Cortes: The Wicked "brave Explorer"

Cortes: The Wicked “Brave Explorer”

Final Draft

Chance JEONG

History core 2

Ms. Ramage

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who ended the Aztecs Empire and brought Mexico under the Spanish rule in the 16th century. He came from a wealthy background and attended law school at the University of Salamanca. Although he is celebrated for being a brave explorer, Cortes has actually committed crimes against peace, humanity, culture and is guilty of genocide. He attacked the Aztecs who warmly welcomed his companions, treated people cruelly, eradicated their culture, and wiped out the native Cholulans.

Cortes attacked the harmonious Aztec Empire, which proves that he committed crimes against peace. In 1518, he and 500 men were commanded to explore Mexico. They conquered territories of native people to gain more infantry and by 1519 he had about 800 men in his army. When Cortes entered Aztecs territory, he was warmly welcomed and his men were given food and shelter. The Aztecs thought that these foreigners were Quetzalcoatl, the serpent god, because of their metal armor and horses. As a result, they gave the Spaniards large amounts of gold and rare minerals, which later intrigued Cortes to take over the empire. He took hostage of the Aztec emperor, Montezuma III, and forced him to plead allegiance with the Holy Roman Emperor. He then persuaded European kings to supply him reinforcements of food and men, and joined forces with the enemies of the Aztecs. However, Cortes was still heavily outnumbered when he besieged Tenochtitlan, the heart of the Aztec empire. Luckily for Cortez, one of his men was a Negro infected with smallpox. Europeans, who had been exposed to this disease for centuries, had developed a resistance to it. Nothing like smallpox existed in the New World before 1492. The Indians, lacking any immunity, were hit full force. Many could have survived if there was fresh water, but because of Cortes’ siege, thousands died including the new Chief Speaker of the Aztecs, the leader of the military. Soon, the Aztecs did not have enough healthy infantry and a leader to defend themselves, and Cortes unhesitatingly took this chance to conquer the Empire. In short, Cortes attacked the Aztecs Empire despite the fact that they had warmly welcomed him, which proves that he is guilty of crimes against peace.

After Cortes had taken over the Aztec Empire, he treated the native people ruthlessly, which demonstrates his crime against humanity. When he became governor of Mexico, appointed by Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, Cortes tried to create a “New Spain” of the Ocean Sea. With this as an excuse, Cortes ordered people to abandon what was left of their homes, set fire to anything in the deserted city that would burn, enslaved nearly