Why Did Europeans Defeat The Americans

The small number of Europeans were able to defeat the large groups in Central and South America due to several factors. To begin with, a major factor was diseases, such as small pox. Diseases became a major factor against the Natives because unlike the Europeans they had never been exposed to these illnesses because they had been closed off from outside civilizations like Spain. For example, Williamson states “native populations of the islands, on the other hand, would be all but wiped out by smallpox, measles, and other Old World diseases […] complete isolation from other races millennia” (2009, pg.13). Furthermore, Europeans defeated the Natives because the Spaniards would call for some form of “back up”. For instance, Williamson gives the
example of the conquistador Cortes convincing Narvaez’s (a fellow Spaniard) to join forces against the Aztec community (2009, pg. 19). Europeans also had the advancement in weapons and transportation compared to the Natives. Europeans had “16 horses,14 cannon, and 13 muskets” (Williamson, 2009, pg. 17). To conclude, the Europeans were ruthless and very deceptive when it came to conquering this “New World”. For instance, Williamson (2009) retells the conquering of the Incan natives by detailing the preparedness of Pizarro. Pizarro hid his men in the bushes for the safety measure of the Incan people refusing to convert their faith to Catholicism. The Incans refuse and the Spaniards basically slaughter the Incan natives. (pg. 27)