Hernan Cortes Research Paper

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In November 1519, led by Hernan Cortes, hundreds of Spaniards followed by thousands of neighboring indigenous people marched into the Mexican capital Tenochtitlan. They were set on conquering the city, but did not until after 3 years of political quarrel. Both Spanish and Indigenous writers have described the events of Cortes’s arrival, including Lopez de Gomara, a Spaniard who wrote General History of the Indies in 1552 through first hand accounts of many returning Spaniards, including Cortes. In addition is The Florentine Codex, which was finally published in 1979. It was written beginning in the 1540s by various indigenous peoples and later translated by Spaniards, and it details the cultures of the native people as well as the Spanish arrival. Lastly, The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, …show more content…
All three contain important details, such as Cortes, the Spanish army, and the indigenous people allied with them. Both excerpts written by Spaniards contain much more credit to Cortes, and look down on the indigenous people. Both accounts of the greeting of Cortes and the king mention how ornate the event was, and how polite each side was to each other. They also include descriptions of the Spanish looking all around the city, full of curiosity and wonder at the city and culture. This is in contrast to the account written by Gomara, which describes the indigenous people as idiotic, inferior, and unknowing of arts or design. Gomara is writing based off of talking with returning Spaniards, who do not even mention the beauty that can be found in Tenochtitlan, because they view the people there as inferior. In the three accounts, there are many differences due to opposing perspectives, pressures on the author, and cultural barriers. The Spanish writers are biased towards their own nationality, and view themselves as righteous and superior compared to the indigenous

Hernan Cortes Research Paper

Hernan Cortes: Cortes was born around 1485 in Medellin, Spain and was a Spanish conquistador and explorer. Who defeated the Aztec Empire in and claimed Mexico for Spain. Cortes joined an expedition to Cuba led by Diego Velazquez in 1511. Cortes was to command his own expedition but Velazquez denied the order. Cortes still went on to his expedition and traveled with 500 men and 11 ships to Mexico in 1519. Francisco Pizarro: Pizarro was born cica 1476 in Trujillo, Spain. Pizarro was a Spanish known…

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Hernan Cortes Research Paper

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Hernan Cortes Research Paper

Hernan Cortes was the greatest explorers of all time. He was mostly known for his exploration through Mexico and the defeat of the most powerful civilizations in the early years. His first voyage to the New World was at the age of 19. When he landed on the New World called Hispaniola, they offered him a piece of land where he could establish his farm. To this Hernan complied furiously saying that, “he did not travel to the New World to work hard on land but to find gold.” Hernan Cortes served…

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Hernan Cortes Research Paper

Hernan Cortés is a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition to conquer the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century. He is often debated and some people say that Cortes should be charged for his crimes against humanity because of his role in the conquest. It is important to see it from his point of view so you can consider the context of his actions within the norms and values of his time. In the 16th century, the concept of human rights and international law did not really exist. Instead, the ongoing…

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Hernan Cortes Research Paper

Around 1518 Hernan Cortés was provided a quest to explore mexico. Cortés learned that people had already reached mexico and he also learned how wealthy they were. Cortés provided the weapons and the ships to fund his own mission to mexico to get the wealth for himself. While doing so, many civilizations got in his way and he ended up conquering some of them including the Aztec Empire. Even though Cortés was sent to Mexico by Spain to get them gold, Cortés funded his own mission to get the gold for…

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Hernan Cortes Research Paper

Another one of the many explorers of the Renaissance age is Hernan Cortes. He was born in Medellin, Spain in 1485. He died on December 2, 1547, and was 62 years old. He died in Castilleja de la Cuesta, Spain. Hernan was married to Catalina Suarez Marcayda, who died in 1522. Hernan was a famous leader who traveled to the Americas in the 1510’s. He was a big part of the rebirth of Spanish control of large parts of America as the leader of the Spanish army. He also explored many parts of New Mexico…

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Hernan Cortes Conquistador Research Paper

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