Cortes: Did you mean...?

Turquoise was a highly-prized material in ancient Mesoamerica, perhaps the most valued of all materials for sacred and decorative art objects such as masks, jewellery, and the costumes of rulers and high priests. Turquoise was acquired through...

The two sieges of Cusco in 1536-7 were the last great military actions by the Incas as they tried to reclaim their empire from the Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541). The European cavalry proved all but invincible...

The treasure ports of the Spanish Main such as Cartagena, Portobelo, Panama, and Veracruz were used to collect the riches the Spanish Empire had extracted from the Americas, ready for transport in the two annual treasure fleets back to Europe...

In November 1532 CE, Francisco Pizarro led a group of about 160 conquistadors into the Inca city of Cajamarca. The illiterate and illegitimate son of an Extremaduran nobleman and an impoverished woman, Pizarro had spent his entire life on...

To climatologists, the period of seven to twelve centuries ago was known as a "Climate Anomaly" or a "Warm Period" (800-1300 CE). To archaeologists, it was a time of great change, a period when cultural patterns were put into place that lasted...

The Mexica (commonly referred to as the Aztecs) emerged as a dominant power in central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period, culminating in the formation of the Triple Alliance (1427/28 CE) between Tenochtitlán, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan...

A model reconstruction of the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital on Lake Texcoco. The city was founded in 1345 CE and fell to the Spanish forces led by Cortés in 1521 CE. The sacred complex was dominated by the central pyramid...

The headdress of Motecuhzoma II, Aztec ruler 1502-1520 CE. Although there is no evidence that it was ever worn by Motecuhzoma the headdress may have been amongst the gifts he gave to Cortés, who in turn passed them on to Charles V. This is...

A 1728 illustration of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (1465-1524) was a Spanish conquistador who conquered Cuba in 1511, became the island’s governor for the next decade, and sponsored the expedition of Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) which conquered...

Proclamation of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 by the Cortés de Cádiz during the Peninsular War, image by Salvador Viniegra, 1912.