
Hernándo Serrano
Hernándo Serrano is Stan Chavira's 10th great grandfather
Born c. 1499 at Badajoz, España.
Died 1561 (age 62) at Duràngo, Nueva España.
Spanish Conquistador and Blacksmith.
Hernándo left Jerez de la Frontera, in southwest Spain, in 1509 for the new world, arriving in Puerto Rico, most likely under the command of Ponce de León. He then moved on to Cuba, likely under the command of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. As a Spanish soldier, and blacksmith, Hernándo would have helped conquer the native Tainos Indians and settle the new Spanish colonies.
In 1518 Velázquez de Cuéllar placed Conquistador Hernán Cortés in command of an expedition to explore and secure the interior of Mexico for colonization. At the last minute Velázquez changed his mind and revoked his charter. February 1519, in an act of open mutiny, Cortés ignored the new orders and went ahead anyway. In July 1519, they were able to take over the sea port of Veracruz. By this act, Cortés dismissed the authority of the Governor of Cuba and placed himself directly under the orders of King Charles V, of Spain. On this expedition Hernándo was one of only three blacksmiths, the first blacksmiths ever to set foot on North America.
Hernándo was among one hundred men left in Veracruz, when Cortès marched on to Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City) in mid-August 1519.
Late in 1519 the Spaniards, decided to build four brigantines to nagivate Lake Texoco, which sourrounded Tenochtitlan. Cortés sent word on to Veracruz that Hernándo and another blacksmith, Pedro Hernandez, should come to Tenochtitlan. But first they were to forge two huge chains for the brigantines. These newly forged chains, their tools, and iron stripped from Spanish ships, were to be carried by Indian bearers to the Aztec city. When the smiths arrived with their equipment, Cortes assigned Martin the job of making tools for the shipwrights and carpenters.
Soon after Hernándo's arrival, the Aztec Emperor Montezuma was made a prisoner by the Spanish and placed in chains, most certainly crafted by Hernándo and his fellow blacksmiths. From then on, these colonial blacksmiths would be called upon repeatedly to make and repair irons for shackling the Indian slaves.
After Moctezuma was stoned to death by his subjects in June of 1520, Cortés decided to flee Tenochtitlan. On the night of June 30, 1520, known as La Noche Triste, his large army fled toward Tlacopan. However, they were noticed by Aztec warriors, who sounded the alarm. Ferocious fighting ensued. When the Spaniards reached a causeway leading out of the city, they had to fight their way across in the rain, while their backguard was being massacred.. Weighed down by plundered gold, some soldiers fell into the lake, and drowned. Cortés and his guardsmen, eventually reached dry land at Tacuba, leaving the rest of his expedition to fend for itself. It is said that Cortés wept as his wounded soldiers straggled into the village. During the hurried escape, much of the looted treasure, and artillery, was lost. Also, eight hundred and seventy men were lost in the battle. Cortés's men finally prevailed with the assistance of reinforcements from Cuba and their native allies. The Spaniards were then able to cut off all supplies to the island city of Tenochtitlán, eventually destroying it. By August 13, 1521, the Aztec Empire was defeated, and Cortés was able to claim it for Spain.
Hernándo named his first son Hernan (after Cortes) Martin (for his father) Serrano. Hernan Martin Serrano was b. about 1558 in Zacatecas and also became a soldier under Cristobal de Onate (founder of the contemporary city of Guadalajara) and later under Cristobal de Onate's son Don Juan de Onate, helping to settle the first European settlement on the upper Rio Grande in the present U.S. state of New Mexico.
Links
- Badajoz, Spain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badajoz
- Juan de Onate settles New Mexico http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_O%C3%B1ate
- La Noche Triste http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Noche_Triste
Relationships
Stan Chavira → his mother, Maria del Pilar Zamora→ her mother, Maria Mandita Torres → her mother, Maria del Pilar Romero → her mother, Maria Gertrudes Dolores Zamora → her father, Diego Antonio Zamora → his father, Juan Tomàs Martin y Zamora → his mother, Maria Martin Serrano → her father, Luis Martin Serrano → his father, Captain Luis Martin Serrano → his father, Capitan Luis Martin Serrano, I → his father, Hernán Martin Serrano → his father, Hernándo Serrano

