Hernán Cortés 1485–1547
(Variations on first name include Hernándo, Fernán, and Fernándo)
Spanish conquistador and New World chronicler.
INTRODUCTION
Cortés is chiefly known as the conqueror of the Aztec empire and
the founder of colonial Mexico. His significance in American
historiography has been largely informed by his correspondence,
or, Cartas de relatión (1519–1526) that he wrote to the Holy
Roman Emperor Charles V (King Charles I of Spain) recounting
various stages of the Mexican conquest. As a firsthand account of
one part of the conquest of the Americas, these letters are a
valuable resource not only for historical data, but also for what
they reveal of the conquistador mentality.
Biographical Information
Cortés was born in the Spanish town of Medellin in approximately
1484. His father, Martín Cortés de Monroy, was a minor aristocrat
without titled lands who nonetheless provided his son with the
opportunity, as part of the gentry, to participate in Spain's growing
colonial enterprise. After studying law for two years at the
University of Salamanca, Cortés abandoned his scholarly pursuits in
1504 and travelled to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, where he
worked as a notary. He accompanied Diego Velázquez in his
conquest of Cuba in 1511 and served as his secretary for the next
seven years. During this period he married Catalina Xuárez, who
was related to Velázquez by marriage. In 1518, Velázquez put
Cortés in charge of an expedition to explore the Mexican coast.
Ignoring Velázquez's orders to confine his activities to exploration
and trade, Cortés set out to conquer the powerful Aztec empire.
After making an alliance with the Tlaxcalans, traditional enemies of
the Aztecs, Cortés proceeded to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán,
where he was received as an emissary of Charles V by the Aztec
leader Montezuma II. Cortés took Montezuma prisoner and for
some time was able to rule through him. During an Aztec uprising
in 1520, however, Montezuma was slain, either by the Spanish or
by his own people, and Cortés and his men were forced out of the
city with heavy losses. After a protracted siege, during the course
of which the city was virtually razed, Cortés finally defeated the
Aztecs in 1521. The next year the emperor named him governor of
Mexico, or
"new Spain." Following an abortive expedition into Honduras,
Cortés was suspended from the office of governor in 1526. Two
years later he returned to Spain to seek redress from the Emperor.
Although the Emperor conferred on him the title of Marquis and
confirmed his claim to the considerable wealth he had acquired in
the New World, Cortés was not reappointed governor. He returned
to Mexico that year, but never again exercised political power. In
1540 he retired to Spain, where he died in 1547.
Major Works
Cortés's letters to Charles V provide a detailed account of his
activities in Mexico from 1519 to 1526. Compilations of these
Cartas de relatión usually include five letters, although the first of
these is actually a letter from the municipal council of Vera Cruz,
the first city established by Cortés in Mexican territory, describing
the foundation of the city and presenting the Spanish monarch
with all the treasure (instead of the customary royal fifth) acquired
thus far in the conquest. This letter is generally included in place
of Cortés's own first letter, of which no copy exists. In fact, despite
references to this first letter in Cortés's later correspondence, some
scholars doubt its existence. The letter from the municipal council
emphasizes Cortés's services to the crown and portrays Cortés's
immediate superior, Governor Velázquez of Cuba, as a selfinterested official who sought to restrict Cortés's activities to trade
and exploration in order to enhance his own wealth and power at
the expense of the Crown's interest in acquiring new territories. In
the subsequent letters written by Cortés, the conquistador
continued to describe and justify his actions while staking his claim
to hold his authority directly from the king. The second letter
describes events from the war against and alliance with the
Tlaxcalans through the noche triste ("sad night") of July 10, 1520,
during which Cortés lost over half his army during the flight from
Tenochtitlán. The third letter records the siege and reconquest of
the city, while the fourth letter describes Cortés's administration of
the conquered territories. These four letters were published in
Spain during Cortés's lifetime, helping to establish his reputation
as one of the great conquistadors. His final letter, concerning his
disastrous expedition to Honduras in 1526, reflects his experience
of bureaucratic controls that greatly constricted his authority in
New Spain, and differs markedly from the earlier letters in tone
and content; it was not published until the nineteenth century.
Critical Reception
Though he is assured a position in history as the conqueror of
Mexico, Cortés's reputation is a subject of continuing debate. Until
the twentieth century, Cortés's letters fulfilled their apparent
purpose of perpetuating their author's fame and glory. However,
changing attitudes towards colonialism during the course of the
twentieth century have brought a réévaluation of Cortés's historical
role, with many historians emphasizing his ruthless methods and
his destruction of a flourishing civilization. This historical revisioning has been accompanied by a focus on the letters as
literary artifacts rather than as objective descriptions of the
conquest of Mexico. Jonathan Loesberg (1983), for instance, looks
at various rhetorical strategies employed by Cortés in his letters to
establish his right to make decisions independent of his immediate
superior, the governor of Cuba. Anthony Pagden (1971) also
discusses ways in which Cortés seeks in his letters to reinforce
both his authority and his reputation. In a similar vein, Stephanie
Merrim (1986) examines how Cortés, in constructing his persona as
narrator and agent in his Letters, seeks to present himself as a
model subject and military leader in the service of the emperor.
Inga Clendinnen (1991), on the other hand, finds in Cortés's letters
indications of cultural miscommunications that contributed to the
vulnerability of the Aztecs in the face of the Spanish invasion.
Source: Literary Criticism (1400-1800), ©1996 Gale Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. Full copyright.