The Spanish Conquest

Although some may consider the fall of the Nahua and Inca empires an encounter of the Spanish, the meeting of the two cultures was a conquest because the Spanish brutally defeated and took over the indigenous cultures with the help of many advantages. There are three major factors which contributed to the successful conquest between the Spanish and the Nahuas, also known as the Aztecs, and Incas. First, the Spanish leaders had experience in forming alliances with indigenous people. Second, the Spanish had superior weaponry and military advantage, like steel, horses, and guns which made their weapons stronger and much more deadly. Third, the Spanish were physically capable of interacting with the indigenous people without suffering from unknown diseases, unlike the Nahuas and Incas who suffered from many diseases introduced by the Spanish. In the conquest of Mexico, one of the leading factors that led to the success of the Spanish conquest was the experienced Spanish leader, Hernan Cortés. Luckily for the Spanish, Cortés had previous experience with making indigenous allies for fifteen years in Central and South America and Panama[1]. By making allies with surrounding rival cities, such as Totonacs, Cholulas, and Tlaxcalans, Hernan Cortés was able to overthrow the Nahua empire. Although some of the alliances began with battles, such as the Cholula and the Tlaxcala, Cortés successfully gained many allies[2]. In the conquest of Mexico, no other single Spanish advantage outweighed the simple fact that Cortés more or less knew what was happening, whereas Mexica leaders, including Moctezuma, the Aztec emperor, had no earthly idea who, or what the Spaniards might be[3]. Like Hernan Cortés, Francisco Pizarro also had experience in making alliances, which aided the Spaniards in the conquest of Peru. In Born in Blood and Fire, Chasteen states, “Neither the Incas nor the Aztecs could have been defeated without the aid of the Spaniards’ indigenous allies[4]. The second