Hernán Cortés
Cortés was intelligent, courageous, ambitious, insubordinate, greedy, ruthless, and an inspiring leader—the quintessential conquistador. He established the Spanish empire (New Spain) in Mexico.
In 1511, Cortés joined the conquest of Cuba, and impressed the island’s first Governor, Diego Velázquez, who chose him for his secretary, appointed him mayor of Santiago (Cuba’s capital), and made him wealthy with vast encomiendas (land grants).
But Cortés wanted more. Much more.
In 1518, Velázquez asked Cortés to lead an expedition to explore the mainland, and Cortés saw his chance. Even though Velázquez quickly revoked the command (suspecting too late that his protégé was ungovernable), Cortés set off anyway. When Velázquez sent another force to arrest him, Cortés defeated it and incorporated the survivors into his own troops. To dispel any doubts about his goal (he intended not just to explore, but to conquer) and to ensure his soldiers’ loyalty, Cortés burned his ships.
Cortés thus chose to answer only to the King of Spain. He figured that, if he succeeded, the King would forgive, honor, and reward him. If he failed… . It was an outrageous gamble.
With his troops’ armor, horses, and swords, Cortés easily defeated the first Native tribes that opposed him; and, with the help of Malinche and the Aztecs’ insatiable need for tribute and human sacrifice, he made allies of the rest as he marched towards the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán.
Emperor Moctezuma II welcomed him into the city—either because he believed Cortés to be the reincarnation of the god Quetzalcoatl, or because he hoped to trick him—but Cortés struck first, capturing and holding him hostage, thus becoming the de facto ruler.
After one of Cortés lieutenants massacred a large group of Aztec nobles, however, a riot ensued. Cortés sent Moctezuma out to calm the enraged crowds, but they merely pelted Moctezuma with rocks, and he soon died—either from his wounds or from Cortés’ frustration.
The Spaniards fled the city, and Cortés barely escaped with his life. Many of his troops weren’t so lucky, some drowning, weighed down with stolen treasure. He regrouped his allies, laid siege to Tenochtitlán (allowing the disease the Spaniards had brought to wreak it’s havoc), and eventually vanquished the remaining defenders in 1521. Cortés now controlled the capital, and soon most of what would become Mexico.
As he had hoped, Cortés received only praise, titles, power and wealth from the King, at least at first; and he turned out to be an insightful ruler, establishing a strong base upon which New Spain would flourish. Relative to most other conquistadors, he treated the Natives quite well. He loved Malinche, after all. They revered him.
Nonetheless, due to his many jealous Spanish enemies (especially Velázquez), Cortés soon lost his position as Governor of Mexico. The first two successors both perished mysteriously, as did his first wife who’d failed to give him a son. While such untimely deaths were common back then, Cortés’ enemies eagerly propagated rumors of murder.
Cortés died a famous but debt-ridden, bitter man.
This is a selection from Ellison’s recently published book, Mexican Streets: Tales of Tragedy and Triumph, available at Handymail, Diane Pearl’s, and Amazon.
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