Juana de Zúñiga, Marquesa del Valle de Oaxaca
(1509–1583; second wife of Hernán Cortés)
BIRTH
1509
PLACE
Yanguas, Spain
DEATH
1583
PLACE
Seville, Spain
FAMILY
HUSBAND
Hernán Cortés
(1485-1547)
HOMES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
RELIGION NOT DOCUMENTED
DENOMINATION NOT DOCUMENTED
MEMBERSHIPS
AWARDS
Juana de Zúñiga was a Spanish noblewoman and the second wife of Hernán Cortés. In 1530 Juana sailed with Cortés to New Spain. The couple lived chiefly at Cuernavaca, where Cortés built a palace, and she oversaw the household while he led expeditions to the Pacific coast. Cortés also had children by other women, including his son Martín, born to Malintzin. Juana outlived him by many years. Cortés returned to Spain in 1540 and died there in 1547.
EARLY LIFE
Juana de Zúñiga was the daughter of Carlos Ramírez de Arellano, count of Aguilar, and Juana de Zúñiga, and a niece of Álvaro de Zúñiga, duke of Béjar, one of the leading nobles of Castile. When she was born is unknown. In 1528 Cortés returned to Spain to defend himself against his critics and to seek rewards from Emperor Charles V. The duke of Béjar supported him at court, and a marriage with his niece was arranged. They married in 1529, the year Cortés was made marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca.
In 1530 Juana sailed with Cortés to New Spain. The couple lived chiefly at Cuernavaca, where Cortés built a palace, and she oversaw the household while he led expeditions to the Pacific coast.
They had several children who survived, including Martín, who inherited his father's title, and daughters María, Catalina and Juana. Cortés also had children by other women, including his son Martín, born to Malintzin.
Cortés returned to Spain in 1540 and died there in 1547. Juana outlived him by many years.
CAREER
DEATH
Juana de Zúñiga was a Spanish noblewoman and the second wife of Hernán Cortés. In 1530 Juana sailed with Cortés to New Spain. The couple lived chiefly at Cuernavaca, where Cortés built a palace, and she oversaw the household while he led expeditions to the Pacific coast. Juana de Zúñiga died in 1583, in Seville, Spain. The available biographical account does not describe a continuous final medical course. It gives no dependable sequence of treatment and last symptoms from which to reconstruct a more detailed bedside narrative.
POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
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