| TRIUMPHS and TRAGEDY, a History
of The Mexican people (Chapter 1) |
by Prof. German Estrada
December, 2004 |
THE FOREFATHERS (part
22nd) continues..
2
THE CONQUEST OF TENOCHTITLÁN
III
Of an old and fairly respectable family, Hernán Cortés, a native of Medellín, a city in Extremadura, was born, so to speak, with the sword of the soldier in hand, for his father was a captain in the Spanish infantry. But Don Martín and his wife, Doña Catalina Pizarro Altamirano, parents of lofty pretensions, wanted Hernán to become a lawyer and not a soldier. When he was fourteen, they sent him to study law at the University of Salamanca , but Cortés stayed only long enough to learn to write decent prose, a skill he later put to good use is his Cartas de relación .
In 1504, after a life of idleness, Cortés set sail for the Americas , on a ship bound for Española, where he acquired land, and became an encomendero and mayor of Santiago del Puerto. In 1511, fortune smiled on Cortés when Diego Velázquez, under whom Cortés had soldiered, was asked to subdue the neighboring island of Cuba . Cortés joined the expedition as an aid to its treasurer. The campaign over, he settle down in Cuba as a granjero (gentleman farmer), cultivating grapes, raising cows and horses, and, occasionally, digging for gold and engaging in commerce. Cortés, a veteran of multiple amorous affairs, eventually took a wife, Catalina Suárez, the daughter of Spanish colonists. At this juncture, Cortés was hardly wealthy; a minor landlord, he owned Indian slaves, some mines, and a small business. He spent much of what he earned on the good life and was in debt.
In the meantime, Velázquez had been designates Governor of Cuba . A veteran of the Italian campaigns, he had arrived in the New World with Columbus , then on his second voyage, in 1493. An ambitious político. Velázquez earned the backing of Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca, bishop of Burgos and later head of the Council of Indies, which set policy in the New World . To explore the mainland, Velázquez dispatched two expeditions: that of Hernández de Cordoba in 1517 and that of Grijalva a year afterward. Córdoba landed in Yucatán and traveled to Bahía d Campeche , while Grijalva sighted Yucatán, sailed past Campeche , and discovered the Rio Tabasco (now Rio Grijalva), where the Spaniards first heard of the Aztec empire. Determined to push ahead with exploration on the mainland, Velázquez picked Cortés to lead it, a decision he lived to regret. To outfit the expedition, Cortés mortgaged his state, borrowed money from wealthy merchants, purchased what he could on credit, and begged from friends.
Named captain general, Cortés started to dress the part. His demeanor as well as his attitude led Velázquez to question his wisdom of calling upon Cortés, but he decided to replace him too late. Warned that Velázquez intended to name a rival, Cortés set sail abruptly on his historic adventure. When he lifted anchor in Havana harbor, on February 10, 1519 , he had eleven ships, 508 soldiers, and sixteen horses. Among his chief lieutenants were Pedro de Alvarado, Cristobal de Olid, and Gonzalo de Sandoval, names the Conquest enshrined.
The Cortés who departed from Cuba was short of height, thickly set, strong and robust of body. Light of skin with "eyes mild and grave," he sported a black beard, the color of his hair. A scar partly hidden by his beard testified to a scuffle with the suitor of a woman on one of his amorous affairs. Gambler by instinct, he loved to play cards and dice. A born leader, he knew how to command. He preferred flattery
or intrigue but could be ruthless, employing sword and cannon without mercy. Yet he avoided battle if victory could be achieved by peaceful means. When Alvarado, a freebooter, plundered the homes of natives on Cozumel (Yucatán), Cortés told him angrily to give back what he had stolen. You could not pacify the country, he explained to Alvarado, by stealing from natives. A Catholic but not fanatic, he paid homage to his monks, erected crosses, and tore down pagan idols; but he seldom permitted religion or clerics to interfere with his plans.
Source: From the book Triumphs
and Tragedy, a History of the Mexican People by his
author Ramon Eduardo Ruiz, and with his authorization.
(W.W. Norton & Company. New York-London). We'll continue with this fascinating
book.
estradanav@yahoo.com
Prof. Germán
Estrada is the author of the best selling book,
"México
Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know
About... But Nobody Told You..." available in Puerto
Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc., Books,
Books as well as directly from the author by internet.
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