Who is Hernan Cortes from A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and what is their importance?

Hernan Cortes was the Spanish commander responsible for the conquest of New Spain, the region we now know as Mexico. Conquering New Spain was his most spectacular massacre, and he claimed the death toll was three thousand, though another witness says it was ten times higher. Cortes met Montezuma outside of the city gates of Tenochtitlan, after being showered with gifts by his men. He later had him seized and killed. Cortes had him seized and later killed. The natives then took up arms on what is known as the Black Night, and they forced Cortes' men to retreat, though they later regrouped and wreaked more havoc on the natives killing most of them, as well as their leaders.