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It was these agents of conquest that allowed 168 Spanish conquistadors to defeat an Imperial Inca army of 80,000 in 1532, and set a pattern of European conquest which would continue up to the present day.…
Timing was everything for the Spanish forces as their efforts came amid an Inca civil war led by two feuding, power-hungry brothers (Atahuallpa and Huascar). The Incas inhabited a vast and incredible territory that sat atop the Andes Mountains in Peru and they enjoyed three decades of civilization. But, when a right to succession became an issue, the Incan people were split and the stage was set for what would become a complete shift of national control.…
When the Spanish conquistadors came upon the Inca Empire, they realized that there were bountiful amounts of treasure such as gold and silver, which tempted them to conquer the empire and found their own colonies. Consequently, the conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro, fought the Inca and utilized their steel weapons and horses, as well as the smallpox virus to rout their enemies. The conquistadors easily defeated the Inca, who were already fighting a civil war before the Spaniards arrived. In order to legitimize their ruthless killing of the Inca, the Spaniards said that they were ridding God of His enemies and preventing the Inca from insulting His rule. The supposedly religiously motivated clash between the Spaniards and the Inca resulted in the decline of the Incan Empire and the expansion of Spanish rule throughout Central America. It wasn’t European intellectual superiority, but a war incited by religious beliefs, inner turmoil, as well as a smallpox-endemic that weakened and resulted in the conquest of societies in Central and South…
All through the historical backdrop of the New World, there has been strife between indigenous populaces and approaching pioneers that usurp the land and assets. The uncovered histories and ficticious belief surrounding the Trail of Tears and the victory of the Incas and other local societies reminds us as readers that genocide and ethnic purifying leaves a sign of an awesome misfortune on American…
On the evening of October 2,1968 in Tlatelolco, Mexico located the at La Plaza de Tres Culturas the mexican police forces along with army squads had opened fire at a student demonstration along with residents. Which had led to the streets of Mexico being plagued baths of blood and bodies littering the Plaza floor as others tried to escape the firestorm of bullets raining upon the protestors. The tally of death had been marked by the government as four dead , twenty wounded , whilst many eye-witnesses claimed hundreds were dead; the few protesters that had managed to escape were arrested. An estimate of one thousand protesters were arrested by police forces and military troops, the act of ultraviolence had put an extent shock around the government upon hearing acts of violence. The Tlatelolco massacre is not labeled as a ,“genocide” for it’s events have not shown many of the stages of a genocide, the events shadows a rebellion that grew and was shortly eliminated so the government could still remain in power. The behavior of the mexican government in 1968 was a very closed democracy which the people of mexico wanted a more open…
Another factor that contributed to the defeat of the Aztecs was inferior weapons and warring tactics. The Aztecs use of arrows and spears were no match against the Spaniards guns and canons. The superiority of arms provided the Spaniards with the best advantage in their campaign along with their alliances with the Tlaxcaltecas and other tribes.…
They had all the requirements but one: the Incas did not have any iron. By only the fault of geography, and by no fault of their own, the Incas could not make steel, but they did have a lot of gold. Since gold is a soft and weak metal, it was only used for decoration by the Incas. When the Spanish came with their steel swords, steel armor, and steel ships, and decided to take the gold, the Incas could only defend it with their bronze and stone weapons. This fight was no contest for the Spanish, their steel weapons easily defeated the stone and bronze weapons of the Incas. Having steel gave Europeans the ability to make better fighting equipment and faster, more efficient transportation systems. Having better fighting equipment gave Europe an advantage in fighting and taking over other civilizations, while things like steam engines and steel ships allowed Europe to transport goods farther and faster, causing them to have a more dynamic economy. Easier fighting and easier movement of resources gave Europe huge advantages when it came to decimating other cultures and appropriating their…
The invisible weapon the Incas faced was diseases. A Spanish ship had a slave onboard who suffered from smallpox, who then brought it to the American mainland for the first time (Video Notes). Since the Spanish were surrounded by the disease they became immune. When they went to conquer the Incas, they became infected. All in all, since the Spanish were immune to disease, it allowed them to conquer the Incas.…
The conquest of the Aztec and Incan empires were relatively easy battles. A couple of reasons as to why it was so easy were because these empires were isolated, they knew nothing of the new world and other cultures, they believed that the Europeans intentions were of no relevance to them and underestimated them. Another reason was technology. Technology was a huge part in the conquest of these empires Indian war tactics were old and out dated. They were no match for the Spanish and their cannons, crossbows, swords, armor, shields, and the hand held musket.…
Death is a process of life that sooner or later everyone must face in due time. In his poem, “The Soldier of Mictlán,” Rigoberto Gonzalez describes the life of a soldier in the afterlife in a place called Mictlán, where most of the dead come according to Aztec mythology. His poetic techniques portray the fervent desire of an exhausted soldier to experience life again and leave behind the emptiness of the underworld.…
Hernan Cortes, a fierce Spanish conquistador, landed at San Juan de Ulua, in April 1519. With him, Cortes had 508 soldiers, one hundred sailors, artillery cannons, eleven ships and sixteen horses. Cortes and his small army, marched through Mexico, forming alliances with Aztec rivals, until reaching the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the massive Mexican empire known as the Aztecs or Mexica. It had a population of 200,000 people; almost three times that of the largest city of Spain, Seyville (Windschuttle, 43). Within the next two years, Cortes and his men had triumphantly defeated the Aztecs and taken control of Tenochtitlan against all odds. (Daniel, 1992) So how, despite be hopelessly outnumbered, without the possibility of new supplies or reinforcements, fighting other native tribes and Spaniards, and the Aztecs on their own turf, did this tiny Spanish force defeat such a formidable army. Today, there are a number of reasons why the Spanish have believed to been able to overcome such odds. A combination of poor Aztec military tactics against advance Spanish weaponry and strategy, a weak Aztec ruler, the spread of disease, Tenochtitlan’s poor governing over its populace, and the interconnectedness of Aztec military and religion ultimately led to the demise of its empire.…
How can 168 Spanish soldiers defeat an army of 80,000 Native Americans? Well in the year 1532, a Spanish conquistador known as Francisco Pizarro invaded the New World. He quickly got into a conflict with the largest state of the New World and managed to capture the absolute monarch, Atahuallpa. Francisco charged a ransom for his release and even after the ransom was given, he killed Atahuallpa. They were defeated and this cycle was continued by more Spanish conquistadors until the Native Americans were completely defeated. The Europeans were able to defeat the Native Americans because of advanced weapons/armor, agile horses, and the transmitting of fatal diseases.…
Although Spanish had the mobility such as horses and steel weapons which Inca didn’t had defense against. It was the Indians fighting against Indians that helped Spanish conquest. Also, when Spanish arrived Inca was already falling. Many of the Indian empires were fed up of Inca rule which made them joined hands with Spanish to break free from Inca domination. Spanish promised Indians allies independence denied by Inca to gain support, but after the conquest the promises were forgotten. This was a huge advantage for Spanish because there were very few of them even though they had the advantage of their weapons. Inca army was mostly killed by other Indians not Spanish. Spanish were massively supported by Indian allies. Lima was saved by the army sent by the mother of Pizzaro’s young wife. Spanish left out the support that was given by Indian. The conquest would not have been possible if the Indians did not fight against the…
Many people question this war. Whether it was right for America to go into war with Mexico. I say it’s not. Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. As soon as Mexico gained their independence, they invited American Settlers over to improve their economy. This turned out to be a bad choice for Mexico. The American settlers ignored laws which meant they broke them. American settlers did not care for Mexico’s customs or beliefs. They soon revolted and secretly annexed Texas in 1836. This made Mexico upset. The border was said, by the Americans, to be settled at Rio Grande, but Mexico thought it was at Nueces River. American troops were going to cross the river, but were shot by the Mexicans. 16 troops were killed while the rest surrendered.…
During the Pueblo Revolt the Indians used measures of destruction and cleansing in order to win back their new freedom in which religion played a large role. After being stripped from their identities and religion, in 1680, under Spanish rule the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico revolted in a victorious uprising [pg.10]. This was a result of centuries of careless exploitation of the land and its people which eliminated more than half of a thriving population. Nonetheless, the Spanish did not see colonization or forced conversion on religion as a big deal compared to the “crimes” the Indians…