Cortes: Did you mean...?

An 1899 painting by William de Leftwich Dodge (1867–1935) depicting the last stand of the Aztecs during the siege of Tenochtitlan by Hernán Cortés in 1521. (Howard Tilton Library, Tulane University, New Orleans)

La Malinche leading Hernán Cortés and the Spanish, illustration in Codex Azcatitlan by unknown author, p. 23, c. 1501-1600. This image is an indigenous pictorial representation of the Spanish marching on the Aztec...

A highly readable narrative of the causes, course, and consequences of the Spanish Conquest, incorporating the perspectives of many Native groups, Black slaves, and...

The encomienda was a system where Spanish adventurers and settlers were granted the legal right to extract forced labour from indigenous tribal chiefs in the Americas colonies of the Spanish Empire. In return, the Europeans were expected...

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (24 February 1500 to 21 September 1558) reigned from 1519 until his abdication in 1556 and was one of the most powerful rulers in the history of the Habsburg dynasty. Through a series of...

Juan Ponce de León (1474-1521) was a Spanish conquistador who led expeditions from Puerto Rico to the coast of Florida, giving the region its current name. He also served as the first governor of Puerto Rico and discovered the...

Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541) was a conquistador who led the Spanish conquest of the Inca civilization from 1532. With only a small group of men, Pizarro took advantage of his superior weapons and the fact that the Incas were...

The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was a conflict between the United States and Mexico, sparked by the US annexation of Texas in 1845. Hoping to seize even more territory from Mexico, US President James K. Polk (served 1845-1849...

Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519) was a Spanish conquistador who famously discovered the Pacific Ocean after crossing the isthmus of Panama in 1513. An utterly ruthless adventurer and colonizer, Balboa was as much a danger...

The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas (Tordesilhas) was an agreement between the monarchs of Spain and Portugal to divide the world between them into two spheres of influence. The imaginary dividing line ran down the centre of the...