The Life Of Hernando Cortes Essay Research — страница 2

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his competition, Cortes convinced all of the opposing forces to abandon prior orders, and join his troops. While he was away from the Aztec capital, Cortes temporary replacement was turning his rule into a tyranny. Cortes man, Pedro de Alvarado, was treating the Aztec people as animals, and the Aztecs were beginning to speak of an uprising. The rumor of revolt quickly turned into an all out Aztec revolt against Cortes troops. Cortes quickly returned to his camp in the capital city, and joined Alvarado in his battle. Shortly after joining up with Alvarado, Cortes and his men were surrounded and attacked. Cortes quickly asked Montezuma to come to his aid, and Montezuma agreed to help. The Aztec ruler pleaded with his people to end the uprisings, but his people would have none of

it. Montezuma was seen as a deserter, and he was stoned to death by a group of his outraged people. Shortly after the death of Montezuma, an Aztec by the name of Guatamztzin led a group of Aztecs in driving the Spaniards out of the Aztec capital on approximately June 30, 1520. This small force of Aztec rebels drove the Spaniards all the way to Otumba and as far back as Tlaxcala, but in July of 1520, the Spaniards overcame the Aztec force and regrouped in this village of Tlaxcala. Cortes took some time to reorganize in Tlaxcala, and then he began his march back to the Aztec capital. Cortes took every Aztec village on his way back to the capital, making a Spanish stronghold out of each one of them. During August of 1521, after a three-month stand off between the Spanish and the

Aztecs, the Aztec empire finally fell and with it went Tenochtiltlan. After the fall of the Aztec Empire, Cortes had Tenochitlan destroyed and established Mexico City on it s ruins. The march of Cortes gained much fame back in Spain, but not as much fame as the wealth Cortes brought back from the looting of the Aztecs. After a few years of enjoying his wealth and popularity, Cortes need to conquer once again got the best of him. In 1526 Cortes began his expedition to Honduras; however, his new expedition was cut short when the Spanish rule finally decided to start investigating Cortes practices in the new world. After a short investigation, Cortes was called back to Spain, and he was ordered to give up his position of civil governor of Mexico. Soon after he gave up his civil

position, Cortes married and supposedly settled down in Spain. While living in Spain, Cortes was constantly monitored and checked up on. After only a short time of being a married man, the Spanish government began taking wares from Cortes and challenging his rights as a Spanish citizen. With his popularity declining and his rights being challenged by the aristocracy, Cortes went back to his exploring ways. In 1536 Cortes began exploring the Baja peninsula in California, but his plea to continue exploring was denied. Cortes quickly returned to Spain to complain about the limitations on his exploration, but this time his argument was to no avail. In 1541 Cortes left on an expedition to Algiers, an expedition that would prove to be his most useless yet. Cortes returned to Spain only

to be virtually ignored by the public and the Spanish court. Cortes retired to his estate near Seville, the place where he would remain until his death in 1547. Cortes: The Great Adventurer and the Fate of Aztec Mexico was an elaborate and accurate portrayal of the life and times of Hernando Cortes. Richard Lee Marks did a great job of giving his audience a detailed biography of the man Cortes was, and the things he will be remembered for. Marks made it clear that in his eyes, Cortes was not the looting, plundering murderer that historians make him out to be, he was merely a man with an enormous desire to explore and discover. If Marks showed any bias at all, it was in favor of the reputation of Cortes. Especially towards the end of his work, Marks made it clear that Cortes was

not a barbarian, but a man concerned with the well being of his family, and where he stood with God almighty. We have yet to discuss Hernando Cortes in class, so I cant exactly say how well Marks book will compare to the information we will cover. I can say that the book came with a rather extensive bibliography, which gives great credibility to the information included in the book. Towards the very back of the book, I found a short passage about the author Richard Lee Marks. The passage states Richard Lee Marks has lived in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Spain and has traveled extensively through Central America. He has written for magazines and newspapers and, in addition to writing, has been an oil-and-gas wildcatter, a theatrical producer and a school director. His most recent