Compare And Contrast The Spanish Conquest Of Inca And Aztecs

Eros Perez

The Spanish Conquest on Aztecs and Incas

There are many reasons why the great and powerful Aztecs and Incas fell so easily. It is very difficult for someone to compare a small group of 300 to 1200 men conquering a nation of over 200,000. However when one can compare and contrast their internal structures, weaponry and armor, motive of warriors and contribution of disease to the overall equation, one understands how this was easily possible. It is unlikely for a native Indian or group of native Indians to fight off famine in shining armor wielding powerful guns; with mighty Spanish swords riding swiftly on horses carrying bone crushing dogs and having cannons demolish from a distance. Even less possible when the Indians are also

Not only that but when the Spanish arrived, the Spanish arrived with elite warriors of the Spanish land with a specific purpose to conquer, these were trained men that came to the new land hungry for gold and silver (Source 2, Del Castillo). With that being said they came ready to conquer wielding guns, swords, cannons and armor that made most of the Aztec weapons useless in combat. To add to their great advancement in weaponry and armor, the Spanish had horses that can swiftly carry them through battle and allow each individual in the Spanish army to kill several Aztec Indians and still live (Source 3). Although at one point the Aztecs overwhelming numbers almost finished the Spanish off and many died, they died with smallpox that was spread through the Aztec civilization killing 25% of their population over the next ten years. The Spanish eventually came back with another fleet and finished off the few resisting Aztecs easily. It is also said that because of the Aztec tradition to hold their enemies as hostage for sacrifice, it worked against them because to attempt and save Spanish alive rather than simply kill them (Source 2, Del

The two sons of Huayna Capac named Atahualpa and Huascar had such controversy in regards to who will be leader of their father dies that it divided the Incan military and government long before the Spanish arrived (Source 4, website). A similarity between the conquering of the Aztecs and that of the Incas is that they were both plagued by smallpox through the arrival of the Spanish that helped kill many of the natives. However unlike the Aztecs who received smallpox after fighting many Spanish, the Incas received small pox before the Spanish attempted to conquer them. Pizarro arrived years before conquering the Incas with small pox but had no permission to take their lands. Through the years and while Pizarro waited, smallpox plagued the city of Incas killing thousandths of them. Fortunately for the Spanish, years of dealing with smallpox gave them immunity to it (Source 1, website). Once Pizarro received permission from Spain, it was a very easy to simply gather the Incan leader and kill him along with his already weakened military using the elite soldiers of the