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1504
The Discovery of The New World
Hernan Cortes sails off to find the new world, which is currently known as the Caribbeans. He arrives in Hispaniola and is awarded a large farm from the governor. Cortes was disappointed. -
1511
The Conquering of Cuba
While Cortes is in Hispaniola, he is asked to join an expedition to conquer Cuba. He accepted very quickly and with 300 men by his side, He was able to Conquer Cuba. -
1519
The Yucatan Peninsula
After Cortes had been second in command, next to Governor Velázquez for 8 years, he heard about the Yucatan Peninsula and wanted to know more. Velázquez was also curious so he had sent our 2 expeditions to find out more about it. -
1519
The Expedition for the Yucatan Peninsula
The men from the 2 expeditions have brought back great news. There was a civilization in the Yucatan and they were very strong, rich, powerful and advanced. Cortes saw the opportunity in front of him, so Velázquez helped with financing Cortes' expedition. A few months later, he had 11 ships, 508 soldiers, 100 sailors, 200 slaves and 16 horses. -
1519
Arriving in Tenochtitlan
When Cortes arrived in Tenochtitlan, he was warmly welcomed by the Aztecs and later on the Spanish fell in love with all of the riches there. All of the treasure and riches motivated the Spanish to conquer the Aztecs. -
Apr 22, 1519
Cortes Establishes a Town
Before going to taking over the Aztecs, Cortes had established a town on the coast of Mexico, The town was called La Villa Rica de la Veracruz. Cortes had declared an independent government so that meant that he listened to king Carlos I instead of Velazquez. Cortes had sent 1 ship full of treasure back to Spain and sank the rest so the men who were loyal to Velazquez could not return to Cuba. -
Nov 8, 1519
Meeting Malinche
Cortes only knew Spanish, he needed someone that could speak Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs). That is when Malinche comes in, Malinche was a young Tabascan woman that became a slave after her noble father had died. She was a gift from the Tabascan people to the Spanish. She was able to speak Nahuatl and was a translator for Cortes. -
1520
Capturing The Emperor
After Montezuma welcomingly let them enter Tenochtitlan, and gave them beautiful gifts and all sorts of riches and treasures, Cortes and his men captured Montezuma and kept him as a hostage and forced to submit to Spanish rule. -
Jul 1, 1520
The Death of Montezuma
The Aztecs were revolting and when the Spanish had tried to get Montezuma to stand above them and calm them down, Montezuma had died from a rock that was thrown at his head and had cut him. The Emperor of the Aztecs was gone. -
1521
The Battle For Tenochtitlan
The Aztecs have driven the Spanish out of the city. After 6 months, Cortes returned to find that smallpox had 25% of the city. The Spanish had also cut the Aqueducts and defeated the Aztecs 80 days later. As Cortes and the Spanish had captured the city, they also destroyed it as 60, 000 Aztecs remained. The Spanish changed everything about the Aztecs, They converted them to be Christians and changed their economy. The Spanish had won.
