Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conqueror born in 1485 in Medellín, Spain who studied briefly at the University of Salamanca before traveling to what is now the Caribbean and Mexico. In 1519, Cortés sailed from Cuba to the coast of Mexico with 11 ships, about 600 men, and weapons. He founded the city of Villa Rica de la Veracruz and allied with local indigenous groups as he marched inland to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, where the emperor Moctezuma initially welcomed him. Tensions later rose between the Spanish and Aztecs, culminating in Moctezuma's death during an Aztec uprising. Cortés eventually defeated the Azte
