Cortez

         Hernando Cortez was born in Medellin, Spain in the year of 1485. He loved to adventure around to different places. When Cortez was around fourteen his parents sent him to a school in Salamanca to study the law, but he soon left school to find  adventure and wealth.

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           Cortez took part in the Spanish conquest of Cuba by a man named Diego Velazquez. The conquest took place around the year of 1511. Later in Cortez's life Velazquez became the governor of Cuba. Velazquez chose Cortez to lead another expedition to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, but before Cortez left Cuba Velazquez canceled it. He canceled the expedition because he didn't trust Cortez, but Cortez wanted to go he disobeyed and left for the Yucatan Peninsula. He took with him more then five hundred men and a total of 11 ships.

     In Yucatan Cortez made agreements with different Indian leaders and he communicated through interpreters. After he conquered Mexico he traveled up the Golf Coast and Cortez founded his first Spanish settlement in Mexico.

     In August the same year he left to come to Mexico he traveled over to Tenochtitlan what is now today called Mexico City the capital of the Aztec empire. The city had formed a union called the Triple Alliance with two other cities close by. The three cities forced other surrounding Cities to pay the taxes and sacrifice things for their ceremonies. The people who lived in the surrounding cities wanted to help Cortez defeat the empire.

      At first the emperor Montezuma the second refused to talk to Cortez he didn't even want to meet with Cortez. Montezuma soon changed his mind and let the Spaniards to come into Tenochtitlan. Cortez took Montezuma hostage and tried to run the city through him .

    After a while Cortez decided to leave the city to challenge another expedition. It was lead by one of Velazquez's friends. They were in Mexico to capture Cortez. Meanwhile the city Tenochtitlan went against him Montezuma had died. All the Spanish soldiers left the city afraid of the rebelling people in the city.

       A few years later Cortez had one last battle against the Algiers. Cortez died in the year of 1547.