Comparing two great things is very hard, like strawberries and bananas, but two great explorers? Thatś a difficult thing to do. Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro are two that are pretty comparable, but are also very different in their ways. Hernan Cortes is one of Spainś most influential explorers. He heard of the failed expeditions that had been repelled by the Indians, and he believed that he could succeed where they have failed. In 1519, he landed of the Coast of Mexico with about 600 troops, 16 horses, and some cannons. The armor they wore and the guns, horses and cannons had never been seen by the Indians before. The message quickly got to Moctezuma, who sent emissaries to make peace with the conquistador. This soon was found to be unsuccessful and Cortes started making his inland journey to Tenochtitlan. As he was making his way, he ran into may villages, many of which he recruited to help him in the fight against the Aztec people. Cortes himself was thought to, be Quetzalcoatl by Moctezuma, a god-king that swore to return one day, and began sending him gifts of great …show more content…
The empire was located in Peru, and Pizarro landed on the Coast in 1532. This was just after a bloody civil war, in which Atahualpa had won the throne of the INca from his brother. The ruler refused to become a Spanish Vassal or to convert to christianity. Pizarro, in response, captured him with the aid of Indian allies. They slaughtered thousands of Inca, and demanded a high ransom price from Atahualpa. The Inca paid the price, and the Spanish killed the leader anyway. Despite continued resistance from the Inca, Pizarro made his way across the Inca heartland and conquered the empire. From Peru, Spanish forces ran rampant through Ecuador and Chile and before long had most of South America to its growing empire. Pizarro was killed by a rival Spanish group a few years after establishing the city of
When Moctezuma met Cortes did not trust him at first. The reason being is because his looked very sketchy. But the Aztecs said to trust him. So Moctezuma trusted Cortes and passed the thrown down to him. The reason why it happened so fast they said that because there was a tail that said that one day their true leader so that’s what they thought about Cortes, he’s the one. From that point on it was fine until something happened. The Aztecs attacked Moctezuma. During the battle, Moctezuma was killed and at that very moment Cortes became the true leader and took his position. The aztecs lost that battle, they didn’t know how to react. The Aztecs became slaves for Cortes. All slaves were forced into becoming christians. Today, in spain, holds
How was Hernan Cortes able to conquer the Aztec empire? The fall of the Aztec Empire was led by an expedition by Hernan Cortes, a Spanish conquistador, in 1521. Cortes’ time was the era of Exploration. He became engrossed with the tales of Christopher Columbus and decided to join the exploration. Which led him to travel to the Americas and triumph of the Aztec empire. Such as a prophecy, weaponry, translators, disease and allies.
The Aztec and Incan empires both had strong armies. In the Aztec empire by the early fifteenth century the Aztecs were powerful enough to overcome their immediate neighbors and demand tribute. During the middle decades of the fifteenth century, the military elite that ruled much of Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs launched ambitious campaigns of imperial expansion. Know as “the Obsidian Serpent” Itzcoatl and Motecuzoma advanced first to Oaxaca in southwestern Mexico. After capturing Oaxaca and slaying
In 1522 Cortes conquered Michoacan, a territory near the volcano. By 1526, he had conquered all of present-day Mexico
Pizarro and Cortés were two great men in the history of the world, men who made an impact in society and left their print for future generations. There have been many conquerors and discoverers that, like them, have contributed to the advances in the world made by the human race. Discoveries and conquers have been made all over the world, in every civilization, in every period of time. History books are full of people who, in a way or another, changed the world, either by finding a cure to a certain disease, by making an important
Cortes played a large role in the conquering of the Americas, and both Traditions and Encounters and The Broken Spears document his actions. In Traditions and Encounters, Cortes’s role as captain of Spanish expeditions was detailed. The advantage that the
When Pizarro got back, he and his brothers discovered a group of people called the Incas. They saw that the Incas had a lot of gold and greed took them over. They tricked the Incan leader and captured him. The ransom to release the Incan emperor, Atahualpa, was to fill a room measuring 22 by 17 feet with gold. The Incas did fill the room but Pizarro killed the emperor anyway and conquered the Incas. When news of Pizarro’s conquest reached King Charles’ ears, he was overjoyed. He expanded the territory which Pizarro governed. A lot of South America was under Spanish rule. After all of the gold was divided between all of the leaders of the expedition and the king, each man got about $52,000 in Spanish pesos. That was a lot of money back then.
After a mutiny and less then fruitful journeys, Pizarro convinced the Spanish government to allow an expedition with the prospect of being the future governor of the unclaimed land Peru (The Mariners' Museum, 2014). He made his way towards the city of Cajamarca in 1532, being allowed to travel inland by the Incan emperor, Atahualpa, believing they were “children of the sun” (Black, 2005). At the city, Pizarro hosted a huge feast, with many Inca nobles, including the emperor, attending. While at the feast, the Incan guests were rushed, killed, and the emperor taken hostage. After chats, Atahualpa agreed to ransom himself by agreeing to fill a room, and when that was not enough, he doubled the offer. The final offer consisting of over 3,000 cubic feet worth of gold and silver (The Mariners' Museum, 2014). Even after having to send their own troops out to help collect all the riches from across the Incan empire, eventually his men returned with a staggering load of riches. After all was said and done, by June 1533, Pizarro had 333lbs worth of gold and silver, a value of nearly 100 million US dollars (The Mariners' Museum, 2014). He sent his brother to turn his 1/5 portion due to the Spanish Crown and was promptly reward with fame, fortune, and royal titles whereas Atahualpa was executed, but not before he was converted. He still had to conquer Cuzco, the Capital of Peru. This would prove to be
- Cortes actions played a vital role in helping establish Spanish settlement in the new world. He and his fleet of about 600 men traveled into Mexico in hopes of finding gold as well as glory. During his time in Mexico he persuaded Indian societies who were rivals of the Aztec Empire, to join his force to take over this mighty empire. He used terror and intimidation to do so along the way. After a few years he took down the Aztec Empire, which opened the door for other explorers to invade the new world as well in their hopes of finding gold as well.
The capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, and what is known today as Mexico City was conquered in 1521 by the Spanish explorer named Hernando Cortez. Cortez was born Medellin, Spain in 1485. He was the only son of a noble family and his father was a captain in the Spanish army. He was fascinated with Christopher Columbus’ journeys in the new world. This was a far cry from his parents wish for him to be lawyer. Before reaching the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Cortes along with Diego Velazquez, were powerful figures in the island of Cuba. Their partnership soon ended when Cortes went against Velasquez’s wishes to marry his sister and sailed to the mainland of Mexico against his orders. On 1519 Cortez reached the harbor of central Veracruz (“True Cross”). He arrived with 11 ships, 15 horses and a fleet of 500 men in search for gold. Cortes soon learned that the land was ruled by the great Aztec lord in the city of Tenochtitlán: King Monezuma II.
The Inca Empire began in 1438 and was conquered in 1532. After the death of Huayna Capac, civil war erupted between his two sons over the succession of the throne. Eventually Atahualpa imprisoned his brother and consolidated his rule in Cuzco. Francisco Pizarro came face to face with each other. Atahualpa didn’t want a battle, however, they each had different worldviews. “In a surprise attack, the Spanish, with far superior weapons and the benefit of surprise, slaughtered the Inca entourage, captured Atahualpa, and held the Inca ruler hostage” (Seaman, R., 2014). After this, the Incas tried to resist, they Spanish were to strong and the Inca empire died out after the last Inca ruler, Tupac Amaru was captured and executed.
You have probably learned about Christopher Columbus and how he discovered North America, but do you know about Hernándo Cortés? Hernán Cortés was a famous conquistador who caused the fall of the Aztec Empire. Hernándo, was an amazing conquistador, had a hard early life, and is very important to our world today. Hernán brought large portions of Mexico under the King of Castile. He started many cocoa bean plantations. He had a rough early life and his parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he went his own way. He was very wealthy and successful. Without him many things would have been different.
Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro were explorers from Spain that sailed to the Americas and made many interesting voyages.They both faced separate challenges and difficulties along the way. During their difficulties Cortes and Pizarro acquired allies to help them on their expeditions. Cortez and Pizarro were both very fierce and conquered many areas.
Cortés was intelligent and proficient in law and knew that he was committing treason when he first departed Cuba for the unknown. Frank Ross wrote in “The Codex Cortés: Inscribing the Conquest of Mexico” that Cortés had “conceived of his defense as a legal case which depended on showing that his sense of personal loyalty to the King motivated his actions.” He had to provide evidence that his expedition into the unknown was for the benefit of Spain, especially economically. In the Second Letter of Hernán Cortés to Charles V, Cortés describes the Tenochtitlan market as packed with sixty thousand people
Hernando Cortes was one of the bravest military leaders of all time. Born in Medellin, Spain, he was a Spanish Conquistador who conquered most of Central America. He also gave Spain three-hundred years of control over Mexico. Cortes started exploring in the early 1500’s. He explored to find riches and conquered by being observant of the natives. With a small army, he conquered the Aztec Empire. Cortes went to the university in Salamanca, Spain. He attended the university to study Latin and Law. Unfortunately, Cortes completed only two years of school. He returned to his family in Medellin, Spain. However, life became boring for him. Nevertheless, Christopher Columbus inspired Cortes to explore the New World. Finally, Cortes was able to