Legend of Cortés

*"It's an ancient design. The legends say it was imprinted on the blood money demanded by Cortés."*

## Legend of Cortés

### Key Individuals

Hernán Cortés

In the midst of a conflict taking place in the Valley of Mexico, brought about by the Spanish expedition lead by Hernán Cortés who wanted to claim the Aztec gold for himself, the Aztecs delivered a chest containing 882 golden pieces to conquistador Cortés as blood money paid to stem the slaughter he wreaked upon the Aztec Empire with his armies. However the gold only fueled Cortés' greed so the Heathen Gods placed a curse over the gold: any mortal that removes a piece from the chest shall be damned. The curse could be broken only if the plundered treasure was restored in total and a blood debt repaid.

Over 200 years later, pirates roamed the Caribbean Sea, looking for lost treasures such as that of the Treasure of Cortés, which at this point had become the stuff of legend. Eventually, it was found by a crew Captained by Hector Barbossa who sailed the *Black Pearl.* The curse befell Barbossa and his crew for 10 years until their curse was ended during a fateful Battle on Isla de Muerta.

## Prelude

##### Previous: ...

On the Mexican islands and land, the Aztec Empire was building itself into a strong alliance, claiming much territory and power. They had a strong bond with their gods and used gold to build their cities and civilizations. Around 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés heard rumor of the gold that sat within the land of the Aztecs. Wishing to claim power through the gold, Hernán Cortés set out on an expedition of 11 ships and 500 men to claim to gold. They began an offensive on the Aztecs, threatening their civilization. The Spanish offensive was incredibly effective, able to create vast amounts of bloodshed on behalf of the Aztecs.

## Recount

Hoping to save their people and their gold, the Aztec rulers compiled 882 golden coins into a stone chest, hoping to pay Cortés enough to end the fighting and save the Aztecs. Cortés accepted the gold, however instead of ending his attack, his greed only increased. In response the Heathen Gods placed a curse upon the gold, stating that any mortal who removed a piece of the gold from the chest would be punished for eternity, turned into unfeeling and nonliving skeletons in the moonlight, roaming the seas. The only way to lift the curse was to return all the Aztec gold pieces to the chest and a blood debt repaid to the heathen gods by those who took the gold.

The gold made it's way to Isla de Muerta, the Island of the Dead, where it lay for centuries, untouched. Rumor slowly spread through the seas of the cursed treasure, however none could find it, as it was said that the Island of the Dead could only be found by those who already knew of it's location.

## Aftermath

##### Next: ...

In the early 16th century, the pirate Jack Sparrow heard tell of the treasure, and planned to steal the gold with the aid of his crew aboard the *Black Pearl*. However they committed mutiny, abandoning him on a deserted island before he could do so, going to take the treasure themselves. This actually allowed Jack to avoid the curse while the rest of his crew fell into the curse. They then began a search across the ocean for the pieces of gold so that they may return it to the stone chest on the Isla de Muerta and end their suffering. They were cursed for a total of 10 years, however were eventually able to find the final piece around the neck of Elizabeth Swann. Jack Sparrow and a blacksmith Will Turner began a heroic journey to rescue Elizabeth and recapture the *Pearl*. Will learnt that his blood was what they needed to end the curse, able to time the ending of the curse in time so that Jack could execute the captain of the cursed crew; Hector Barbossa. The curse was ended after a fateful battle that came to be recorded as the Battle of Isla de Muerta.

## Appearances

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Mentioned Only)