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  • History of War

    CONQUISTADORS, ‘TLATOANIS’ AND A TRANSLATOR

    Dec 27, 2019 4 minutes

    HERNÁN CORTÉS

    THE SOLDIER OF FORTUNE WHO DESTROYED A CIVILISATION

    1485-1547 SPAIN

    Born at Medellín in Estremadura, Spain, Cortés came from a family of minor nobility. Although he possibly trained as a lawyer at Salamanca he decided to become a soldier. He sailed to Hispaniola in 1506 before moving to Cuba in 1509 to become a gold miner. He earned a fortune but also had a reputation as a gambler and womaniser.

    Juan de Grijalva’s expedition to Mexico encouraged Cortés’s own ambitions and he was appointed captain-general of a new exploratory expedition by the Cuba’s governor, Diego Velázquez. Cortés then exceeded his preparation brief and sailed before Velázquez could relieve him of command.

    Once he landed in Mexico, Cortés scuttled his ships and claimed the

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