Leonor Cortés Moctezuma
Encyclopedia
Leonor Cortés Moctezuma was the illegitimate child of Hernan Cortés
, conquistador of Mexico
, and Isabel Moctezuma the eldest daughter of the Aztec
Emperor Moctezuma II
.
moved her into his palace and, shortly, she became pregnant with her first child. Cortés, a chronicler said, ‘conquered no fewer women than towns.” The relationship between Cortés and Doña Isabel was not a happy one and he married the pregnant Isabel to a subordinate. Four or five months later in 1528 Leonor was born. Leonor was separated from Isabel and raised in the household of Juan Gutierrez de Altamirano. Cortés, however, acknowledged Leonor as his daughter and ensured that her life would be comfortable.
, one of the discoverers of the silver mines and founders of the city of Zacatecas
in 1546. With her half brother, Luis Cortés, she traveled from Mexico City to Zacatecas in 1550 to be married. Tolosa was a Basque
. The colonial aristocracy of Zacatecas was a close knit community of Basques intermarried with Spanish and Aztec aristocracy.
The couple had at least three children. Juan de Tolosa Cortés de Moctuzema, born in the 1550s, became a priest and Vicar of Zacatecas. Leonor de Tolosa Cortés Moctezuma, also born in the 1550s, married into another of the Basque founding families of Zacatecas. Her husband was Cristobal de Zaldivar Mendoza. Isabel de Tolosa Cortés Moctezuma, born about 1568, married Juan de Onate
who founded the Spanish colony of New Mexico
in 1598. Other daughters, names unknown, are mentioned in the records as being in a convent in Seville
in 1604.
The date of Doña Leonor’s death is unknown, although apparently she died, as did her husband, before 1594.
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
, conquistador of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and Isabel Moctezuma the eldest daughter of the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
Emperor Moctezuma II
Moctezuma II
Moctezuma , also known by a number of variant spellings including Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma and referred to in full by early Nahuatl texts as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520...
.
Background
Isabel Moctezuma was married and widowed four times by the time she was 17 or 18 years old. With the death of her fourth husband in 1527, Cortés, the ruler of New SpainNew Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
moved her into his palace and, shortly, she became pregnant with her first child. Cortés, a chronicler said, ‘conquered no fewer women than towns.” The relationship between Cortés and Doña Isabel was not a happy one and he married the pregnant Isabel to a subordinate. Four or five months later in 1528 Leonor was born. Leonor was separated from Isabel and raised in the household of Juan Gutierrez de Altamirano. Cortés, however, acknowledged Leonor as his daughter and ensured that her life would be comfortable.
Marriage and Family
Doña Leonor, bearing the two most prestigious surnames in Mexico, became moderately wealthy. Her father, who died in 1547 in Spain, left her 10,000 ducats and her mother gave her part of her estate, apparently reconciled with her out-of-wedlock daughter. She accepted marriage with Juan de TolosaJuan de Tolosa
Juan de Tolosa was a Spanish Basque conquistador, possibly born in or near Tolosa, Spain. He discovered rich silver deposits near the present day city of Zacatecas, Mexico in 1546.-Founder of Zacatecas:...
, one of the discoverers of the silver mines and founders of the city of Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
in 1546. With her half brother, Luis Cortés, she traveled from Mexico City to Zacatecas in 1550 to be married. Tolosa was a Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
. The colonial aristocracy of Zacatecas was a close knit community of Basques intermarried with Spanish and Aztec aristocracy.
The couple had at least three children. Juan de Tolosa Cortés de Moctuzema, born in the 1550s, became a priest and Vicar of Zacatecas. Leonor de Tolosa Cortés Moctezuma, also born in the 1550s, married into another of the Basque founding families of Zacatecas. Her husband was Cristobal de Zaldivar Mendoza. Isabel de Tolosa Cortés Moctezuma, born about 1568, married Juan de Onate
Juan de Oñate
Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar was a Spanish explorer, colonial governor of the New Spain province of New Mexico, and founder of various settlements in the present day Southwest of the United States.-Biography:...
who founded the Spanish colony of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
in 1598. Other daughters, names unknown, are mentioned in the records as being in a convent in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
in 1604.
The date of Doña Leonor’s death is unknown, although apparently she died, as did her husband, before 1594.