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Hernan Cortes and The Renaissance
Renaissance, the French word for ?rebirth? is used to describe the time period of A.D. 1300- A.D. 1600. Renaissance is the correct term for this era, since humans were going back to their [Roman] roots and finding out what was important to them. Since everyone agreed the Roman Empire was among one of the greatest, they decided that their ideas were best to make a foundation with.
People of the Renaissance displayed a few key traits. The typical Renaissance person: celebrated individualism, loved classical learning, and enjoyed worldly pleasures. When people celebrated individualism, they recognized everybody as a unique person; this was the case with most painting. When a great work of art was published, everybody was sure to know the name of the artist. A typical person also loved to study the classics; they read transcripts of stories from Ancient Rome, such as ?Odysseus.? During the Renaissance, (most) people forgot about the after life. They were more interested in living in the moment; this meant doing more of what they liked and less of ?what god commanded them to do.?
With the new views on life, many people took the time to do what they wanted to. For some, it was sailing and exploring. Exploration was one of the biggest movements of the Renaissance. In an attempt to sail west and reach India (from Spain), Columbus sparked a whole exploration revolution. When he sailed west, instead of reaching the India he thought he had, he landed on the shores of the Americas, a previously unknown territory. This was a shock to many of the Europeans, since this meant that there were people that they did not know about, co-existing on the same planet.
The exploration would not have been as successful if it were not for the inventors of the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, many new things were invented. Among the most important were the compass and the astrolabe. These items influenced exploration the most. Since the compass was an instrument that indicates direction by using a magnetic needle, it allowed explorers to know which they were heading, in respect to the earth, making travel to a specific area much easier.
When the explorers found new land, it allowed for a country to claim it. After a country would claim it, they would usually set up a colony there. This allowed for many countries to ?get rich quick? off of resources outside of their country. In these new places, new things such as potatoes were found, and these made a huge impact on the trade with countries such as China and Spain, since these ?new things? were not overseas in Europe. The new maps also gave people more direct trade routes, allowing for trade growth.
Hernan Cortes was born in Medellin, Spain in 1485. Growing up, he was constantly sick with things such as colds. At 14, he was then sent to the University of Salamanca, and returned 2 years later. After this he met with Nicolas de Ovando, and arranged to set sail with him. After an accident, the ship set sail without Cortes. (Patch)
Having no other choice, he sought work in the military. After sailing overseas, and commanding Indians to collect gold for him, he was made a commander to oversee another expedition. (Patch) November 18, 1518, Cortes left a port en route to Trinidad, and then Havana. With him he had approximately 10 ships, 550 Spaniards, 300 Indians, guns, and horses. When he arrived at Havana and Trinidad, he had received a document from his superiors, saying that he no longer was to be commander of those men.
February 10, 1519, Hernan set sail for Cozumel, near the Yucatan peninsula. Cortes then arrives on the shores of Mexico on March 4, 1519. Marching along the gulf, he captures the city of Tabasco. Soon he heard of a huge empire, run by a man named Montezuma. Cortes, not being able to resist his gold fever, decided to march to Tenochtitlan, the city that Montezuma controlled.
November 18, 1519, Cortes arrives in Tenochtitlan. Luckily, Cortes had Dona Marina, a native American girl traveling with him to translate. When they arrived at Tenochtitlan, Montezuma gratefully welcomed them. He gave them gifts of gold, hoping that would encourage them to leave. Instead of Cortes being satisfied and leaving, they decided to stay, and get some more.
Montezuma did not welcome them entirely willfully. An old Aztec myth told of a light skinned man, named Quetzalcoatl, would arrive around Lake Texcoco. The myth said that the man one day vanished, and since he was a god, he would return and claim all of his lands. Since the Aztecs had never seen horses or ships before, they figured that these were objects of a god, and that Cortes was a god. Coincidentally, Cortes arrived the same year that Quetzalcoatl was expected to arrive.
Taking advantage of the situation, Cortes took Montezuma captive. Once the Aztec people caught wind of this, riots broke out. Marina then forced Montezuma onto the roof of the building he was captive in to calm the crowd. The crowd then began to hurl stones at him. Cortes claimed that Montezuma was killed by one of the stones being thrown at him.
June 30, 1520 Cortes and the Spaniards made an attempt to leave Tenochtitlan with their loot. One of the Aztec guards spotted them, and everybody ran out and began beating the Spaniards to death. This would have been more effective, had many of the Aztecs not died a day earlier. The Spaniards brought smallpox over, a disease that had never existed in Mexico before. Since the Spaniards were around it before, they built up immunity to it; however, the Aztecs were infected very badly. Many of the Spaniards were killed, but some made it out alive, such as Cortes and Marina.
A year after Cortes left Mexico (1521) he came back with a small army. After constant fighting, day and night, block-by-block, they finally captured Tenochtitlan. Cortes and his men took what they wanted, and left the rest in ruins, and then departing, heading back to their homeland. (Wilson)
The actions Cortes took were very typical of a Renaissance explorer. Usually, an explorer would first become apprentices with sailors. Soon after, they would lead an expedition of their own. Then, they would gain recognition for their great work, and then be known for being good at exploring. Then, a wealthy noble or merchant would employ them to find new land, in attempt to gain new resources, and make the employer rich.
If you follow Cortes? routes and choices, it is safe to say that Cortes contributed to the Renaissance spirit. Being an explorer, his contributions were many, such as gold, and new maps. If it weren?t for Cortes, Spain never would have had the riches they did, and that would have turned out how the world is today.
Renaissance, the French word for ?rebirth? is used to describe the time period of A.D. 1300- A.D. 1600. Renaissance is the correct term for this era, since humans were going back to their [Roman] roots and finding out what was important to them. Since everyone agreed the Roman Empire was among one of the greatest, they decided that their ideas were best to make a foundation with.
People of the Renaissance displayed a few key traits. The typical Renaissance person: celebrated individualism, loved classical learning, and enjoyed worldly pleasures. When people celebrated individualism, they recognized everybody as a unique person; this was the case with most painting. When a great work of art was published, everybody was sure to know the name of the artist. A typical person also loved to study the classics; they read transcripts of stories from Ancient Rome, such as ?Odysseus.? During the Renaissance, (most) people forgot about the after life. They were more interested in living in the moment; this meant doing more of what they liked and less of ?what god commanded them to do.?
With the new views on life, many people took the time to do what they wanted to. For some, it was sailing and exploring. Exploration was one of the biggest movements of the Renaissance. In an attempt to sail west and reach India (from Spain), Columbus sparked a whole exploration revolution. When he sailed west, instead of reaching the India he thought he had, he landed on the shores of the Americas, a previously unknown territory. This was a shock to many of the Europeans, since this meant that there were people that they did not know about, co-existing on the same planet.
The exploration would not have been as successful if it were not for the inventors of the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, many new things were invented. Among the most important were the compass and the astrolabe. These items influenced exploration the most. Since the compass was an instrument that indicates direction by using a magnetic needle, it allowed explorers to know which they were heading, in respect to the earth, making travel to a specific area much easier.
When the explorers found new land, it allowed for a country to claim it. After a country would claim it, they would usually set up a colony there. This allowed for many countries to ?get rich quick? off of resources outside of their country. In these new places, new things such as potatoes were found, and these made a huge impact on the trade with countries such as China and Spain, since these ?new things? were not overseas in Europe. The new maps also gave people more direct trade routes, allowing for trade growth.
Hernan Cortes was born in Medellin, Spain in 1485. Growing up, he was constantly sick with things such as colds. At 14, he was then sent to the University of Salamanca, and returned 2 years later. After this he met with Nicolas de Ovando, and arranged to set sail with him. After an accident, the ship set sail without Cortes. (Patch)
Having no other choice, he sought work in the military. After sailing overseas, and commanding Indians to collect gold for him, he was made a commander to oversee another expedition. (Patch) November 18, 1518, Cortes left a port en route to Trinidad, and then Havana. With him he had approximately 10 ships, 550 Spaniards, 300 Indians, guns, and horses. When he arrived at Havana and Trinidad, he had received a document from his superiors, saying that he no longer was to be commander of those men.
February 10, 1519, Hernan set sail for Cozumel, near the Yucatan peninsula. Cortes then arrives on the shores of Mexico on March 4, 1519. Marching along the gulf, he captures the city of Tabasco. Soon he heard of a huge empire, run by a man named Montezuma. Cortes, not being able to resist his gold fever, decided to march to Tenochtitlan, the city that Montezuma controlled.
November 18, 1519, Cortes arrives in Tenochtitlan. Luckily, Cortes had Dona Marina, a native American girl traveling with him to translate. When they arrived at Tenochtitlan, Montezuma gratefully welcomed them. He gave them gifts of gold, hoping that would encourage them to leave. Instead of Cortes being satisfied and leaving, they decided to stay, and get some more.
Montezuma did not welcome them entirely willfully. An old Aztec myth told of a light skinned man, named Quetzalcoatl, would arrive around Lake Texcoco. The myth said that the man one day vanished, and since he was a god, he would return and claim all of his lands. Since the Aztecs had never seen horses or ships before, they figured that these were objects of a god, and that Cortes was a god. Coincidentally, Cortes arrived the same year that Quetzalcoatl was expected to arrive.
Taking advantage of the situation, Cortes took Montezuma captive. Once the Aztec people caught wind of this, riots broke out. Marina then forced Montezuma onto the roof of the building he was captive in to calm the crowd. The crowd then began to hurl stones at him. Cortes claimed that Montezuma was killed by one of the stones being thrown at him.
June 30, 1520 Cortes and the Spaniards made an attempt to leave Tenochtitlan with their loot. One of the Aztec guards spotted them, and everybody ran out and began beating the Spaniards to death. This would have been more effective, had many of the Aztecs not died a day earlier. The Spaniards brought smallpox over, a disease that had never existed in Mexico before. Since the Spaniards were around it before, they built up immunity to it; however, the Aztecs were infected very badly. Many of the Spaniards were killed, but some made it out alive, such as Cortes and Marina.
A year after Cortes left Mexico (1521) he came back with a small army. After constant fighting, day and night, block-by-block, they finally captured Tenochtitlan. Cortes and his men took what they wanted, and left the rest in ruins, and then departing, heading back to their homeland. (Wilson)
The actions Cortes took were very typical of a Renaissance explorer. Usually, an explorer would first become apprentices with sailors. Soon after, they would lead an expedition of their own. Then, they would gain recognition for their great work, and then be known for being good at exploring. Then, a wealthy noble or merchant would employ them to find new land, in attempt to gain new resources, and make the employer rich.
If you follow Cortes? routes and choices, it is safe to say that Cortes contributed to the Renaissance spirit. Being an explorer, his contributions were many, such as gold, and new maps. If it weren?t for Cortes, Spain never would have had the riches they did, and that would have turned out how the world is today.
Resources to add-
Resource 1
Resource 2
-Cowboy
This post has been edited by Cowboy: 04 May 2005 - 10:37 PM
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