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descending arc as the Crown attained abso-
lute authority. The
cortes
withered in Spain
and Portugal during the 18th century. It
had a brief revival in both countries during
the early 19th as it challenged royal power.
This was particularly true in Spain when
the Cortes met as a national body at C
ÁDIZ
during the French intrusion to ratify the
liberal constitution of 1812.
The greater part of the 19th century saw
this institution functioning in a perfunctory
manner, and it was only during the brief
heyday of Republicanism (Spain, 1931-39;
Portugal, 1910-30) that anything like a
democratic process either in elections or
procedures was followed. Since the fall of
the F
RANCO
and S
ALAZAR
dictatorships, the
parliamentary life of both Iberian nations
has moved into the European mainstream
and the heritage of the word
cortes
has
attained a new respect.
exploratory mission to the Central Ameri-
can mainland. Earlier probes into this
region had raised rumors of a powerful
Indian realm in the interior, and Cortés
was determined to let nothing stand in the
way of transforming his dreams into real-
ity. In 1519 he landed on the Yucatán Pen-
insula with a force of some 500 men and
soon made contact with the local tribes,
whom he won to his support by a combi-
nation of combat and conciliation. The
most important of these native allies would
be the Tlaxcalans of central Mexico, long-
time enemies of the Aztec Empire, which
never successfully conquered them. They
told him of the vast wealth amassed by
these dwellers in the heart of what is now
M
EXICO
and of the bloody tyranny that
they maintained over other tribes from
their splendid capital at Tenochtitlán (pres-
ent-day Mexico City). Aided by the Indian
woman Malintzin, whom the Spaniards
called Doña Marina, Cortés's interpreter
and adviser as well as mistress, the con-
quistador developed a policy of aggressive
diplomacy that took advantage of Aztec
legends about the return of a “fair god”
whose predicted arrival happened to coin-
cide with that of the Spanish adventurer.
Marching into the heart of the Aztec
Empire, Cortés met and gained dominance
over its ruler, Moctezuma, and the Span-
iards were invited to take up residence as
honored guests amid the splendid palaces
and temples of Tenochtitlán. While Cortés
was absorbed in strengthening his position
and amassing gold, he received word early
in 1520 that Velázquez had turned against
him. The governor's anger had been aroused
by Cortés's legal maneuvers in establishing
a town council at Veracruz (a settlement he
had founded upon landing on the coast of
Cortés, Hernán (marqués del Valle
de Oaxaca)
(1485?-1547)
Spanish explorer and soldier
The son of an officer, Cortés was neverthe-
less intended by his parents to pursue “a
learned profession”; however, he left the
University of Salamanca without taking a
degree, driven by a restless nature and
excited by tales of discovery and adventure
in the New World. He made his way to the
Americas while still in his teens and com-
bined his literary skills and bold tempera-
ment to make himself useful to the
conquerors of the West Indian islands. He
acquired land in C
UBA
but was bored by
the life of a gentleman-farmer. Having
acquired influential friends and the patron-
age of Governor D
IEGO
V
ELÁZQUEZ
DE
C
UÉL
-
LAR
, Cortés secured command of an
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