Transcript robert benitez - Caldwell County Schools

Hernán Cortés
1485-1547
► Hernán
Cortés was the conquistador who
conquered Mexico for Spain
► Cortés was part of a new generation that
would establish the Spanish Empire in the
Americas
Early Life
► Born
in Medellin, in the Kingdom of Castile in
Spain in 1485
► His father, Martín Cortés de Monroy, was an
infantry captain of distinguished ancestry but
slender means.
► His mother was Catalina Pizarro Altamirano
► Second cousin to Francisco Pizarro, who later
conquered the Inca empire of modern-day Peru
► Studied at the University of Salamanca
Arrival in the New World
► It
was planned in 1502 for Cortés to sail to
the Americas
► Finally arrived in 1503, reaching Hispaniola
► Later sailed to Santo Domingo, the capital
of Hispaniola and applied for citizenship
► Citizenship entitled him to land
The Invasion of Mexico
► Most
notable achievement of Cortés career,
was the invasion of Mexico and the
conquest of the Aztec empire
► The decisive battle in this campaign was the
seige of Tenochtitlan
► Victory over the Aztecs enabled the eventual
Spanish conquest of Mexico
Appointment to Governorship
of Mexico
► Because
of his conquests, Cortés was very
popular back home in Spain.
► King Charles I of Spain, appointed Cortés
governor and captain general of the newly
conquered territory.
► Cortés received the title Marques del Valle
de Oaxaca in 1528.
Appointment to Governorship
of Mexico (con...)
► Cortés
began the construction of Mexico City on
the Aztec ruins and brought many Spaniards over
to live there.
► Became the most important European city in North
America
► Cortés also supported efforts to convert Indians to
Christianity
► Cortés spent the next seven years establishing
peace among the Indians of Mexico and
developing mines and farmlands.
Exploration of Honduras
► In
1524, his restless urge to explore and conquer
took Cortés south to the jungles of Honduras.
► Cortés took off on an expedition through
Guatemala to Honduras to punish a fellow
Spaniard who had betrayed him, and with his
departure all shadow of personal authority left
Mexico.
► The two arduous years that he spent on this
disastrous expedition damaged his health and his
position.
Final Days and Death
► Having
spent a great deal of his own money to
finance expeditions, he was now heavily in debt.
► In February 1544 he made a claim on the royal
treasury, but was given a royal runaround for the
next three years.
► Disgusted, he decided to return to Mexico in 1547.
When he reached Seville, he was stricken with
dysentery
► He died in Castilleja de la Cuesta, Seville province,
on Dec. 2, 1547, from a case of pleurisy at age 62.
Assessment of Cortés
► In
Mexico today, Cortés is condemned as a
modern-day damnatio memoriae.
► In all of Mexico only the castle in the center
of Cuernavaca city bears his name.
► Muralists depict him as a deformed monster
with the face of Evil Incarnate
Facts
► You
can spell his last
name either Cortes
or Cortez.
► Hernando and
Fernando are
Hernan's nicknames.
► He was the governor
of Cuba.