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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.

An Introduction to the Aztec and Inca Societies


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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.

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 Century
Source: http://group3pas.wikispaces.com/file/view/1Aztec_Empire_Map.png/131466461/
1-Aztec_Empire_Map.png

Figure 2. : Map Showing the Inca Empire in the Sixteenth Century


Source: http://education-portal.com/cimages/multimages/16/inca2.gif

Figure 3: Picture Showing the Aztecs performing a human sacrifice


Source;
https://mrgrayhistory.wikispaces.com/file/view/L_Americas__Aztec_Sacrifice.jpg/244507799/339x267/L_Americas_-_Aztec_Sacrifice.jpg

Figure 4: The Incas at a Celebration


Source:
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
should have been a decisive blow, but the Spaniards were saved by their crossbow and
harquebuses, weapons hitherto unknown in central Mexico.
1

Extracted from ;Ross Hassig, Mexico and the Spanish Conquest.(1994).

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. 2An 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. 3It 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
article entitled, The Indigenous People of Central Mexico. 4Such local alliances were crucial
to the Spaniards success because Cotes was not equipped to march overland without Indian

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


3
4

Extracted from: http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/mexico2.html


Extracted from: Ross Hassig Mexico and the Spanish Conquest.(1994).

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 brothers 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

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
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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

Figure 5: Picture of Spanish Conquistador for the Aztecs,


Hernan Cortes
Source:
http://cp91279.biography.com/Bio_Mini-Bios_Hernan-Cortes_SF_HD_768x43216x9.jpg

Figure 6: Picture of Spanish Conquistador for the Incas,


Francisco Pizarro
Source:http://cp91279.biography.com/BRAND_BIO_BSFC_148562_SF_2997_005_201
40204_V1_HD_768x432-16x9.jpg

Bibliography

Books:
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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/1Aztec_Empire_Map.png/131466461/1-Aztec_Empire_Map.png
Map
of
Inca
Empire:
http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/cunniff/americanhistorycentral/Graphic_Images/04_En
counters_in_America/02_Fall_of_the_Incas/inca_empire_map.jpg
Picture of Hernan Cortes: http://cp91279.biography.com/Bio_Mini-Bios_HernanCortes_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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