Martín Cortés de Monroy

(birth date unknown)

BIRTH

UNKNOWN

PLACE

probably Salamanca, Crown of Castile

DEATH

1528

PLACE

Medellín, Extremadura, Spain

FAMILY

FATHER

Hernán Cortés

(1485-1547)

HOMES

RELIGIOUS VIEWS

RELIGION NOT DOCUMENTED

DENOMINATION NOT DOCUMENTED

MEMBERSHIPS

AWARDS

Martín Cortés de Monroy was the father of Hernán Cortés. A University of Mexico historical project names him and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano as the parents of the conqueror, who was born in Medellín, Extremadura.

EARLY LIFE

A 1525 Salamanca lineage inquiry identifies Martín Cortés as a native of Salamanca, son of the graduate Hernán Rodríguez and Mari Hernández. He later moved to Medellín, married Catalina Pizarro, and was living there in 1525. Contemporary records call him Martín Cortés; the added surname Monroy is not documented in his own signatures.

CAREER

DEATH

The Spanish state archives identify Martín Cortés, father of Hernán Cortés, as having died in 1528. He was living in Medellín in 1525. A recent study of the family records cautions that accounts of his exact burial place and noble lineage contain later errors; his cause of death is not established.