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Cortez, Conqueror of Mexico - 1519
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Cortez, Conqueror of Mexico - 1519 > 
Hernando Cortez was the Spanish conqueror of Mexico. He also wiped out the Aztec Empire. Cortez was born in 1485 in Medellin, Extremadura. His parents were of small Spanish nobility. In 1499, when Cortez was 14 he attended the University of Salamanca, at this university he studied law. Two years later in 1501 he gave up on his education and started to drift around. In 1504 he set sail for what is now the Dominican Republic to try his luck in the New World. In 1511, when he was 18, he joined an army under the command of Spanish soldier named Diego Velázquez and played a part the conquest of Cuba. Velázquez became the governor of Cuba, and Cortez was elected Mayor-Judge of Santiago. In 1518, Juan de Grijavlva discovered Mexico. Cortez convinced Velázquez to give command of an expedition to establish a colony in Mexico to him. But this expedition was canceled on suspicions of Cortez having intentions other than his orders. However, on February 19, 1519, with a force of 600 men, and less than 20 horses Cortez set sail for Mexico. He sailed up the coast of the Yucatán. In March 1519, Cortez landed in Mexico, and suppressed the town of Tabasco. This was where Cortez met his soon to be mistress Malinche. She became a guide and interpreter. After finding a better harbor north of San Juan, Cortez and his small force sailed there and established a town, La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz. To prevent any thought of retreat he burned his ships.
Cortez soon after this learned about the Aztec Empire. He marched his troops inland and forced an alliance with the Indians of Tlaxcala. Cortez began to impersonate Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was an ancient god who the Aztecs believed would eventually return. In November 1519, Montezuma II, the Aztec king, unable to organize resistance and curious of their intentions, failed to stop Cortez and his force from entering Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. Cortez established a headquarters inside Tenochtitlan.
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• http://ntap.k12.ca.us/whs/proj ... /history/cortez.html |
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Montezuma II, Emperor of the Aztecs
Moctezuma or Montezuma II was an Aztec ruler, leader of the Aztec Triple Alliance from c. 1502–1520. He is famous for being the ruler of the Aztec empire at the start of the Spanish conquest of Mexico... |
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