Veracruz (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In April 1518, Juan de Grijalva disembarked on an islet near the shore that was called San Juan de Ula. On April 22, 1519 Hernan Cortes disembarked on Chalchihuecan beach, where he decided to found a village and form the first colonial settlement in Mexico. That day was Good Friday, the day of Holy Week known as the day of La Vera Cruz (True Cross) - hence he chose the name of La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz. It was from this base in August 1519 that Cortes began his course of conquest inland to Tenochtitlan, Mexico, while his subsidiary conquistador commanders pacified other regions that today shape the entity of Veracruz.