Transcript Conquest of America

Age of Discovery: Conquest of
America
I. 1st Encounters
 Sp. “Glory, God, & Gold”
 Columbus: W. Indies, Taino people were
friendly, generous, could be easily conquered
Conquerors followed, forced conversions,
seized gold, disease 9/10 natives die
II. Conquistadors
Sp. Explorers in
America told stories
of rich empires of gold
Cortes landed in Mex.
w/ 600 men, 16
horses, few canon
Aided by Malinche
(native), other tribes
hated Aztecs
 Moctezuma thought Cortes may be Quetzacoatl
Let Cortes into capital of Tenochtitlan
Spanish were greedy and relationship soured
Cortes regrouped and assaulted the capital, defeating the Aztecs
 Pizarro (1532) went to
Peru to conquer Incas
 Used same method
as Cortes
 Captured Atahualpa &
demanded ransom,
then killed him
III. Reasons for Victory
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Superior technology (horses, armor, muskets, canon)
Lack of unity
Diseases affected natives
Loss of hope
AZTEC
MAYA
INCA