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Hernan Cortes (1485-1547), Spanish explorer and conquistador. Cortes crossed the Atlantic to seek his fortune in Hispaniola and later Cuba. In 1519, he led an expedition to the mainland. There he overwhelmed the Aztec Empire, subjugating the populace and claiming most of Mexico for the King of Castille. This woodcut portrait is from the 1575 Basle edition of Elogia virorum bellica virtute illustrium (Praise of Men Illustrious for Courage in War) by the Italian historian and biographer Paolo Giovio (1483-1552). (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/MIDDLE TEMPLE LIBRARY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)