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How Did Spain Conquer The Indigenous Americans

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World Domination has been a common trait for Europeans in the 1500’s. Each countries’ ruler had a goal of ruling more land than their competition. This led to bloody wars and tense times between two neighboring countries. The Spanish rulers noticing that winning the land on their continent would be difficult decided to send explorer, Francisco Pizarro and crew across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. When the Spanish reached, they had won the land by having better transportation, mechanical advances, and having the motivation and drive to rule and conquer in their blood. Transportation has always played a key role in World History. Before tanks, helicopters, or planes were used, the main method of transportation was horses in Europe. …show more content…

One major device that helped the Spanish in conquering the indigenous Americans was the handgun. In 1378, the European people started to use handguns called ‘hand cannons.’ Over the years of advancements added to the gun, the Spanish had brought over the weapon to the New World 154 years later. One major benefit of the gun was that it could fire bullets from a distance and it was more deadly. Since the indigenous Americans weapons were stone, bronze, or wooden clubs, maces, hand axes, and slingshots3, it was less likely the Spanish soldier would get hurt quickly or brutally. In addition to the mechanical advances, the Spanish also had better armor. Steel armor4 was more effective at deflecting arrows, axes, and stones from injuring a soldier. The indigenous Americans had quilted armor to deflect the bullets shot by the Spanish. As a result, nothing could stop the bullets from going into the indigenous soldiers’ body. Furthermore, all the materials brought to the New World came on a ship. Ships allowed people to cross small and large bodies of water very quickly. Inside the ships, artillery, people, food, animals, etc. were added. In addition, with navigational tools, it became easier to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Since the indigenous Americans had not yet created ships, it would be very difficult to bring people, food, and the necessary resources to other lands by crossing water. All

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Conquistador, written by Buddy Levy about the famous ventures of Hernan Cortes, places the reader in the 16th century, or the era c.1450-c. 1750 ce. During this time, the idea of exploration was spreading quickly, as kingdoms and empires in Europe sought to expand their territory. Portugal, with Spain following after, led the way for exploration as they headed south. Spain, however, ventured west, driven by a patriotic attitude of expanding past their borders. Levy tells the story of Hernan Cortes, originally setting sail from Spain, as he sailed from Cuba to the shores of Mexico in 1519, eager about the discovery of new lands.

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Both guns and horses were unknown to many Native Americans of the time, so the Spaniards had a far superior advantage. But Diamond doesn’t believe that the superior weapons the Spaniards possessed over the Incans was the only advantage Pizarro had over the Incans, Diamond also believes that horses was a “tremendous advantage.” Horses could easily out run any fleeing Incan, who was running on foot, as well as the rider having an elevated advantage leaving any foot soldier helpless against

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Spain began to introduce new foods into Mexican cuisine, such as wheat, meats, and olive oil. Spain was able to take techniques from mexican cuisine and blend it into their own. Native americans were also looked as like lower class people. Higher social groups like the europeans were trying to convert Native Americans to act and become civilized. Civilized meaning participating in traditions that the Spanish did.

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These conflicts made it easy for such European foreigners as the Spanish to conquer the local communities. The second vulnerability that Native Americans suffer is that they lacked sophisticated weapons and tools (Cleary, n.d). They were unable to wage war against the European adventurers who possessed better equipment. For instance, the Spaniards were able to conquer American lands because they had access to complex equipment that allowed them to travel by sea and wage war (Cleary, n.d).

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It soon expanded out into Asia and because of the Norse it came to Europe. In 1492 A.D., the discovery made by Christopher Columbus of the Caribbean Islands had started the beginning of the collision between Old and New World societies. The collision at Cajamacra was one of many whose outcome had shared the same fate of their similar end. However, what makes this one different than the others was the capture of Atahuallpa. Atahuallpa was the Inca Emperor and, “absolute monarch of the largest and most advanced state in the New World,” and Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador who was under the command of the most powerful monarch in Europe, King Charles I of Spain (Diamond, 68).

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In the late 1800s, Europe was scrambling to conquer vast amounts of land. Imperialism had swept the continent by storm, with many countries vying for pieces of Africa and Asia to control. From 1880 to 1900, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy fought for African possessions and by 1900, nearly the whole continent had been split and placed under European rule. There was plenty of motivation for Europeans to conquer the world, and while some supported it, others didn’t. Most people in Europe at this time held ethnocentric views toward the “uncivilized” cultures in the world.

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The most obvious is the shier size and composition difference. The Aztec force stood 300,000 warriors versus 700 Spanish infantrymen, 86 cavalrymen, and 118 crossbowmen were comprised of volunteers and adventurers, and over 50,000 Native Americans allied forces (Davis, 1999, p. xx). Aztec obsidian clubs and bows and arrows proved no match for the emerging technology armored infantrymen and cavalry of the Europeans.

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In contrast, the Spanish were able to conquer the Aztecs and Incas much quicker. Some of this was due to help they received from other groups of Natives and the situations that were present in these societies when the Spanish arrived. Most of this was due to the debilitating effects European diseases had on Native Americans. Another difference between the two groups’ interactions is the different ways the Africans and Native Americans reacted to the Europeans’ presence. Since the Americas had been isolated from the rest of the world before 1492, they did not know how to react to the arrival of the Europeans and were frightened by how different they were.

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The Aztec leader Montecuhzoma was a poor leader, he wasn’t concerned about the wellbeing of his people. In Broken Spears, readers will see that the Spaniards use nearby tribes to take over the Aztecs land, the Spaniards killed men, women and children. When the Aztecs hear about what the Spaniards have done they become furious and plan to retaliate but are quickly stopped by the diseases brought by the Spaniards. The Aztecs are exposed to small pox and measles but the Spaniards were unaffected by the diseases because they are well known in Europe and they are exposed to diseases

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The Europeans were able to conquer the Americas because even though it was by “accident,” they were still more prepared for what was to come. Jared Diamond calls the European “accidental conquerors.” Diamond calls his theory geographical luck and concludes that the only way the Europeans were able to dominate the Americas was because of the way the ocean patterns happened to flow. The geographical wind patterns caused the ships to sail towards the Incas and the Aztecs and when the Europeans arrived they tried to conquer the Aztecs and Incas, they succeed for a number of reasons. One reason that they were able to conquer the Americas was because of their technological advances.

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The Europeans gave the Native American both positive and negative things. The positive things were: wheat, sugar, rice, coffee, horses, cows, and pigs. The negative things were: smallpox, measles, bubonic plague, influenza, typhus, diphtheria, and scarlet flower. Then, god, glory, and god. The Spanish came for god, glory, and gold.

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Stover said that transportation was important because of getting goods

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In the 16th Century, Spain became one of the European forces to reckon with. To expand even further globally, Spanish conquistadors were sent abroad to discover lands, riches, and North America and its civilizations. When the Spanish and Native American groups met one another, they judged each other, as they were both unfamiliar with the people that stood before them. The Native American and Spanish views and opinions of one another are more similar than different because when meeting and getting to know each other, neither the Spaniards nor the Native Americans saw the other group of people as human. Both groups of people thought of one another as barbaric monsters and were confused and amazed by each other’s cultures.

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The European settlers upon arrival to the New World immediately assumed cultural and societal superiority due to their technological advancements in basic weaponry, and can be exemplified by Columbus' first interaction with the native people, "They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are

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Trade can be seen as a positive side. The Spanish brought goods such as gun powder, sugar, horses, steel, and farming machinery and more. In return the Latin American natives introduced tobacco, potatoes, tomatoes, turkey and corn. The natives were taught new skills in trade and even architecture using the new materials. Although this may initially be viewed as positive, the Spanish soon began to take advantage and exploit the natives.

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