Here is a list of the places where the story of the Conquest played out. From the childhood home of Cortes in Medellin, Spain to the walls of the Templo Mayor. Wherever possible I have used the original name reported in the source texts and in parenthesis added the current name if applicable.
Europe
Medellin, Estremadura, Spain – Birthplace of Hernan Cortes.
Salamanca, Spain – Cortes studied grammar there. One writer reports it was at the University of Salamanca, although this may be unfounded.
Indies or Americas
Baracoa, Cuba -Cortes lived here and herded and farmed.
Cholula – The spiritual capital of the region, Cholula was home to the largest pyramid in the Americas. It was the site of the Cholula Massacre where Cortes killed much of the leadership from the region.
Cempoala (Zempoala) – Here, Xicomecatl, the Cacique (chief) of Cempoala, provided hospitality to Cortes and his men. He offered housing in the temple precinct, Gomara reports. The Spaniards were fed and informed of the local political dynamics – that is, Cempoala was subjugated by Moctezuma and was forced to pay tribute in goods and lives.
Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) – The island city of the Mexica, was a miracle of ancient architecture. Founded upon a natural island, it was built up basket by basket from the mud of Lake Texcoco until it was a thriving capital with markets, canals, temples and palaces with maybe as many as 100,000 residents in the surrounding area. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Mexica people, and one of three city-states that formed the Triple Alliance, including Tlacopan and Texcoco. It was also the home of the Great Speaker, or Tlatoani; most famous of which is Moctezuma (Montezuma).
Quiahuitzlan – Built high on an outcropping of rock over the Atlantic ocean, Quiahuitzlan was one of the first large settlements Cortes’s men had seen on the mainland. It was here that the chiefs of nearby towns united with Cortes to stand up to Moctezuma and the Mexica armies. Today archeological ruins of a pyramid and several other stone foundations can be seen.