One of the most important ventures in American history is Spain colonizing the Americas.This was one of the most important conquests in the capturing of the Americas because the profit was so big. The man that led the expedition was none other than Hernán Cortés. You may already know this name as they talk about him a lot in early American history, but he is responsible for conquering the Aztecs which are a group of native Indians from North America.
The Hernán Cortés conquest began on February 1519 but it originated about a year before then with Diego Velázquez, a high leader in Spain who was also a conquistador had decided that after two failed attempts of going to America he had one final attempt. On the 23rd of October, 1518, Velázquez and Cortés made an agreement that, Cortés would go from Cuba to Mexico to make trade arrangements with the indigenous tribes there but no orders to conquer or settle were made. One reason suggests that Velázquez wanted the conquering to be left to him for the fame and glory of conquering indigenous tribes along Mexico.
On realizing that Cortés may want to take all the glory and fame for himself Velázquez decided he would replace Cortés with Luis De Medina but Cortés’s brother in law had him intercepted and killed. Later Velázquez arrived at the Santiago De Cuba dock in person and gave him a large fury of compliments and hugs and before the fleet could leave Velázquez announced that the fleet be held and Cortés taken prisoner. Without caring Cortés set sail with the status of the mutineer. Cortés’s fleet consisted of 11 ships carrying about 630 men of all assorts. After spending some time in Cozumel, Cortés takes off for the Yucatan Peninsula. After going around the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula he landed at Potonchan, and there was little gold there. Cortés was a little upset so in an effort to get more gold he initiated two battles with the natives and won both but with no loot afterwards. Although he found no gold he did find treasure in the form of a woman. This woman's name was often said to be called La Malinche, Malintzin, or Malinalli, which were her native birth names, but Cortés christened her to be Marina. She became Cortés’s wife, translator, and other things among them. The men in Cortés’ expedition that were still loyal to the governor of Cuba tried to escape, but Cortés saw this coming and scuttled, not burned, his ships so the expedition was stranded. Later Cortés arrived in Tlaxcala, which was a confederacy of about 200 towns and tribes that did not have central government. The …show more content…
After the fall of Cholula on November 8, 1519 Cortés entered Tenochtitlan, the island capital of the Mexican-Aztecs. Tenochtitlan was possibly the biggest city in the world at the time. the estimation of people in the city was anywhere from 60,000 to 300,000 where the biggest city in Spain had a population of only 30,000 people. Moctezuma the leader of Tenochtitlan welcomed Cortes into Tenochtitlan with gratitude, but much of what was said and done remains a mystery, but what we do know is that Cortés left due to a new fleet that was sent with orders to kill him. However in the end Cortés convinced the fleet to join him with promises of
The Hernán Cortés conquest began on February 1519 but it originated about a year before then with Diego Velázquez, a high leader in Spain who was also a conquistador had decided that after two failed attempts of going to America he had one final attempt. On the 23rd of October, 1518, Velázquez and Cortés made an agreement that, Cortés would go from Cuba to Mexico to make trade arrangements with the indigenous tribes there but no orders to conquer or settle were made. One reason suggests that Velázquez wanted the conquering to be left to him for the fame and glory of conquering indigenous tribes along Mexico.
On realizing that Cortés may want to take all the glory and fame for himself Velázquez decided he would replace Cortés with Luis De Medina but Cortés’s brother in law had him intercepted and killed. Later Velázquez arrived at the Santiago De Cuba dock in person and gave him a large fury of compliments and hugs and before the fleet could leave Velázquez announced that the fleet be held and Cortés taken prisoner. Without caring Cortés set sail with the status of the mutineer. Cortés’s fleet consisted of 11 ships carrying about 630 men of all assorts. After spending some time in Cozumel, Cortés takes off for the Yucatan Peninsula. After going around the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula he landed at Potonchan, and there was little gold there. Cortés was a little upset so in an effort to get more gold he initiated two battles with the natives and won both but with no loot afterwards. Although he found no gold he did find treasure in the form of a woman. This woman's name was often said to be called La Malinche, Malintzin, or Malinalli, which were her native birth names, but Cortés christened her to be Marina. She became Cortés’s wife, translator, and other things among them. The men in Cortés’ expedition that were still loyal to the governor of Cuba tried to escape, but Cortés saw this coming and scuttled, not burned, his ships so the expedition was stranded. Later Cortés arrived in Tlaxcala, which was a confederacy of about 200 towns and tribes that did not have central government. The …show more content…
After the fall of Cholula on November 8, 1519 Cortés entered Tenochtitlan, the island capital of the Mexican-Aztecs. Tenochtitlan was possibly the biggest city in the world at the time. the estimation of people in the city was anywhere from 60,000 to 300,000 where the biggest city in Spain had a population of only 30,000 people. Moctezuma the leader of Tenochtitlan welcomed Cortes into Tenochtitlan with gratitude, but much of what was said and done remains a mystery, but what we do know is that Cortés left due to a new fleet that was sent with orders to kill him. However in the end Cortés convinced the fleet to join him with promises of