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Cortes burnt their ships. Soldiers were left with only 2 choices — die, or ensure victory

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Cortés scuttling fleet off Veracruz coast

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Meanwhile, Velasquez sent another expedition, led by Narvaez, to oppose Cortés, arriving in Mexico in April 1520 with 1,100 men. Cortés left 200 men in Tenochtitlan and took the rest to confront Narvaez. He overcame Narváez, despite his numerical inferiority, and convinced the rest of Narvaez's men to join him.

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Cortez's journey

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The Spanish explorer who explored Cuba and Mexico, Hernando Cortes. This was for my AP European History class.

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By 1528, the Spanish government was worried that Cortés was getting out of control in the Americas, and so he had to give up his governor's job and was sent back to Spain. He spoke to the king, who was persuaded to send Cortés back to Mexico in 1530, but with less power and freedom than before.

In 1536, Cortés explored the northwestern part of Mexico and discovered the Baja California peninsula. He also spent time exploring the Pacific coast of Mexico. This was the last major expedition by Cortés. In 1539, he went back to Spain, and spent much of the rest of his life there before he died near Seville in 1547.

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King Charles I of Spain (also known as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) appointed him the governor of New Spain the following year. (1522)

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Mexico was ruled by the Aztec Empire and its leader, Montezuma II. Cortés arrived in Mexico in March 1519 with a group of about 600 men and a few horses. He soon learned of the Aztecs and began to make his way inland to the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlán. Along the way, he made friends with a native group called the Tlaxcalans, who were enemies of the Aztecs. The Tlaxcalans helped Cortés against the Aztecs.

In November of 1519, Cortés and his men reached the Aztec capital and met Montezuma. The Aztecs may have thought that Cortés was a god-king, and so they treated him and his soldiers well. However, Cortés was afraid that the Aztecs might soon try to get rid of him, so he took Montezuma hostage and asked for a huge ransom of gold and jewels.

It turned out that Cortés was right and the Aztecs finally drove him and his men out of their city in June of 1520. But Cortés regrouped and returned in the summer of 1521 to capture Tenochtitlán.

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Cortés returned to Tenochtitlán with his reinforcements, but found it in a state of uproar, as one of his lieutenants Pedro de Alvarado, had ordered a massacre of Aztec nobility in his absence. Aztec Emperor Moctezuma was killed by his own people while trying to placate the crowd and an angry mob chased the Spanish from the city in what became known as the Noche Triste, or “sad night.” Cortés was able to regroup, re-take the city and by 1521 he was in charge of Tenochtitlán for good.

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Velázquez's task was to conquer of the island of Cuba. He set out with three ships and 300 men, including young Cortés, who was a clerk assigned to the treasurer of the expedition. Cortés distinguished himself as a soldier and administrator and was made mayor of the new city of Santiago.

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He arrived in Hispaniola in 1504 he soon found work as a notary and was given a plot of land and a number of natives to work it for him. His health improved and he trained as a soldier, and took part in the subjugation of those parts of Hispaniola that had held out against the Spanish. He became known as a good leader, an intelligent administrator, and a ruthless fighter. Diego Valasquez became the governor of Cuba. He made Cortes one of his top officials.

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In 1504, the young Hernán Cortés (he was still only nineteen) took passage on a ship destined for the New World. The ship, owned by Alonso Quintero, arrived in Hispaniola later that year.

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fourteen-year-old Cortés was sent to study at the University of Salamanca, one of Spain’s most notable centers of learning. Cortés stayed at the university for two years before deciding, of his own accord, to give up his studies.

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Hernando Cortes was born in Medellin, Spain in 1485. His parents' names were Martin Cortes and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano. Cortés’ parents were of nobles.