How Did Hernan Cortes Influence The Conquest Of Mexico

Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who pillaged and explored the Mexican region of South America. Hernán's early life was a very unique one. Even though he went to school for law, fate had him taking another profession. Hernán Cortés is widely known for his historic invasions and explorations. He tricked the Aztec empire and ultimately destroyed the powerful empire. Although his life was filled with excitement, riches, and fame, he died struggling with debts and other grievances. His early years greatly differed from the rest of his life. He was born in the year 1485 in the small Spanish town known as Medellín. Much unlike his later years, Hernán was a pale and sickly child early in life. His father was an infantry captain and one
of his second cousins was Francisco Pizarro, another conquistador which invaded the Incan empire. When he turned 14, Hernán enrolled in the University of Salamanca to study law. When he turned 16, much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out. A part of action this was a result of hearing about the discoveries of Christopher Columbus. After hearing about discoveries of a supposed "New World", Cortés knew what his destiny was in life. What made Hernán Cortés such an important figure in this time period is his presence in Mexico.
In 1519, Hernán landed on Mexican shores with 400 men, 15 horsemen, 15 cannons, and hundreds of indigenous warriors. On the way to the Mexican capitol, Tenochtitlan, Cortés made alliances with several tribes along the way. With these new tribes, the Spanish army had grown exponentially and had become a considerable fighting force. When Cortés finally got to the capitol, he was welcome by the reigning king of the Aztecs who went by the name Moctezuma II. The Aztec leader thought that Cortés was a god when he saw his horses and cannons. Due to his illusion that Cortés was a god, Moctezuma II lavish gifted Hernán with vast amounts of gold and invited Cortés into the heavily guarded capitol. Seeing the gold and other valuable riches around, Cortés was overcome by greed. He ordered his troops to pillage the advanced village and take as much gold as they could. The sheer amount of gold sacked was an amount larger than Hernán had ever seen before. Sadly for Cortés most of this gold was left behind running from a fierce Indian counter-attack. By the time he retreated from Mexico in 1521, the Aztec empire was in shambles and Cortés had left his mark in
history.
` Cortés's death greatly differed from his life of fame and riches. Having spent a great deal of his own money to finance expeditions, he was now heavily in debt. When he applied for government funding from the treasury, he was put on hold and was ultimately denied three years later. Disgusted, disappointed, and still in debt, Hernán decided to visit Mexico. During his stay there, Cortés got stricken with a nasty case of dysentery. He was sent back to Spain to a hospital in Seville. Upon his return, however, he contracted another disease. On December 2, 1547, Hernán Cortés's life ended from pleurisy, the disease he contracted in Seville. He left what little money he had and his estates to his white and mestizo children, along with their mothers. He was buried in Mexico, the land where he changed forever with his conquests. Hernán Cortés's life was unlike no other. He escaped the life of an attorney to fulfill his destiny as an explorer. He forever changed Mexico by conquering the advanced civilization that once stood there. His death was a humble one. Hernán died impoverished and stricken by disease.