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Hernán Cortés
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Hernán Cortés Painting depicting Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez de Cuellar handing command to Hernan Cortes near ships, with crew and indigenous laborers in the background. Illustration of Hernan Cortes, dressed in red and white, meeting Aztec Emperor Montezuma II, who wears elaborate gold and feathered attire, inside a richly decorated room. Cortés and his men retreating from Tenochtitlán Cuernavaca, Mexico: palace of Hernán Cortés Stone facade of the Cortes Palace in Cuernavaca, Mexico, with a central tower, arched windows, a statue of Cortes on a pedestal, and a small garden with flowers in front. Cortés, Hernán Marina and Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés meeting Montezuma II Montezuma II
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Hernán Cortés: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

The best academic source remains William H. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico, 3 vol. (1843, with many later reprints), a work so thorough that no scholar or traveler has since been able to fault him other than in very minor details. Of the modern studies, Salvador de Madariaga, Hernán Cortéz, Conqueror of Mexico (1941, reissued 1979), is the most scholarly and most readable. Two accounts for the general reader are Jon Manchip White, Cortés and the Downfall of the Aztec Empire: A Study in a Conflict of Cultures (1971, reissued 1989); and William Weber Johnson, Cortés (1975, reprinted 1987).

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Ralph Hammond Innes
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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  • Rasoul Shiri

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: Heritage History - Hernando Cortez. Jul 02, 2026
Anniversary information added. Jan 01, 2026
Anniversary information added. Nov 28, 2025
Add new Web site: Cambridge University Press and Assessment - The Mental World of Hern�n Cort�s (PDF). Mar 19, 2025
Add new Web site: The Guardian - After 500 years, Cort�s still looms large on both sides of Atlantic. Nov 18, 2024
Add new Web site: DigitalCommons at UNO - When Montezuma Met Cortes: The True History of the Meetings that Changed History that Changed History (PDF). Sep 30, 2024
Add new Web site: History Today - The Death of Hernando Cortez. May 29, 2024
First paragraph modernization. Feb 23, 2024
Add new Web site: HistoryNet - Hernán Cortés: Master of the Conquest. Aug 10, 2023
Add new Web site: Ancient Origins - The Many Burials of Hernan Cortes: Locating the Gravesite of a Conquistador. May 18, 2023
Add new Web site: Live Science - Hern�n Cort�s: Conqueror of the Aztecs. Apr 05, 2023
Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - Biography of Hernan Cortes. Sep 01, 2022
Add new Web site: Famous Explorers - Hern�n Cort�s. Apr 10, 2022
Add new Web site: National Geographic - Guns, germs, and horses brought Cort�s victory over the mighty Aztec empire. Feb 05, 2021
Corrected display issue. Jan 07, 2021
Add new Web site: Colonial America - Hernando Cortes Facts. Feb 08, 2019
Changed title from "Hernán Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca" to "Hernán Cortés." May 15, 2018
Add new Web site: PBS Learning Media - Hernan Cortes. Feb 17, 2017
Add new Web site: The Mariners' Museum and Park - The Ages of Exploration - Biography of Hernando Cortes. Jan 01, 2017
Add new Web site: Mr.Nussbaum - Biography of Hern�n Cort�s. Jan 01, 2017
Media added. Jun 30, 2016
Noted that he was also called "Hernando" and "Fernando." Mar 09, 2016
Add new Web site: Heritage History - Hernando Cortez. Feb 19, 2013
Add new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - Biography of Venustiano Carranza. Feb 19, 2013
Add new Web site: British Broadcasting Corporation - Biography of Hernando Cort�s. Feb 19, 2013
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Binary Fission Step. Feb 19, 2013
In the sentence concerning his departure for Hispaniola, changed "1506" to "1504." Mar 24, 2011
Added photograph. Mar 22, 2011
Added new Web site: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Holocaust Encyclopedia - Nazi Territorial Aggression: The Anschluss. Apr 24, 2009
Added new Web site: Consejer�a de Innovaci�n, Ciencia y Empresa - Casa Palacio Hern�n Cort�s. Apr 24, 2009
Added new Web site: Consejer�a de Innovaci�n, Ciencia y Empresa - Casa Palacio Hern�n Cort�s. Apr 24, 2009
Added new Web site: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Holocaust Encyclopedia - Nazi Territorial Aggression: The Anschluss. Apr 24, 2009
Article revised and updated. Oct 22, 2008
Media added. Oct 23, 2006
Media added. Apr 04, 2006
Article revised. Jun 21, 2002
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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