Was Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes a War Criminal?

Other answers have already pointed out that from a modern point of view Cortés would be a war criminal. For instance: 1. Start an illegal war of conquest 2. Massacre of Cholula. 3. Kidnapping and assassination of Moctezuma. 4. read more

Cortes certainly did some horrible things, he’s clearly a mutineer, and the very idea of “war crimes” was embryonic in his day, but he probably wasn’t someone we could categorize as a war criminal by the standards of his time. read more

In 1521 - coming directly as a result of Cortes's arrival in Mesoamerica - the Aztec Empire collapsed, marking an important phase in the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Though Aztec culture would adapt and survive in interesting ways, the fall of the Aztec Empire began Spanish colonialism in modern-day Mexico, and this would have repercussions for centuries. read more

Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (Spanish pronunciation: [erˈnaŋ korˈtes ðe monˈroj i piˈθaro]; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. read more