Hernando Cortez was born in the small town of Medellin in southwestern Spain in 1485. When he was about 18, he sailed for the island of Hispaniola, then the Spanish headquarters in the West Indies. He was a soldier and a farmer before he sailed for Diego Velasquez to help conquer Cuba in 1511. Velasquez became the governor and Cortez was elected mayor-judge of Santiago. When Juan de Grijalva reported his discovery of Mexico in 1518, Velasquez picked Cortez …showed first 75 words of 960 total…

…showed last 75 words of 960 total…seven years establishing peace among the Indians of Mexico and developing mines and farmlands. In 1528 he went home and was received with great honor by Charles V, but he missed the adventure of the New World. He returned to Mexico as a military commander. He explored Lower California from 1534 to 1535 and fought the pirates of Algiers in 1541. The same year he led an expedition against the Maya of Yucatan. Cortez died near Seville on December 2, 1547.