Hernan Cortes was relentless and persistent with conquering of the Aztecs. He nearly exterminated his own troops in an encounter with the Aztecs known as La Noche Triste. The book centers around three distinct phases in order for Cortes to conquer the indigenous people. There were the Aztec insurgency, Montezuma’s death, and the retreat from Tenochtitlan. Most of the time out numbered in battle, Cortes managed to defeat the Aztecs in less than two years, making it one of the greatest military campaigns in history.
Hernan Cortes was an ambitious and calculating Spanish conquistador who in 1519, set sail from Cuba at the request of Diego Velazquez, the governor of Cuba for Mexico as part of the expansion of the Spanish empire. He was also intent to spread Christianity among the indigenous people of this unexplored and mysterious part of the world. …show more content…
The son of a low-level hidalgo, (a member of Spanish or Portuguese nobility) Martin Cortes and Dona Catalina Pizarro Altimirano. Throughout his childhood he remained frail and sickly, being sent to Salamanca to begin university studies at the age of 14. This proved to be in vain and he returned home two years later. He did however, show a profound interest in diplomacy and politics, studying government, law and Latin. Later in life, he would be described by his secretary, Francisco Lopez de Gomara as, “Relentless, haughty, mischievous, and given to quarrelling”. (Levy, Buddy. Conquistador, p.3.) The motives of the Spanish Conquistadors were many, but mainly concentrated on six things, each of which would result in the conquering and building of the Spanish Empire. For the Spanish Conquistadors it was God, gold and
Hernan Cortes was an ambitious and calculating Spanish conquistador who in 1519, set sail from Cuba at the request of Diego Velazquez, the governor of Cuba for Mexico as part of the expansion of the Spanish empire. He was also intent to spread Christianity among the indigenous people of this unexplored and mysterious part of the world. …show more content…
The son of a low-level hidalgo, (a member of Spanish or Portuguese nobility) Martin Cortes and Dona Catalina Pizarro Altimirano. Throughout his childhood he remained frail and sickly, being sent to Salamanca to begin university studies at the age of 14. This proved to be in vain and he returned home two years later. He did however, show a profound interest in diplomacy and politics, studying government, law and Latin. Later in life, he would be described by his secretary, Francisco Lopez de Gomara as, “Relentless, haughty, mischievous, and given to quarrelling”. (Levy, Buddy. Conquistador, p.3.) The motives of the Spanish Conquistadors were many, but mainly concentrated on six things, each of which would result in the conquering and building of the Spanish Empire. For the Spanish Conquistadors it was God, gold and