Topic

What were the Factors Responsible for the Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas by the Spanish in the Sixteenth Century?

Objectives:

Give a general overview of the Aztecs and Inca Societies Examine the factors responsible for the conquest of the Aztecs by the Spanish in 1521 Examine the factors responsible for the conquest of the Incas by the Spanish in 1533

Thesis Statement: The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Incas in 1521 and 1533

respectively, were due to three main factors including superior technology, diseases and the support of Indian allies.

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An Introduction to the Aztec and Inca Societies

The Aztec and Inca civilizations flourished around the 12th century AD. By the fifteenth

century the Aztecs were considered the most socio-culturally developed society in Mesoamerica.

They were a civilization with a rich cultural heritage and built a mighty and powerful kingdom

that occupied vast amounts of land in Mexico. As early as AD 100 there were 60,000 inhabitants

in Teotihuacan City alone, reaching a peak population of some 200,000 inhabitants in AD 500.

The Aztecs were a fierce and warlike people and conquered their neighbours through fear and

cruelty resulting in their vast expansion. They participated in human sacrifices which can be seen

in the illustration on page number four (4).

The Incas however, were a more tranquil group of people than the Aztecs. They were

polytheistic meaning that they worship many Gods. They occupied lands in Peru, with Cuzco as

their capital. Their empire included many tribes ruled by their local leaders all under the control

of the capital, Cuzco. They were a very rich tribe and were rumoured to have vast amounts of

gold, silver and other precious stones. Like the Aztecs, the Incas had great architects and built

marvellous pyramids mostly out of large boulders, stone and mud.

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These Native Americans were a warlike people and built great cities and kingdoms.

However, by the Sixteenth Century, both the Aztecs and Incas had been colonised by the

Spanish. How was this possible? The following, discusses the factors which were responsible for

the conquest of the Aztecs and Incas by the Spanish in the Sixteenth Century.

Figure 1. : Map showing the grandeur of the Aztec Empire in the Sixteenth CenturySource: http://group3pas.wikispaces.com/file/view/1Aztec_Empire_Map.png/131466461/

1-Aztec_Empire_Map.png

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Figure 2. : Map Showing the Inca Empire in the Sixteenth CenturySource: http://education-portal.com/cimages/multimages/16/inca2.gif

Figure 3: Picture Showing the Aztecs performing a human sacrificeSource; https://mrgrayhistory.wikispaces.com/file/view/L_Americas_-_Aztec_Sacrifice.jpg/244507799/339x267/L_Americas_-_Aztec_Sacrifice.jpg

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Figure 4: The Incas at a CelebrationSource: https://mrgrayhistory.wikispaces.com/file/view/L_Americas_-_Inca_Ceremony.gif/244515377/357x257/L_Americas_-_Inca_Ceremony.gif

What were the Factors Responsible for the Conquest of the Aztecs and Inca Societies by the Spanish in the Sixteenth Century?

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The Spanish after the discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492, continued to sail to

the Americas to settle, and to search for gold and other precious stones and gems. There were

frequent altercations between the Spaniards, Aztecs and Incas. The Spaniards had heard rumours

of vast amounts of gold possessed by the Aztecs and Incas. They were so desirous for gold that

they fought with the Aztecs and Incas in an effort to conquer their lands and obtain the gold that

they owned. The Spaniards were able to defeat the Aztec and Inca Societies in 1521 and 1533

respectively, due to favourable circumstances or factors including superior technology, diseases

and the support of Indian allies.

The Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez was responsible for the conquest of the Aztecs.

He arrived in Mexico with an army consisting of about 550 men and 16 horses. For the conquest

of the Inca, another brave conquistador by the name of Francisco Pizarro led the cohort of about

180 men to Peru. With such a small force, how were Cortes and Pizarro able to defeat thousands

of the Aztec and Inca people respectively, in such short time periods?

One leading factor accounting for the downfall of the Aztecs and Incas by the Spanish

was due to their superior technology. The wooden shields, bows and arrows and machetes that

they used to fight were no match for the heavy artillery possessed by the Spanish. The Spanish

fought with steel weapons, guns, horses, canons and were shielded by steel armour. This gave

them an advantage over the inhabitants, who were fighting on the ground, on foot with wooden

weapons. With such advanced weaponry it was easier for the Spanish to overthrow the Aztecs

and Incas as the steel weapons proved more effective in battle. 1” When the Spanish perused

them (The Aztecs), a concealed force of perhaps three thousand ambushed the Spaniards in what

1 Extracted from ;Ross Hassig, ‘Mexico and the Spanish Conquest’.(1994).6

should have been a decisive blow, but the Spaniards were saved by their crossbow and

harquebuses, weapons hitherto unknown in central Mexico”.

The Spanish sailed to the Americas, not only carrying guns and other materials, but also

tagging along lethal diseases and viruses. They brought diseases such as small pox, measles and

typhoid which spread like wild fire and decimated throughout the Americas. The Aztecs and

Incas, being New World people had no immunity to such deadly diseases and their local

remedies did not do the trick. They died in great numbers, weakening their force and making it

easier for the Spanish to win the ongoing battle. Diseases killed as many as 90 percent of the

Inca people. Of the Aztecs, more than 240,000 were killed by diseases. Almost all of the Aztec

nobility perished: there remained alive only a few lords and knights and the little children. For

the Incas, over 6,000 of their people were killed by diseases. This continues to show the

devastating effect of diseases on the Native Americans greatly contributing to their loss to the

Spanish. 2“An estimated 90 percent of indigenous casualties during European colonization were

caused by disease rather than military conquest”.

The Aztecs were considered the most powerful and warlike society in Mesoamerica at the

time. Such great power drew much hatred and animosity towards the Aztecs by other native

tribes. They were a fierce and warlike people and conquered their neighbours through fear and

cruelty resulting in their vast expansion. As a result, many Indians allied with the Spanish in

defeating the Aztecs. 3“It goes without saying that the Spaniards would not have survived their

ordeal without the help of their Indian (Tlaxcalan) allies,” according to John P. Schmal in his

2 Extracted from http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/smallpox-article/

3 Extracted from: http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/mexico2.html7

article entitled, ‘The Indigenous People of Central Mexico’. 4“Such local alliances were crucial

to the Spaniards’ success because Cotes was not equipped to march overland without Indian

support”. Evidently, this shows that the Indian allies were of superior importance to the

Spaniards who helped them to defeat the much hated Aztecs.

For the Inca, it was not a matter of Indian allies which contributed to their demise, but

instead it was as a result of the civil war in 1527 which took place just before Pizarro sailed

down to Peru in 1530. The civil war was fought between two brothers, Huascar and Atahualpa,

sons of Huayna Capac, over the succession to the Inca throne, after the death of Huayna Capac's

in 1527. Huascar declared war because he thought that he was more eligible to lead as rightful

heir to the kingdom of all the Incas instead of his brother Atahualpa. However, Atahualpa proved

himself to be tactically superior to his brother in war thus he defeated is brother’s armies and was

pronounced as the new Inca. By the time Pizarro had arrived in Peru many natives had died, the

remaining injured and weakened and the population decimated. Pizarro had Atahualpa murdered.

The Spanish troops easily defeated the natives as they were already weakened by the civil war

and had no leadership after the murder of Atahualpa.

Conclusion

4 Extracted from: Ross Hassig ‘Mexico and the Spanish Conquest’.(1994).8

In the end, the Spanish were able to defeat both the Aztec and Inca tribes in 1521 and 1533

respectively. Thousands of Indians were killed from both societies. The Spanish were victorious

in both instance due to their superior technology, diseases and the help of Indian allies. Another

factors which contributed to their defeat of the Inca was the Civil War which weakened their

fighting force. It was the Spanish greed for gold that sealed the fate on the Aztecs and Incas.

What had taken centuries to build was destroyed in a short matter of time.

Pictures

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Figure 5: Picture of Spanish Conquistador for the Aztecs,Hernan CortesSource: http://cp91279.biography.com/Bio_Mini-Bios_Hernan-Cortes_SF_HD_768x432-16x9.jpg

Figure 6: Picture of Spanish Conquistador for the Incas,Francisco PizarroSource:http://cp91279.biography.com/

BRAND_BIO_BSFC_148562_SF_2997_005_20140204_V1_HD_768x432-16x9.jpg

Bibliography

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Books:

Honychurch, L.(2006) The Caribbean People. 3rd edition. Nelson Thrones Limited

Hassig, R.(1994) Mexico and the Spanish Conquest. 1st edition. Longman Publishing, New York

Leon-Portilla, M.(1992) The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. 2nd edition. Beacon Press

Prescott, W.(1834) History of the Conquest of Mexico and History of the Conquest of Peru. 2nd edition. Random House, Inc.

Online sources:

Map of Aztec Empire: http://group3pas.wikispaces.com/file/view/1-Aztec_Empire_Map.png/131466461/1-Aztec_Empire_Map.png

Map of Inca Empire: http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/cunniff/americanhistorycentral/Graphic_Images/04_Encounters_in_America/02_Fall_of_the_Incas/inca_empire_map.jpg

Picture of Hernan Cortes: http://cp91279.biography.com/Bio_Mini-Bios_Hernan-Cortes_SF_HD_768x432-16x9.jpg

Picture of Francisco Pizarro: http://cp91279.biography.com/BRAND_BIO_BSFC_148562_SF_2997_005_20140204_V1_HD_768x432-16x9.jpg

Quote from John P. Schmal: http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/mexico2.html

Picture of Aztecs: https://mrgrayhistory.wikispaces.com/file/view/L_Americas_-_Aztec_Sacrifice.jpg/244507799/339x267/L_Americas_-_Aztec_Sacrifice.jpg

Picture of Incas: https://mrgrayhistory.wikispaces.com/file/view/L_Americas_-_Inca_Ceremony.gif/244515377/357x257/L_Americas_-_Inca_Ceremony.gif

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