The Spanish were able to conquer both the Aztec and the Incan empires so easily because of advanced weaponry, disease, and the Native American view that the Europeans were gods come down to earth. Many of the reasons that that the Spanish had an advantage had to do with their geography. Because of their location in Europe along the same latitude as the fertile crescent, they were able to reap the benefits of cultural diffusion, such as advancement in weapons, farming, and other technological advancements like the printing press.
One the biggest advantages that the Spanish had over the Aztecs and Incas were their advanced weaponry, such as guns, steel, and horseback riding. And although the guns were not very accurate, when fighting an army of over 7,000, it is hard not to hit somebody. Furthermore, the noise of the guns would be petrifying to the Indians, who had never
…show more content…
This view originally came from myth – according to Aztec legend, the founding of Tenochtitlan was from the land of Aztlan, which is translated as ‘the land of white herons’. So, when the white Spanish rode in on their horses, which would have been very intimidating for someone who had never seen a horse before, wearing shiny armor, which might have given off a perception of being more than human, their ideas of what the gods looked like were very similar to what the Spanish would have looked like. Also, at first, the Spanish had great relationships with both the Aztecs and the Incas, which consisted mostly of trade and gift giving; this might have been perceived as the ‘gods rewarding the people. Later, after the relations had turned from compatible to atrocious, and the Spanish’s were fighting with the thunder of guns. And thunder would have been perceived as the noise of the gods, the guns would have re-enforced the idea that they were gods, and the idea of gods coming down to fight them would have petrified even the toughest