Hernando Cortes
Voyages around the world
Hernando Cortes's Childhood
Hernando Cortes was born in the year of 1485 in Spain. Hernando Cortes was the only boy in his family of four sisters. When Hernando was 14 years old his parents sent him off to a university. His father and mother hoped he would study Latin and become a famous lawyer. After young Hernando heard about Christopher Columbus he dreamed of sailing across the sea to get some gold.
Helped Conquer Cuba
In 1503 when he was eighteen he arrived in Santo Domingo.(The capital of Hispaniola.) He was a new citizen he was given a piece of land for building a new house and planting food/crops. In 1506 ( 3 years later) Cortes joined the spanish military and to help conquer cuba. In 1519 He was sent from cuba to the gulf of mexico and he was ordered to explore mexico. Since there was some natives he was told to bring back slaves from cuba. He was also told to claim land...But he was a double crosser and he claimed land for Spain.
The Empire of the Aztecs
The Aztec Empire lived along the Gulf of Mexico. These warriors were fearless and very fierce. They made a very large empire with many cities and towns. They built this empire by defeating other groups of people. There warfare is a religious duty for the aztecs. They have designed their own calendars and built huge temples and created beautiful artwork such as sculptures. The aztecs were farmers who practiced slash and burn agriculture. The burn trees and section forests for crops and food. The ashes from the trees are fertilizers for the soil. Farmers dig canals to irrigate their crops/food. They turned shallow lakes into farmland by scooping out all the mud.
Governor Cortes
Governor Cortes was the new ruler of Spain. The king truly didn't trust Hernando. Four royal officers appointed him to help him. Governor Cortes founded more cities in spain. He also appointed men to explore new land and also conquer it too. Native Americans sadly gave up their native customs and the had to accept christianity. First, Spaniards grew sugar cane in spain for him. He was also the most important black slave from Africa. He was also very wealthy. Since he was so wealthy and powerful he lead an expedition to Honduras and he got arrested. The other leaders in spain were getting worried about all of his power. Several men were sent to spain from unknow to remove Governor Cortes. In 1528 Hernando Cortes was exiled from spain. In 1527 Hernando Cortes died in Spain of pleurisy.