Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who is best known for his daring and successful conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1519. His expedition to the New World changed the course of history, opening up the continent to
From Wikipedia
Hernán Cortés, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador, military commander, explorer, captain general, and writer who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Cortés was part of the generation of Spanish explorers and conquistadors who began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.