Hernán Cortés

Timeline

1. 1485–1511Medellín · EuropeCortés was born in Medellín, Extremadura, Spain, studied law at the University of Salamanca before dropping out. In 1504 he went to Hispaniola (present-day Haiti) to participate in colonial administration. In 1511 he joined Diego Velázquez's conquest of Cuba and was granted landowner status.
2. 1519–1521Tenochtitlan · AmericasIn February 1519, Cortés set out with about 500 soldiers, 16 horses, and a few cannons, defying the orders of Cuba's governor Velázquez and scuttling his own ships to cut off retreat. He allied with Tlaxcala and other indigenous tribes dissatisfied with the Aztecs, employing both diplomacy and force. In November 1519 he entered Tenochtitlan and placed Emperor Montezuma II under house arrest. After a disastrous defeat in 1520 (known as the "Night of Sorrows"), he regrouped and in August 1521 completely captured and destroyed the city, capturing the new emperor Cuauhtémoc and declaring the fall of the Aztec Empire.
3. 1521–1535Mexico City · AmericasCortés rebuilt the city on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, naming it Mexico City, capital of the colony of New Spain. He served as first governor, implemented land allocation and the encomienda labor system, and continued exploratory expeditions north and south. In 1524 he personally went to Honduras to suppress a rebellion, and in 1535 was appointed Captain General of New Spain (as a marquis).
4. 1535–1547Spain · EuropeWith the formal establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (1535), Cortés's political power was gradually curtailed. He twice traveled to Spain to petition, was received by Charles I but failed to regain real authority. Disconsolate in his later years, he died of illness in 1547 near Seville, Spain, his will requesting that his remains be returned to Mexico.