Hernando Cortez, Spanish Conquistador
HernÌÁn CortÌ©s de Monroy y Pizarro (1485 - December 2, 1547) was a Spanish Conquistador. Born at Medellin into minor nobility, and after studying at Salamanca he chose to look for his fortune in Hispaniola and later Cuba. In 1519, against the orders of the Governor, he led an expedition to the mainland that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile. He used a native woman, Do̱a Marina, as an interpreter; she would later bear him a son. When the Governor of Cuba sent emissaries to arrest CortÌ©s, he fought them and won. He wrote letters directly to the king asking to be acknowledged for his successes instead he was punished for mutiny. After he overthrew the Aztec Empire, CortÌ©s was awarded the title of MarquÌ©s del Valle de Oaxaca. In 1541 he returned to Spain, where he died, in 1547, an embittered 61 year old man.
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