Hernan Cortes Before we begin, we should clarify a few facts. A conquistador is basically a Spanish conqueror. Their main objective was to search for gold and other riches in the Caribbean and bring it back to the mainland. The most important conquistador in all of history is Hernan Cortes. From the hills of Barcelona, ​​Spain, a man was born. Full of strength, honor, wisdom and courage, this man was called Hernan Cortes. He, as the Spaniards would say, was a god among men. Legend says he had cat-like reflexes and also had a mind full of strategies. He may not have been the tallest person in the crowd, but he had the will to achieve greatness. He is one of Spain's most influential conquistadors, if not the greatest. His major achievement was the Spanish conquest of Mexico. With approximately 600 men and 16 horses, Hernan Cortes landed on the Mexican coast in search of gold. From the local inhabitants he had heard of a great and had heard of a great and rich civilization further inland. This civilization is what we now call the Aztec Empire. He and his troops marched to Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. In the modern sense, his main goal was to drive the Aztec Indians out of there and show them who is boss. The Native Americans were full of malice, according to Spanish history, yet they respected Hernan Cortes. Some of them thought that Hernan Cortes was their god, Quezacoatl, reincarnated to guide them on the road. Initially Moctezuma, the Aztec leader, sent rich gifts to Cortes. The sight of such wealth only pushed Cortes and his men to march faster towards the capital. It's like following a trail of candy. You don't want to find just the little bits, but the whole bag. Montezuma welcomed Cortes and gave him a place to use within the city. However, being extremely greedy, Cortes took Montezuma prisoner and demanded even more gold. So they began the battle for Mexico. At first it seemed that the Spanish had total control of the city, but trouble soon erupted. In May 1520 Cortes briefly left the city. Unaware, his men, for some strange reason, attacked the Aztecs. "Those idiots!" I bet Cortes would have exclaimed when he returned to find his men besieged in Montezuma's palace. Cortes, being a rather intelligent thinker, thought that calming them down would be the best way out of the situation.