Hernán Cortés

Hello, my name is Hernán Cortés, and my story is one of great adventure and discovery. I was born in the year 1485 in a small town in Spain called Medellín. As a boy, my head was always filled with stories of brave knights, distant lands, and glorious quests. I would spend hours reading about heroes who changed the world. While I loved my home, I always felt a pull toward something bigger. My town felt too quiet and too small for the giant dreams I held in my heart. During that time, everyone in Spain was buzzing with exciting news. A brave explorer named Christopher Columbus had sailed across the great ocean and found a 'New World' full of mystery and riches. The tales they told were of lands with strange plants, fascinating people, and endless possibilities. As I listened, a powerful feeling grew inside me. I knew, with all my heart, that my destiny was not in Medellín. It was waiting for me across that vast, blue water.

When I was just 19 years old, I finally got my chance to follow my dreams. I said goodbye to my family and boarded a wooden ship, my heart pounding with a mix of excitement and fear. The Atlantic Ocean was bigger and wilder than I had ever imagined. For weeks, all we could see was water in every direction. When we finally spotted land, it was the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. This new place was my school. I learned how to be a leader, how to organize men, and how to survive in a land so different from my own. I listened carefully to the stories other explorers told, and soon, I heard whispers of a magnificent and wealthy empire located on the mainland to the west. The stories described a powerful ruler and a city built of gold. My ambition grew, and I knew I had to see it for myself. I gathered my own ships, brave soldiers, and loyal followers. On February 18th, 1519, we raised our anchors and set sail toward this mysterious land, which the world would one day know as Mexico.

After a long journey, we marched inland, and nothing could have prepared me for what we saw next. Rising from the middle of a sparkling lake was the most incredible city I had ever dreamed of. It was Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. It seemed to float on the water, connected to the land by long causeways. Giant stone temples reached for the sky, and the markets were crowded with people selling colorful fabrics, delicious foods, and beautiful jewelry. It was grander than any city in Spain. We were led into the city to meet the powerful Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II. He was a noble and impressive leader. Through my interpreter, a very clever and important woman named La Malinche, I began to learn about their amazing culture. She helped me understand their language and their customs. We were fascinated by their world, from the spicy chocolate they drank to the complex calendar they used to track the stars.

Although we were amazed by each other at first, our two worlds were very different, and soon our peaceful meeting turned into a great conflict. The struggle for the city was long and difficult for everyone involved. My men and I, along with our native allies who were rivals of the Aztecs, fought a hard battle. On August 13th, 1521, the great city of Tenochtitlan finally fell. It was the end of the mighty Aztec Empire, but it was also the beginning of something entirely new. On the ruins of that beautiful city, we began to build a new one: Mexico City. It became the capital of a new territory we called 'New Spain.' Looking back, I see that my journey was filled with both great discovery and terrible sadness. My quest for glory and gold changed the map of the world forever. It was a journey that, for better or worse, connected two different parts of humanity that had never met before, creating a new culture and a new history for all time.