

Hernándo Cortés on the plains of Cintla
Castaway priest-turned-slave Geronimo Aguilar helped Hernándo Cortés and his conquistadors defeat the Aztecs in Mexico.
By Charles Hilbert
In March 1519, a small square of 400 Spanish adventurers under the command of Hernándo Cortés stood at bay on the plain of Cintla in Tabasco, Mexico. The conquistadors were surrounded by thousands of Indian warriors whose hunger for human sacrifices was equaled only by that of their gods. With no avenue of retreat, the Spaniards faced death in battle or an even more horrible death on the sacrificial altars of the Indians’ strange, blood-nourished gods. As their enemies ad
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It would have been nothing but a minor incident- – but for the discovery of Malinali (“Doña Marina”). She was the key that unlocked Mexico to Cortés, – becoming both his concubine and mother of his firstborn son (Martín Cortés).
Cortés later had a second, legitimate son by his 2nd wife, ALSO named Martín.
Surprisingly ‘Martín El Mestizo’ and ‘Don Martín’ got along very well together. But later in life, both brothers were accused of conspiracy to overthrow the King’s government in New Spain. They were exiled from Mexico City back to Spain, where Martín El Mestizo became a distinguished officer in the king’s army.