Transcript powerpoint slideshow

Hernando Cortés
Cameron Stowe
CSC 101 | SCSU Summer 2005
… the Early Years …
Hernando Cortés was born in 1485 to a Medellan family, a family of
minor nobility, in southwestern Spain.
Much of his childhood was spent in familial nature until the age of
19, where be briefly took interest in law. He then made the
decision to flea Spain for America in seek of bigger fortunes.
After many years as a common farmer, Cortés made the decision
to join Velazquez’s crusade to conquer Cuba in 1511.
Upon the seize and capture of Cuba, Cortés would move up in the
armed forces and became the mayor of Santiago.
The Battles begin..
In February of 1519, Cortés took a fleet of 11 to the Yucatan
Peninsula, and had little trouble gaining control of the natives.
From that point, he decided he would next bring on the Aztec
tribes of central and northern Mexico.
All of these conquests only served to supplement his army.
Cortés, to ensure that no one would try and back out on their
crusades, burned the ships they come over in so that the only
means of transportation was by foot.
Cortés continued his battles up the Mexican countryside,
befriending his foes and then eventually seizing power
from them to supplement his army.
In November of 1519, Cortés and his army seized and
captured Montezuma, the principal city of the Aztec
territory. The opposing side gave little resistance due to
the displacement of a myth they had believed for
thousands of years. Another factor that also played in
Cortés’ favor was that the Aztecs had never seen
modern-day firearms, so they weren’t prepared.
All of Montezuma was imprisoned.
A year later, a revolt would occur only leading to the fall of
Montezuma.
Years and many battles later, Cortés led another crusade to
Honduras in 1524, with shaking support from Spanish
royalty.
In 1528, the King of Spain withdrew his funds for Cortés
adventures, and ordered him to return to Spain.
In 1536, Cortés chartered an expedition to later discover the
modern day city of Baja, California.
Cortés then tried to charter a trip to the Seven Cities of
Cibola, but was denied access by the King, who later
appointed F. Vazquez de Coronado for the task. (1539)
Cortés was to remain in Spain.
In the End
Cortés’ battles came easily and with minimal effort. That is the fact
that seems common place throughout his entire tenure as a
crusader.
The most striking characteristic about Hernando Cortés was his
quick ability to defeat his enemies due to his charm of
befriending his enemies first, and then killing them. Cortés
showcased the pinnacle of strategies and built up his armed
forces with each new victory. This opened up the Western world
to further European colonization and influences, most of which
STILL have an impact on how things are in the present day.