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Hernando Cortez Hernando Cortez was born in Medellin, Extremadura, in 1485. He studied law at the University of Salamanca but cut college in 1501 and decided to try his fortune in the Americas. Cortez sailed for Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic) in the spring of 1504. In 1511 he joined Spanish soldier and administrator Diego Velazquez in the conquest of Cuba and was soon made the mayor of Santiago de Cuba. In 1518 Cortez asked Velazquez, who had become governor of Cuba, the later cancellation of his commission by Velazquez, who had become suspicious that Cortez, now establishing himself independently, would refuse to recognize his authority. Cortez sailed along the coast of Yucatan and in March 1519 landed in Mexico, subjugating the town of Tabasco. The natives of Tabasco told Cortez of the Aztec Empire and its ruler Montezuma II. From Tabasco, the Spaniards moved through Mexico, capturing many natives. Soon they arrived at a harbor a little north of San Juan and established a town, La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz (now Veracruz). Cortez organized an independent gove