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Panfilo de Narvaez was born to an upper class family in Vallenda, Spain. Although he was older than most Spanish who sought their fortunes in the New World, he nevertheless was very active in early conquest period. He was an important figure in the conquests of Jamaica and Cuba in the years between 1509 and 1512. In 1518, the Governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez had sent the young conquistador Hernan Cortes off to Mexico to begin the conquest of the mainland. Velazquez soon regretted his actions, however , and decided to place someone else in charge. He sent Narvaez, with a large force over one thousand Spanish soldiers to Mexico to take command of the expedition and send Cortes back to Cuba. Cortes, who was in the process of defeating the Aztec Empire, had to leave the recently subdued capital of Tenochtitlan to return to the coast to fight Narvaez.