An explorer is someone who travels into areas little known to a certain group of people.  A conquistador is a term used exclusively for Spanish adventurers or conquerors who were sent by the King and Queen of Spain to conquer Mexican and Peruvian territories in the 16th century.  Some key conquistadors are: Hernán Cortés, Pizarro, Orellana, and Cabeza de Vaca. Hernán Cortés is famous among Conquistadores for his demise of the Aztec Empire. Cortés’ success in conquering Mexico and the formidable Aztecs rests on an extraordinary play of circumstances and two key people: a Christian man who could speak both Spanish and Mayan; and a Mayan woman who spoke both Mayan and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Through them Cortés was able to communicate with the Aztecs and ultimately defeat them. The Spaniards who had conquered and settled in Cuba at the beginning of the 16th century had sent several expeditions to the nearby Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico). These expeditions had come back with tales of high-cultured Mayan and Aztec civilizations as well as abundant gold riches. Hernán Cortés, then Chief Magistrate of Santiago (Cuba), saw an opportunity for fame and prosperity, and agreed to lead an expedition to the Yucatan. He armed 3 ships and enrolled 300 men from Velasquez’s Armada based in Cuba and, on February 18, 1519, sailed over the 120 miles separating Cuba from the Yucatan. Upon arrival, Cortés and his army freed a Christian man held captive by the Mayas, Geronimo de Aguilar, who spoke the Mayan tongue and knew the Mayan culture. Geronimo would act as a translator for Cortés. As Cortés made his way across the Yucatan, he met with friendly tribes such as the Totonacs, who pacifically allied themselves with the Conquistadors. Other tribes such as the Tlaxcalans, had to be conquered by force. One of the conquered tribes offered Cortés, as a surrender gift, a Mayan woman named Malinali or Melinche. Malinali spoke both Mayan and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Thanks to her, Cortés would be able to communicate with the Aztecs through Geronimo’s translation. Accompanied by some of the Totonacs and the Tlaxcalans, Cortés marched into the great city of Tenochtitlán, center of the Aztec empire. Montezuma, the leader of the Aztec people, believed that Cortés could be Quetzalcoatl, an exiled deity who had vowed to return to claim his kingdom. Afraid of a massacre if he challenged Cortés, Montezuma opened the city doors to the Spaniards and showered them with gifts. Cortés kept Montezuma prisoner and ruled the empire through its detained leader. This caused resentment and agitation among the Aztec people, to become a full-blown uproar against the invaders when Cortés killed Montezuma after having had him pledge allegiance to the King of Spain. Outnumbered, the Spaniard were soon overwhelmed and the survivors had to flee the city. But the Spaniards had left a mysterious and alien illness on the Aztecs.  Smallpox spread quickly and ravaged the Aztec population.