I think Cortez gets a bad rap. The Aztecs were horrible.
Cortez had a reputation for being over the top cruel as a commander before he went to the New World-he was said to have been overzealous with anyone unfortunate enough to be a prisoner of his-he captured the daughter of a chief who was a rival of the Aztec leader Moctezuma-he kept her as a mistress to coerce her father into helping him defeat the Aztecs-then he turned on her father and wouldn’t give the daughter back-Cortez also impregnated the girl-their son was the 1st documented Spanish/Native American born in New Spain. When Cortez went back to Spain a few years later, he married the mistress off to one of his favorite generals, took his son away from her and to Spain-not exactly what a gentleman does-I think he was a digusting person...