Hernan Cortes was born in Medellin in 1485. He was a weak and sickly child, as were most children of that time. As an infant Hernan Cortes was so frail that many times he was on the point of dying (Gomara, 1964). His nurse, a woman named Maria de Estaban, chose, at random, the name of one of the apostles as an advocate for Cortes. It turned out to be St. Peter and she prayed to him and miraculously, Cortes recovered. When Cortes grew up he became very attached to St. Peter and this lasted him throughout his life. At the age of fourteen he was sent to the University of Salamanca to study law. At the age of sixteen he left and returned home due to either lack of interest or lack of money. As one would expect, his parents were not very happy about his decision. In fact, this was not the first time that Cortes had gone against their will. In fact, he was said to have been, "a source of trouble to his parents as well as to himself, for he was restless, haughty, mischievous, and given to quarreling, for which reason he decided to seek his fortune." (Gomara, 1964).
(Portrait of Cortes, Museum of History, Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City)
In 1504, at the age of nineteen, he got on a ship bound for the Indies. The captain of the ship that Cortes was on decided to sail out ahead of the rest of the vessels in order to arrive at the destination first and sell his goods before the other ships arrived, thereby making a larger profit. Unfortunately, a storm arose and they were blown off course and the mast of the ship was destroyed. Because of this, the captain was forced to return to his other ships and beg them to wait for him to fix his mast before heading out. This they did and set off together. Eventually, the Captain of Cortes' ship decided to head out in front of his companions again and again disaster struck. This time the navigator had lost his bearings and become lost. They were lost for many days before they saw a dove flying and decided to follow its path, thinking that it led to land (Gomara, 1964). Sure enough, they came across the island of Espanola and three or four days afterward they arrived in Santo Domingo (which was their intended destination) long after the other ships had arrived safely. Cortes stayed in Santo Domingo for a time. During his stay he became one of the first people to own cattle and became moderately wealthy. Later, Cortes accompanied Diego Velazquez on the conquest of Cuba as clerk of the treasurer (Gomara, 1964).
In Cuba, Cortes married a woman named Catalina Xuarez, although not by free will. Cortes was imprisoned twice, and escaped twice, only to give in at the end by marrying Catalina. He did this not because he wanted to, but because he had in fact promised to marry her and he wanted to live a peaceful life (Gomara, 1964). After this, he made ready to journey to Mexico.
After Cortes had conquered Mexico he returned to Spain expecting to be given the governorship of Mexico, something he fought in vain for for his entire life. He became poor and fell under numerous lawsuits which drained his accounts even more. He made a trip back to Mexico and led a few failed expeditions to the North and South before returning to Spain once more, still asking for the governorship. He remarried a woman named Juana de Zuniga after the death of Catalina. Cortes tried for a time to live a quiet life without much adventure but found it impossible and soon he was planning another trip to Mexico. Unfortunately, Cortes fell ill and died on December 2, 1547 at the age of sixty three in Seville, Spain (Gomara, 1964). He left behind a son from Juana de Zuniga named Martin, who inherited his estate. He had three daughters from her as well, named Maria, Catalina, and Juana.He also had another son from his translator in Mexico, Marina, whom he also named Martin. There was also another son from a Spanish woman named Luis Cortes and finally three daughters from three different Indian women. He founded the Hospital of Jesus in Mexico as well as a school and a nunnery.