Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. His exploration of the interior of Mexico and his subsequent military campaigns were instrumental in the expansion of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. While his actions were marked by violence and the destruction of Indigenous civilizations, his expeditions provided Europeans with their first detailed knowledge of the complex societies and geography of the Mexican interior.