Martín Cortés (son of La Malinche)

Martín Cortés el Mestizo (Spanish pronunciation: [maɾˈtiŋ koɾˈtes el mesˈtiθo]; c. 1523 – c. 1595) was the first-born and illegitimate son of Hernán Cortés and Doña Marina, the conquistador’s interpreter and concubine. He is considered to be one of the first mestizos of New Spain and is known as “El Mestizo.” His exact date of birth is not precisely known. Until the birth of Martín's younger brother, don Martín Cortés Zúniga, to his father and his aristocratic second wife, Martín, son of La Malinche, was Cortés's only male heir, despite his illegitimate birth. Cortés's first marriage to Catalina Suárez was childless. He grew up in Spain but returned to the New World as a young man. As heirs of Cortés he and his brother were considered a threat to the vice regal rule, and they were accused of participating in a plot to overthrow the viceroy. He was arrested and tortured and exiled to Spain where he died.

Martín Cortés was born in 1523 in a former Aztec palace in “New Spain,” now Mexico City, Mexico. His father, conquistador Hernán Cortés, and his mother, Malinche Cortés’s guide, interpreter, and mistress, named him Martín after the god of war and Cortés's father. When Martin was only two years old his mother and father left him in the care of Juan Altamirano, Cortés’s cousin to go on an expedition to Honduras. During the expedition Malinche was wed to another Spaniard by the name of Juan Jaramillo and never again lived with Martín. Hernán thought it was best for Martín to continue to live with Altamirano since that was the home that he had known. When Martín was 6 years old he moved with Cortés to Spain.

In May 1528, Martín arrived in the harbor of Palos de la Frontera. Cortés was still relatively unknown and did not receive the welcome that one might expect someone of his historical importance to receive. In June 1528, Cortes took Martin on his journey to meet the emperor, Charles V. This proved to be a difficult task, however. According to a letter written two years after this meeting, Cortés writes, "After I kissed your majesty's hands in Barcelona" implying that Cortés met the king in Barcelona. In 1529, Hernán Cortés hired a lawyer to petition Pope Clement VII to legitimize Martín. The pope agreed since he himself had been illegitimate. Martín spent most of his adolescence at the royal court. His exact time spent there is debatable. However, according to letters at the royal court's archives from Martín's tutor, he was still living there in September 1530. After spending time studying at the royal court, Martín became a page under Philip II of Spain in 1537.

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