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485 – December 2, 1547

1485 – December 2, 1547

ernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro

During the Spanish campaign, Cortés allied with a number of the tributaries and rivals of the Aztecs, including the Totonacs, and the Tlaxcaltecas. After eight months of battles and intrigue, which overcame the diplomatic resistance of the Aztec Emperor Montezuma to his visit, Cortés arrived in Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519, where he took up residence. After an Aztec attack on Nauhtlan, a city on the coast, that left several Spaniards dead, Cortés took Montezuma captive in his own palace and ruled through him for months. After the massacre at the Main Temple of Tenochtitlan and a rebellion by the population of the city, Cortés and his men had to fight their way out of the capital city during the Noche Triste in June, 1520. However, the Spanish and Tlaxcalans would return with reinforcements and a siege plan that led to the fall of Tenochtitlan a year later. The collapse of the Aztec Empire was a major milestone in the formation of New Spain, which would not be formalized by the Spanish Crown un

on February 20, 1524.

he was slain by Spanish Conquistador Don Pedro de Alvarado while waging battle against the Spaniards

He was declared Guatemala's official national hero on March 22, 1960 and is commemorated on February 20, on the anniversary of his death.

Fue hijo único de un hidalgo extremeño, llamado Martín Cortés y de Catalina Pizarro Altamirano. Por vía materna era primo segundo de Francisco Pizarro,

New World

Brazil was claimed by Portugal in April 1500

The Great Montezuma was about forty years old, of good height, well proportioned, spare and slight, and not very dark, though of the usual Indian complexion. He did not wear his hair long but just over his ears, and he had a short black beard, well-shaped and thin. His face was rather long and cheerful, he had fine eyes, and in his appearance and manner could express geniality or, when necessary, a serious composure. He was very neat and clean, and took a bath every afternoon.

On Dec. 26, a massive earthquake rattled the seabed off the western coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The resulting tsunami swept across the Indian Ocean, increasing in height as it reached the shore. Entire coastal villages and low-lying islands situated in and around the Indian Ocean were decimated. The affected region extends from Malaysia, Thailand and Burma in the east to Somalia and Kenya in the west. Indonesia and Sri Lanka suffered the greatest loss of life.