CONQUISTADORS, ‘TLATOANIS’ AND A TRANSLATOR
Dec 27, 2019
4 minutes
HERNÁN CORTÉS
THE SOLDIER OF FORTUNE WHO DESTROYED A CIVILISATION
1485-1547 SPAIN
Born at Medellín in Estremadura, Spain, Cortés came from a family of minor nobility. Although he possibly trained as a lawyer at Salamanca he decided to become a soldier. He sailed to Hispaniola in 1506 before moving to Cuba in 1509 to become a gold miner. He earned a fortune but also had a reputation as a gambler and womaniser.
Juan de Grijalva’s expedition to Mexico encouraged Cortés’s own ambitions and he was appointed captain-general of a new exploratory expedition by the Cuba’s governor, Diego Velázquez. Cortés then exceeded his preparation brief and sailed before Velázquez could relieve him of command.
Once he landed in Mexico, Cortés scuttled his ships and claimed the
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