Hernando Cortez

0: Untitled Path

1: Untitled Path

2: Untitled Path

3: Untitled Path

4: Untitled Path

5: Untitled Path

6: Untitled Path

7: Cempoalla, Mexico

Cortez had some soldiers amongst his men who were starting to turn against him and were being more loyal the governor of Cuba. They were planning to escape and go back to Spain. In order to prevent the mutiny, Cortez sank his ship. Cortez then proceeded to march his men into the interior, to the territory of the Tlaxcalans. After two weeks of fighting, Cortez discovered that the Tlaxcalan Indians were resolute enemies of the Aztecs who treated them as slaves. Cortez thought they might join him in a military alliance to help conquer the Aztecs. The Tlaxcalans became his strongest allies and joined Cortez on the invasion in to Mexico increasing his numbers significantly.

8: Cholula, Mexico

While Cortez was exploring and conquering the Aztecs, his past actions began to catch up with him. The governor of Cuba sent a force to find Cortez and arrest him. April 1520, Cortez was informed that the arresting party had landed in Mexico. Realizing that he would be found sooner or later, he gathered his forces and set out to meet the expedition. He left about 200 men in Tenochtitlan, and appointed Pedro de Alvarado to lead them in his absence. Cortez over powered the arresting party by entering their camp at night and capturing the leader. Most of the remaining party members willingly joined Cortez when they heard tales of gold mountains.

9: Jalapa, Mexico

The Tlaxcalans marched with Cortez to Cholula, 20 miles from Tlaxcala. A story spread from the Tlaxcalans to Malinche, the woman translator who traveled with Cortez, that the Aztecs at Cholula were planning to trap Cortez inside the city and massacre his army. When the Cholulan leadership and many of their warriors gathered, unarmed, in a great enclosure by the pyramid temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Spanish and the Tlaxcalans killed them. For this reason and because of his white skin, the Aztecs believed Cortez was actually the god.

10: Medellin, Spain

Medellin, Spain is where Cortez started his expedition. The governor of Cuba had asked Cortez to lead his army to war. If Cortez accepted this offer the governor would provide 2 or 3 ships with which he could cross the ocean to Mexico, to fight the Aztec Indians. The governor told him this because he had heard myths that there was treasure about to be discovered, and he wanted to be the first one to find it. Cortez accepted the offer and the governor of Spain provided everything he needed for his journey.

11: Tenochillan, Mexico

When Cortez returned to Tenochtitlan, he walked into a revolt. In Cortez's absence, Alvarado, the man Cortez had left behind to keep order, treated the Aztecs very cruelly. Alvarado massacred hundreds of Aztecs at a religious ceremony, because he was afraid of a revolt. Instead, it was de Alvarado's actions that caused the revolt to start. When Cortez arrived, he was surrounded and attacked by the Aztecs. His force badly outnumbered, Cortez asked Montezuma to speak to the Aztecs and calm them. The result of this, however, was quite the opposite. Enraged Aztecs considered Montezuma a traitor, and stoned him to death. Cortez retreated from the city. Chased by Aztec warriors, the Spanish lost more than half of their men, and all of their cannons. It took Cortez almost a year, but he built up his forces once again and conquered every part of the Aztec empire--except Tenochtitlan. Finally, in May 1521, Cortez was ready for the final assault on the Aztec capital. When it was over, more than 40,000 Aztecs lay dead and the once-mighty Aztec Empire lay in ruins.

12: Tlascala, Mexico

When Cortez arrived at Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519, Montezuma, leader of the Aztecs, greeted him warmly and even kissed his hand. Cortez traveled with a translator, a woman named Malinche, which made it possible for communication between Cortez and Montezuma. After that initial meeting, Montezuma allowed the Spaniards to enter and establish a headquarters in a large unused building. Since Cortez behaved somewhat less regally than would be expected of a god, Montezuma began to have suspicions of his divinity. Hoping that a sizeable gift would make the Spaniards go away, he presented Cortez with gold and jewels. Unfortunately for Montezuma, his gift had the reverse effect. Not only did the gift fail to achieve its intended purpose, but it served to incite the Spaniards' greed. Cortez seized Montezuma as a hostage, hoping to gain wealth from a large ransom, and to forestall an Aztec attack.

13: Yucatan, Mexico

Cortez accepted orders from his governor and on the morning of February 18, 1519 set sail for Yucatan, Mexico. The journey from Cuba was only 120 miles from the Mexican coast. When Cortez landed in Yucatán, Mexico he saw structures like pyramids. On his arrival the Mayan Indians gave him a warm welcome. The Indians told Cortez, ‘‘We wish neither war nor trade. We have no more gold and you will be killed if you do not leave.'' Cortez ended the conversation with the deaths of 400 Mayan Indians.