¿Por qué 'fue'?

Question

In my Spanish reader there is a passage about Hernán Cortes. It begins with:

"Hernán Cortes fue un capitán español que salió de España con destino a Cuba en busca de riquezas y aventuras"

Why does the writer use "fue" instead of "era"?

Is there a subtle difference in meaning if the writer had used "era" instead of "fue"?

Answer 1

This question has been asked a lot lately.

When referring to a person who lived and died, one uses fue. He lived, died, it's over and done with, preterite. If you wanted to talk about the personal qualities of Cortes, you would use the imperfect. For instance.

Cortes fue un conquistador de España. Era un genio de gran maldad, listo y intrigante.

Answer 2

...fue un capitán español que salió de España... is a complete overview of the life of a captain from the past. That's it! Done!

...era un capitán español que salió de España... is like remembering a point in the past when you thought "He is a captain who...". If you start saying that, it is because you are about to provide more information, to talk things that were about to happen... and not because you want to provide a complete overview of his life.

In Spanish the difference is not subtle at all, but other languages do not necessarily make this differentiation explicit all the time.

Answer 3

Probably no more than because the...a Spanish capitan that left Spain for Cuba in search of riches and adventure is completed (over and done with in the past).

The left Spain for Cuba is neither habitual, incomplete nor lacking temporal significance.

Answer 4

Fue is preterit and era is imperfect. These are both past tense, but used in different ways. Have you tried watching the video lesson on preterit vs. imperfect? Here is the link to it. - Lesson 2.10 The Preterit vs. Imperfect