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Hernan Cortes in the Conquest of Mexico

"History is written by the winners" is an old adage that refers to the fact that the story of the "losers" in conflicts between civilizations, nations, or cultures is seldom told, at least on the same level of depth as the story of the winners. The case is no different when we look at the Conquest of Mexico, largely credited in Western (i.e. European) accounts of the conquest to Hernan Cortes de Monroy y Pizarro, better known as the Spanish conquistador Hernan or Hernando Cortes.

Hernan Cortes appears to have been marginal at best as a young man and student. After a sickly childhood and flunking out of the University of Salamanca, Cortes seems to have discovered a formerly hidden talent in soldiering.[1] The son of upper-class but down on their fortunes parents, Cortes may have been influenced for a life of adventure as a soldier by accounts of the New World that promised great adventures as well as great wealth. In his late teens, Cortes was to have served under esteemed military leader Gonzalo de Cordova, but sickness once again thwarted his ambitions and, being forced to remain in Valencia for a year, he was unable to serve under Cordova and suffered great poverty and hardship.[2] His family's fall from wealth and his own experiences with poverty made Cortes determined to become a man of wealth and rank on his expeditions in the New World.

Two other individuals came into Cortes' life that would significantly impact his future and lead to the expedition responsible for the fall of the Aztec Empire, the manipulative and ambition explorer Alonso Quintero and Diego Velasquez de Cuellar, the Governor of Cuba in the New World. Cortes' tutelage under Quintero led to his own insatiable ambition for material gain and power, while his experiences with Velasquez helped colonize Cuba and initiated a relationship between the two that would remain one of conflict and controversy throughout their lives. Cortes...

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Hernan Cortes in the Conquest of Mexico. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:03, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/2000677.html