Hernán Cortés

Biography

Hernán Cortés was born in Medellín, Spain, in 1485. As a teenager, he studied for a short time at the University of Salamanca but did not complete his studies. Like many Spaniards of his generation, Cortés became interested in opportunities for wealth, land, and status in Spain’s growing colonies across the Atlantic.

In 1504, Cortés traveled to Hispaniola, in the Caribbean. He later participated in the Spanish conquest of Cuba, where he gained land, wealth, and political influence. Indigenous people were forced to provide labor within the Spanish colonial system.

In 1519, Cortés left Cuba with several hundred soldiers and sailors to lead an expedition to the coast of what is now Mexico. The governor of Cuba had tried to cancel the expedition, but Cortés sailed anyway.

As Cortés traveled through the region, his expedition fought with some Indigenous communities and formed alliances with others. One of the most important people in the expedition was an Indigenous woman named Malintzin, also known as Malinalli and later called Doña Marina by the Spanish. She had been enslaved before being given to the Spanish. Because she spoke Nahuatl and a Maya language, she became an essential interpreter and political intermediary.

Cortés learned that some Indigenous nations opposed the power of the Mexica, the leading people of the Aztec Empire. The Tlaxcalans first fought the Spanish but later became some of Cortés’s most important allies. Thousands of Indigenous warriors eventually fought alongside the Spanish against the Aztec Empire.

Cortés and his allies entered Tenochtitlan in November 1519. Moctezuma II, the Aztec ruler, initially welcomed them into the city. Relations soon became hostile, and Cortés took Moctezuma captive. Fighting later broke out between the Spanish and the people of Tenochtitlan. Moctezuma died during the conflict, although historical accounts disagree about exactly how he died.

The Spanish and their allies were driven from Tenochtitlan in 1520. Cortés regrouped with his Indigenous allies and returned the following year. Smallpox had also spread through the region, killing many Indigenous people and weakening Tenochtitlan.

In 1521, Spanish soldiers and tens of thousands of Indigenous allies surrounded the city. After a long siege, Tenochtitlan fell on August 13, 1521. Spain then established colonial rule over much of central Mexico.

Cortés was later appointed governor and captain general of New Spain. Mexico City was built on and around the ruins of Tenochtitlan. Cortés continued to participate in expeditions and political struggles, but he eventually lost much of his governing authority. He returned to Spain and died there in 1547.

Hernán Cortés played a major role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, but he did not accomplish it alone. His forces depended heavily on Indigenous allies, interpreters such as Malintzin, existing political conflicts, Spanish military technology, and the devastating effects of diseases such as smallpox.

The conquest brought Spain wealth, territory, and greater political power. For Indigenous peoples, however, Spanish colonization brought warfare, forced labor, land loss, religious pressure, disease, and major changes to political and community life.

Cortés remains an important but controversial historical figure. His actions helped establish Spanish colonial rule in Mexico, while the Indigenous peoples involved in the conquest continued to resist, adapt, and preserve their communities and cultures. Understanding his legacy requires looking at both Spanish goals and the experiences of the Indigenous peoples whose lives were transformed by conquest.