Bishop (later Pope) Adrian of Utrecht, who functioned as regent.
Velazquez and Fonseca persuaded the regent to appoint a commissioner with powers, (a Juez de residencia, Luis Ponce de Leon), to investigate Cortes’s conduct and even arrest him. Cortes was once quoted as saying that it was “more difficult to contend against (his) own countrymen than against the Aztecs. “[citation needed] Governor Diego Velazquez continued to be a thorn in his side, teaming up with Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, chief of the Spanish colonial department, to undermine him in the Council of the Indies.
A few days after Cortes’ return from his expedition, Ponce de Leon suspended Cortes from his office of governor of New Spain. The Licentiate then fell ill and died shortly after his arrival, appointing Marcos de Aguilar as alcalde mayor. The aged Aguilar also became sick and appointed Alonso de Estrada governor, who was confirmed in his functions by a royal decree in August 1527. Cortes, suspected of poisoning them, refrained from taking over the government. Estrada sent Diego de Figueroa to the south; but de Figueroa raided graveyards and extorted contributions, meeting his end when the ship carrying these treasures sunk.
Albornoz persuaded Alonso de Estrada to release Salazar and Chirinos. When Cortes complained angrily after one of his adherent’s hand was cut off, Estrada ordered him exiled. Cortes sailed for Spain in 1528 to appeal to Emperor Charles V. First return to Spain (1528) In 1528, Cortes returned to Spain to appeal to the justice of his master, Charles V. He presented himself with great splendor before the court. By this time Charles V had returned and Cortes forthrightly responded to his enemy’s charges.
Denying he had held back on gold due the crown, he showed that he had contributed more than the quinto (one-fifth) required. Indeed, he had spent lavishly to rebuild Tenochtitlan, damaged during the siege that brought down the Aztec empire. He was received by Charles with every distinction, and decorated with the order of Santiago. In return for his efforts in expanding the still young Spanish Empire, Cortes was rewarded in 1529 by being named the “Marques del Valle de Oaxaca” (Marquis of the Oaxaca Valley), a noble title and senorial estate which was passed down to his descendants until 1811.
The Oaxaca Valley was one of the wealthiest region of New Spain, and Cortes had 23 000 vassals. [7] Although confirmed in his land holdings and vassals, he was not reinstated as governor and was never again given any important office in the administration of New Spain. During his travel to Spain, his property was mismanaged by abusive colonial administrators. He sided with local Indians in a lawsuit. The Indians documented the abuses in the Huexotzinco Codex. Return to Mexico Emperor Charles V with Hound (1532), a painting by the 16th century artist Jakob Seisenegger.
Cortes returned to Mexico in 1530 with new titles and honors, but with diminished power, a viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, having been entrusted in 1535 with the administration of civil affairs, although Cortes still retained military authority, with permission to continue his conquests. This division of power led to continual dissension, and caused the failure of several enterprises in which Cortes was engaged. On returning to Mexico, Cortes found the country in a state of anarchy.
There was a strong suspicion in court circles of an intended rebellion by Cortes, and a charge was brought against him that cast a fatal blight upon his character and plans. He was accused of murdering his first wife. The proceedings of the investigation were kept secret. No report, either exonerating or condemning Cortes, was published. Had the Government declared him innocent, it would have greatly increased his popularity; had it declared him a criminal, a crisis would have been precipitated by the accused and his party. Silence was the only safe policy, but that silence is suggestive that grave danger was feared from his influence.
After reasserting his position and reestablishing some sort of order, Cortes retired to his estates at Cuernavaca, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Mexico City. There he concentrated on the building of his palace and on Pacific exploration. Remaining in Mexico between 1530 and 1541, Cortes quarreled with Nuno Beltran de Guzman and disputed the right to explore the territory that is today California with Antonio de Mendoza, the first viceroy. In 1536, Cortes explored the northwestern part of Mexico and discovered the Baja California Peninsula. Cortes also spent time exploring the Pacific coast of Mexico.
The Gulf of California was originally named the Sea of Cortes by its discoverer Francisco de Ulloa in 1539. This was the last major expedition by Cortes. Later life and death Second return to Spain After his exploration of Baja California, Cortes returned to Spain in 1541, hoping to confound his angry civilians, who had brought many lawsuits against him (for debts, abuse of power, etc). [7] On his return he was utterly neglected, and could scarcely obtain an audience. On one occasion he forced his way through a crowd that surrounded the emperor’s carriage, and mounted on the footstep.
The emperor, astounded at such audacity, demanded of him who he was. “I am a man,” replied Cortes proudly, “who has given you more provinces than your ancestors left you cities. “[15][16] Expedition against Algiers Main article: Algiers expedition (1541) The emperor finally permitted Cortes to join himself and his fleet commanded by Andrea Doria at the great expedition against Algiers in the Barbary Coast in 1541, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire and was used as a base by the famous Turkish corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa who was also the Admiral-in-Chief of the Ottoman Fleet.
During this unfortunate campaign, which was his last, Cortes was almost drowned in a storm that hit his fleet while he was pursuing Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, who managed to defeat the fleet of Charles V for a second time after the 1538 Battle of Preveza. [17] Last years Having spent a great deal of his own money to finance expeditions, he was now heavily in debt. In February 1544 he made a claim on the royal treasury, but was given a royal runaround for the next three years. Disgusted, he decided to return to Mexico in 1547. When he reached Seville, he was stricken with dysentery.
He died in Castilleja de la Cuesta, Seville province, on December 2, 1547, from a case of pleurisy at the age of 62. Like Columbus, he died a wealthy but embittered man. He left his many mestizo and white children well cared for in his will, along with every one of their mothers. He requested in his will that his remains eventually be buried in Mexico. Before he died he had the Pope remove the “natural” status of three of his children (legitimizing them in the eyes of the church), including Martin, the son he had with Dona Marina (also known as La Malinche), said to be his favourite.
After his death his body has been moved more than eight times for several reasons. On December 4 1547 he was buried in the mausoleum of the Duke of Medina in the church of San Isidoro del Campo, Sevilla. Three years later (1550) due to the space being required by the duke, his body was moved to the altar of Santa Catarina in the same church. In his testament, Cortes asked his body to be buried in the monastery he had ordered to be built in Coyoacan in Mexico, ten years after his death, but the monastery was never built.
So in 1566, his body was sent to New Spain and buried in the church of “San Francisco de Texcoco”, where his mother and one of his sisters were buried. In 1629 “Don Pedro Cortes fourth “Marquez del Valle” his last male descendant died , so the viceroy decided to move the bones of Cortes along with those of his descendant to the Franciscan church in Mexico. This was delayed for nine years, while his body stayed in the main room of the palace of the viceroy. Eventually it was moved the Sagrario of Franciscan church, where it stayed for 87 years.
In 1716 it was moved to another place in the same church. In 1794 his bones were moved to the “Hospital de Jesus” (founded by Cortes), where a statue by Tolsa and a mausoleum were made. There was a public ceremony and all the churches in the city rang their bells. In 1823, after the independence of Mexico, it seemed imminent that his body would be desecrated, so the mausoleum was removed, the statue and the coat of arms were sent to Palermo in Sicily, Italy to be protected by the Duke of Terranova. The bones were hidden, and everyone thought that they had been sent out of Mexico.
In 1836 his bones were moved to another place in the same building. It was not until 1947 that they were rediscovered thanks to the discovery of a secret document by Lucas Alaman. His body put in charge of the “Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia” INAH; it was authenticated and then restored to the same place, this time with a bronze inscription and his coat of arms. [18] In 1981, when a copy of the bust by Tolsa was put in the church, there was a failed attempt to destroy his bones. Children This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010) Natural children of Hernan Cortes dona Catalina Pizarro, born between 1514 and 1515 in Santiago de Cuba or maybe later in Nueva Espana, daughter of dona Leonor Pizarro, perhaps relative of Cortes. don Martin Cortes, born in Coyoacan in 1522, son of dona Marina (La Malinche), called the First Mestizo; about him was written The New World of Martin Cortes; married dona Bernaldina de Porras and had two hildren: dona Ana Cortes don Fernando Cortes, Principal Judge of Veracruz. Descendants of this line are alive today in Mexico. don Luis Cortes, born in 1525, son of dona Antonia or Elvira Hermosillo. dona Leonor Cortes de Moctezuma, born in 1527 in Ciudad de Mexico, daughter of Aztec princess Tecuichpotzin (baptized Isabel), born in Tenochtitlan on July 11, 1510 and died on July 9, 1550, the eldest legitimate daughter of Moctezuma II Xocoyotzin and wife dona Maria Miahuaxuchitl; married to Juan de Tolosa, a miner. ona Maria Cortes de Moctezuma, daughter of an Aztec princess; nothing more is know about her except that she probably was born with some deformity.
He married twice: firstly in Cuba to Catalina Juarez Marcaida, who died at Coyoacan in 1522 without issue, and secondly in 1529 to dona Juana Ramirez de Arellano de Zuniga, daughter of don Carlos Ramirez de Arellano, 2nd Count of Aguilar and wife the Countess dona Juana de Zuniga, and had: don Luis Cortes y Ramirez de Arellano, born in Texcoco in 1530 and died shortly after his birth. dona Catalina Cortes de Zuniga, born in Cuernavaca in 1531 and died shortly after her birth. on Martin Cortes y Ramirez de Arellano, 2nd Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, born in Cuernavaca in 1532, married at Nalda on February 24, 1548 his twice cousin once removed dona Ana Ramirez de Arellano y Ramirez de Arellano and had issue, currently extinct in male line dona Maria Cortes de Zuniga, born in Cuernavaca between 1533 and 1536, married to don Luis de Quinones y Pimentel, 5th Count of Luna dona Catalina Cortes de Zuniga, born in Cuernavaca between 1533 and 1536, died unmarried in Sevilla after the funeral of her father dona Juana Cortes de Zuniga, born in Cuernavaca between 1533 and 1536, married Don Fernando Enriquez de Ribera y Portocarrero, 2nd Duke of Alcala de los Gazules, 3rd Marquess of Tarifa and 6th Count of Los Molares, and had issue Disputed interpretation of his life
There are relatively few sources to the early life of Cortes; his fame arose from his participation in the conquest of Mexico and it was only after this that people became interested in reading and writing about him. Probably the best source is his letters to the king which he wrote during the campaign in Mexico, but they are written with the specific purpose of putting his efforts in a favourable light and so must be read critically. Another main source is the biography written by Cortes’ private chaplain Lopez de Gomara, which was written in Spain several years after the conquest. Gomara never set foot in the Americas and knew only what Cortes had told him, and he had an affinity for knightly romantic stories which he incorporated richly in the biography.
The third major source is written as a reaction to what its author calls “the lies of Gomara”, the account written by the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo does not paint Cortes as a romantic hero but rather tries to emphasize that also Cortes’ men should be remembered as important participants in the undertakings in Mexico. In the years following the conquest also more critical accounts of the Spanish arrival in Mexico were written. The Dominican friar Bartolome de Las Casas wrote his A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies in which he raised strong accusations of brutality, and heinous violence towards the Indians against the conquistadors in general and Cortes in particular. The accounts of the conquest given in the Florentine Codex by the Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagun and his native informants are also less than flattering towards Cortes.
The result of the scarce sources to the life of Cortes has been sharp divisions in the description of Cortes’ personality and a tendency to describe him as either a vicious and ruthless person or a noble and honorable cavalier. Representations in Mexico Monument in Mexico City commemorating the encounter of Cortes and Motecuhzoma In Mexico there are few representations of Cortes. However, many landmarks still bear his name, from the castle in the city of Cuernavaca to some street names throughout the republic. The only authentic monuments are in Mexico City at the pass between the volcanoes Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl where Cortes took his soldiers on their march to Mexico City. It is known as the Paso de Cortes.
The muralist Diego Rivera painted several representation of him but the most famous, depicts him as a naked, powerful and ominous figure along with Malinche in a mural in the National Palace in Mexico City. In 1981, president Lopez Portillo tried to bring Cortes to public recognition. First, he made public a copy of the bust of Cortes made by Manuel Tolsa in the Hospital de Jesus Nazareno with an official ceremony, but soon a nationalist group tried to destroy it, so it had to be taken out ot the public. [19] Today the copy of bust is in the “Museo Nacional de Historia” in an obscure corner [20] while the original is in Napoles, Italy, in the Villa Pignatelli. Monument in Mexico City known as “Monumento al Mestizaje
Later, another monument, known as “Monumento al Mestizaje” by Julian Martinez y M. Maldonado (1982) was commissioned by Lopez Portillo to be put in the “Zocalo” (Main square) of Coyoacan, near the place of his country house, but it had to be removed to a little known park, the Jardin Xicotencatl, Barrio de San Diego Churubusco. The statue depicts Cortes, Malinche and their son. [21] There is another statue by Sebastian Aparicio, in Cuernavaca, was in a hotel “El casino de la selva”. Cortes is barely recognizable, so it sparked little interest. The hotel was closed to made a commercial center, and the statue was put out of public display by Costco the builder of the commercial center. [19] Writings – The Cartas de Relacion
Cortes’ personal account of the conquest of Mexico is narrated in his five letters addressed to Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. These five letters, or cartas de relacion, are Cortes’ only surviving writings. See “Letters and Dispatches of Cortes,” translated by George Folsom (New York, 1843); Prescott’s “Conquest of Mexico” (Boston, 1843); and Sir Arthur Helps’s “Life of Hernando Cortes” (London, 1871). [15] As one specialist describes them… “The Cartas de relacion have enjoyed an unequaled popularity among students of the Conquest of Mexico. Cortes was a good writer. His letters to the emperor, on the conquest, deserve to be classed among the best Spanish documents of the period.
They are, of course, coloured so as to place his own achievements in relief, but, withal, he keeps within bounds and does not exaggerate, except in matters of Indian civilization and the numbers of population as implied by the size of the settlements. Even there he uses comparatives only, judging from outward appearances and from impressions. Historians, sociologists, and political scientists use them to glean information about the Aztec Empire and the clash between the European and Indian cultures. However, as early as the 16th century doubt has been cast on the historicity of these Conquest accounts. It is generally accepted that Cortes does not write a true “history,” but rather combines history with fiction. That is to say, in his narrative Cortes manipulates reality in order to achieve his overarching purpose of gaining the favor of the king.
Cortes applies the classical rhetorical figure of evidentia as he crafts a powerful narrative full of “vividness” that moves the reader and creates a heightened sense of realism in his letters. “[citation needed] His first letter is lost, and the one from the municipality of Vera Cruz has to take its place. It was published for the first time in volume IV of “Documentos para la Historia de Espana”, and subsequently reprinted. The first carta de relacion is available online at [22] The Segunda Carta de Relacion, bearing the date of October 30, 1520, appeared in print at Seville in 1522. The “Carta tercera”, May 15, 1522, appeared at Seville in 1523.
The fourth, October 20, 1524, was printed at Toledo in 1525. The fifth, on the Honduras expedition, is contained in volume IV of the Documentos para la Historia de Espana. The important letter mentioned in the text has been published under the heading of Carta inedita de Cortes by Ycazbalceta. A great number of minor documents, either by Cortes or others, for or against him, are dispersed through the voluminous collection above cited and through the Coleccion de Documentos de Indias, as well as in the Documentos para la Historia de Mexico of Ycazbalceta. There are a number of reprints and translations of Cortes’s writings into various languages. [23][24]
