- See Cortez for other articles with titles that contain, either by relationship or by coincidence, this character's surname.
Hernán Cortés (December 1485 – 2 December 1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition to Mexico on Earth that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century.
Biography[]
After Earth Starfleet Captain Erika Hernandez and other Columbia officers stuck on the Caeliar city-ship of Axion were thrown back in time to 1519, Hernandez thought of Cortés during her exile and his expedition introducing the New World to influenza. (ST - Destiny novel: Mere Mortals)
In 1519, Cortez ordered his crew to burn his sailing vessels after occupying a region in Mexico as a means of motivating them to complete their mission rather than consider retreating. (TOS - The Motion Picture: Echoes comic: "Issue 2")
Legacy[]
In 2270, while weighing options after disrupting the Mercan civilization, Spock saw parallels to Mexico and thought Captain James T. Kirk might consider following the historical precedent set by Cortés. Kirk believed he could never become a dictator like Cortés. After departing Mercan, he remarked to Leonard McCoy that his solution still made him feel like Cortés. McCoy suggested instead he think of himself as Commodore Matthew C. Perry. (TOS novel: The Abode of Life)
In 2273, Rear Admiral Kirk reminded Lieutenant Pavel Chekov of Cortés having burned his ships when ordering him and Hikaru Sulu to scuttle their type-4 shuttlecraft and prevent it from falling into enemy hands, as they'd been captured in the Romulan Neutral Zone. (TOS - The Motion Picture: Echoes comic: "Issue 2")
A number of Starfleet vessels have been named in his honor, including the Nelson-class USS Cortes and Oberth-class USS Cortes. (FASA RPG module: Orion Ruse, TNG video game: Birth of the Federation)
Appendices[]
References[]
- TOS novel: The Abode of Life
- ST - Destiny novel: Mere Mortals
- TOS - The Motion Picture: Echoes comic: "Issue 2"
External link[]
- Hernán Cortés article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.