The Life Of Hernando Cortes
Hernando Cortes was born in 1485 in a town called Medellin in Extremadura Spain. During the time of Cortes' youth, the town of his birth was "like the setting of a carnival for a growing boy" (Marks 3). Medellin was the home of an old castle from the days of the wars between the Spanish and the Moors; the young boys of the town found this castle most entertaining. Later in his life Cortes started attending the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain. His law school years were cut short in 1501 when he decided to try his luck in the New World. In the spring of 1504, Cortes set sail for the land of Cuba. After arriving in Cuba in 1511, he joined the Spanish soldiers and Administrator Diego Velasquez in the conquest of the land, and there he became mayor of Santiago de Cuba. In 1518 he persuaded Velasquez to give him command to the expedition of Mexico that had recently been discovered by Juan de Grijalva, nephew of Velasquez. Despite Velasquez's cancellation on his payment to Cortes due to suspicion that he was exploring and discovering for his own glory, Cortes set sail west from Cuba on February 19, 1519. Cortes took with him about 600 men, less than 20 horses, and 10 field pieces. Cortes sailed along the east coast of
Towards the very back of the book, I found a short passage about the author Richard Lee Marks. The passage states "Richard Lee Marks has lived in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Spain and has traveled extensively through Central America. He has written for magazines and newspapers and, in addition to writing, has been an oil-and-gas wildcatter, a theatrical producer and a school director. His most recent book is 'Three Men of the Beagle'. He holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University and now lives in Topeka, Kansas." All of this information has led me to believe that Mr. Marks is a credible author and more-so someone with first hand knowledge of some of the text (due to the time he spent in Mexico and Spain). The text of the book was put together very well, it was easy enough to read, and in-depth enough to complete a report on. There were 24 photographs and 3 maps in the book, but due to the sophistication of the grammar and the overall education level of the text, I would not recommend this book for anyone under the age of 16, unless they are reading at a higher level than an average 16 year old. The book was written in 1993, and does not appear dated. The book includes a complete bibliography, table of contents, and an index, all of which aided greatly in the overall readability of the text. Throughout Cortes' march Montezuma had hoped for a treaty of peace. Not getting the same interest from Cortes, Montezuma stayed peaceful, was determined to wait on the Spanish, and to find out more about their purpose in Mexico. On November 8, 1519, Cortes and his men finally entered the Aztec capital and created a Spanish stronghold. Upon entering the capital city, Cortes was looked at by the Aztecs' as a god, whose return had been prophesized for many generations. Cortes gave his men privilege to wander among the village on their own. Despite a friendly welcome from the Aztecs, Cortes still feared an Aztec uprising against his establishment. In order to keep himself and his troops safe, Cortes took Montezuma hostage and demanded a hefty ransom of gold and jewel's. In April of 1520, Cortes found out that another Spaniard came to Mexico, of course Cortes was very displeased with this, and he decided to leave the Aztec capital to meet his competition at the shore. Upon receiving his competition, Cortes convinced all of the opposing forces to abandon prior orders, and join his troops. While he was away from the Aztec capital, Cortes temporary replacement was turning his rule into a tyranny. Cortes' man, Pedro de Alvarado, was treating the Aztec people as animals, and the Aztecs were beginning to speak of an uprising. The rumor of revolt quickly turned into an all out Aztec revolt against Cortes' troops. Cortes quickly returned to
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1880
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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