Hernan Cortez

The key people and their reasons for coming to America were all different. They have all been through hardships including controlling the vast area called the Americas. Some of the people that had a huge influence on the future of Spain were Hernan Cortez, Francisco Pizzaro, and Juan Ponce de Leon. During this time Spanish solders were very poor and lived in harsh conditions. Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador searching for wealth and went to present day Mexico in 1519. He was in search of the Aztec leader named Moctezuma the second. Cortez had only 6100 soldiers and 16 horses. As a result of the war, Moctezuma sent gifts including gold and valuables to bribe him to end the war. A difficulty Cortez faced was that while he was gone, the Aztec rebelled due to the Spanish capturing their leader. Another difficulty that Hernan Cortez faced was the fact that his army was brutality outnumbered. In the end, Cortez and his small fleet of what soldiers he had left over won the battle.

Rumors of golden cities in the mountains of South America caught his attention and set out in search of this golden city. This “golden city” was the Inca Empire. However, the Inca Empire was not at all worried about the invaders. Obviously this was a mistake. Pizzaro’s army had swords and guns, unlike the Inca. One of the difficulties that the Inca Empire faced was smallpox, which wiped out thousands of people. Not to mention, the battle with Atahualpa’s half brother. In the end Pizzaro captured Atahualpa (the leader of the Inca Empire). With this leverage, Pizzaro received twenty four tons of gold and silver if he returned the Inca’s leader. As a result, Atahualpa was killed, breaking the deal, and the Inca Empire