Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés, the first Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, lived from about 1485 until December 2, 1547. He was a Spanish conquistador, military leader, explorer, captain general, and author. He commanded the expedition that toppled the Aztec Empire and claimed much of what is now mainland Mexico for the King of Castile in the early 1500s. He belonged to the wave of Spanish explorers and conquerors who launched the first stage of colonization in the Americas.

Cortés was born in Medellín, Spain, into a family of minor nobility. Seeking adventure and wealth, he traveled to the New World. He spent time on Hispaniola and later Cuba, where he was granted an encomienda, giving him control over the labor of certain subjects. He briefly served as a magistrate in the second Spanish town founded on Cuba. In 1519, he was chosen to lead the third expedition to the mainland, helping to fund it himself. His conflict with Cuba’s governor, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, led to a last-minute order canceling the expedition, which Cortés ignored.

Once on the continent, Cortés formed alliances with some indigenous groups against others. He relied on a native woman, Doña Marina, as his interpreter; she later bore his first son. When the governor of Cuba sent men to arrest him, Cortés defeated them in battle and incorporated their troops into his own force. He wrote directly to the king, asking for recognition of his achievements rather than punishment for his mutiny. After conquering the Aztec Empire, he received the title Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, but the more prestigious role of viceroy went to a high-ranking nobleman, Antonio de Mendoza. Cortés returned to Spain in 1541 and died there of natural causes six years later.

In his own writings, Cortés always called himself Hernando Cortés. Until the 1900s, most writers used "Hernando" or "Fernando." For example, William H. Prescott’s 1843 book *Conquest of Mexico* referred to him as Hernando Cortés. During the 20th century, the standard spelling shifted to the shorter form "Hernán," which is now used in most modern biographies and encyclopedias.

There are three known portraits of Cortés made during his lifetime, though only copies survive. All show him in his later years. A detailed description of his appearance comes from Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s account of the conquest. The German artist Christoph Weiditz also included an illustration of him in his *Trachtenbuch*.

Cortés was born around 1485 in Medellín, Extremadura, a poor province in the Kingdom of Castile. His father, Martín Cortés, was an hidalgo of distinguished ancestry but limited means. Bartolomé de las Casas, who knew the father, described him as "a very poor and humble squire, although an Old Christian and they say a nobleman." His mother was Catalína Pizarro. Through her mother, Leonor Sanchez Pizarro, Hernán was a distant relative of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire.

According to his biographer and chaplain, Francisco López de Gómara, Cortés was pale and sickly as a child. At age 14, he was sent to study Latin under an uncle in Salamanca. Later historians mistakenly thought this meant he attended the University of Salamanca. After two years, he returned home to Medellín, disappointing his parents, who had hoped he would pursue a profitable legal career. However, his time in Salamanca, along with his training as a notary in Valladolid and later in Hispaniola, gave him knowledge of Castilian law, which he used to justify his unauthorized conquest of Mexico.

Gómara described the 16-year-old Cortés as ruthless, haughty, and mischievous. He felt confined by life in his small town. Around this time, news of Christopher Columbus’s discoveries in the New World was reaching Spain.

Plans were made for Cortés to sail to the Americas with Nicolás de Ovando, the new Governor of Hispaniola, but an injury prevented him. He spent the next year wandering, mostly in Spain’s southern ports of Cádiz, Palos, Sanlúcar, and Seville. He finally left for Hispaniola in 1504 and became a colonist.

Cortés arrived in Hispaniola on a ship commanded by Alonso Quintero, who tried to cheat his superiors by reaching the New World early for personal gain. Quintero’s mutinous behavior may have influenced Cortés later. In 1504, the 18-year-old Cortés registered as a citizen in Santo Domingo, the capital, which gave him a building plot and farmland. Governor Ovando soon granted him an encomienda and appointed him notary of the town of Azua de Compostela. Over the next five years, he established himself in the colony. In 1506, he took part in the conquests of Hispaniola and Cuba, and the expedition leader gave him a large estate and Taíno slaves.

In 1511, Cortés joined Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, an aide to the Governor of Hispaniola, on an expedition to conquer Cuba. Velázquez later became Governor of Cuba. At 26, Cortés was made clerk to the treasurer, responsible for ensuring the Crown received its share.