Spanish Conquest Research Paper

Although there are many reasons why the Spanish-American war took place, the most important was Spain's resentment of Cuba's desire to also become an independent nation. Since Cuba was one of Spain's last territories, they were unwilling to allow independence. As a result, conflict between the two parties erupted. Since Cuba was smaller and less equipped to fight than Spain, their economy took a tumble. Due to the fact that the United States had a great deal of money invested in Cuba's sugar resources, many Americans felt the need to wage war. Additionally, there were separate events that caused anger to American Citizens. One such event was the destruction of a U.S. ship used to protect the American citizens in Cuba. Although the ship's

with the frequency of the Inca establishing alliances to acquire new territory instead of violence

While addressing his men, Hernan Cortez made grand promises of honor, greatness, and riches to those who did not abandon him on his mission to conquer the natives. He vowed that the war would “bring [them] fame” and “make [them]… the richest of all men who have crossed the seas” (Document 3). In this speech alone, the main, overarching reasons behind the Spanish conquest of the New World are unveiled. Cortez’s promises of gold, glory, and God spread through the masses, creating the major objectives for the conquistadors. These three motives influenced the Spaniards’ attitudes and shaped them into ones of bigotry and disrespect, that were later morphed into the protection of the native Indians.

Peru is much smaller in land mass and population and is unique in its culture. The history of the country is interesting; Peru was once part of the Incan Empire, the largest Native American Empire in the world. It started in Peru and made allies with other tribes to get to its massive size. The empire got about eight to ten million people before Francisco Pizarro came with his conquistadores. Francisco Pizarro started his conquest on 1531 and ended it in 1534. On July 28, 1821, Peru proclaimed its independence, but the Spanish were not finally defeated until 1824. The Mexican Native Americans known as the Aztecs were more cruel when expanding. They would raid other tribes and murder or sell off the people. They got to around 5 million inhabitants before Hernandez Cortez came and destroyed the empire with his army of Spaniards .

From 250 A.D. to the late 1500’s A.D., three civilizations, the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Incas controlled Central and South America. Their decline happened for many different reasons. The Spanish conquistadors was one of the most common and deadliest, due to their advanced weapons and diseases they brought. It seems that wherever the Spanish went, bad things always happened. Innocent people were killed for no reason, cities were massacred and civilizations were destroyed.

* Incas invaded in the mid 15th century and conquered down to Rio Mapia but could not defeat the Indians further south.

This investigation will answer the question, “How did the political aspects of the Aztec empire facilitate Spanish conquest?” Source A is an article intended to provide insight on how the roles of Cortez, indigenous allies, and ideologies advanced the fall of the Aztec empire. Source B is a book to provide insight into the inner workings of Aztec politics and culture at Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.

The rise of a powerful government and the enforcement of religious orthodoxy were factors that help established the Spanish Empire.

The grand Roman Empire collapsed In AD 476, Odoacer, leader of the barbarian mercenaries in the Roman army, overthrew Emperor Romulus Augustulus. This was inevitable. For decades, barbarians had been abandoning the Roman army and turning on their empire. Instead of focusing on enemy countries, they had to spend countless resources suppressing their own citizens. This, coupled with the plague that wreaked havoc on Europe ended the Western part of the republic in 476 although the eastern part went on until 1453 when when Mehmed II captured Constantinople, that the Byzantine Empire, as it became known, ceased to exist. In 1532, the Inca Empire fell to a Spanish force of only 168 men and 62 horses. Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadors crushed one of the world’s mightiest empires without a single Spanish casualty. Pizarro had cannons, gunpowder and armor, but the Incas vastly outnumbered his small army. Pizarro’s good fortune was to arrive in the Andes at the exact moment when the Incas were wracked by a great sickness and divided leadership. With the power of guns, germs and steel, Pizarro conquered the Inca, enslaved the majority of them, shipped their precious metals back to Europe and brought about the end to one of the world's largest

The Spaniards had a few reasons to overthrow the Incas, but mainly because they wanted to rule the world. They wanted to dominate the universe. But, the Incas did have lots of emeralds, gold, and silver. They wanted that as well. The early Spaniards were very greedy and wanted everything for themselves. The first place they overthrew was the Inca territory in Peru, which also had the most emeralds and gold. They didn’t break a sweat

1. Before Francisco Pizarro began the Spanish conquest in 1532, the Incan empire dominated the Andes Mountain region. An emperor who demanded strict obedience ruled the land. All business was run by the state, which could draft citizens for its projects. The Inca, terracing the landscape and irrigating the crops, farmed the mountainsides. The Inca were brilliant engineers, whose roadways included bridges. The city of Machu Picchu is an example of their skill with tools like the plumb bob and wooden roller, which they used for in heavy construction. Hundreds of years after their civilization was subdued by the Spanish, the descendants of the once-dominate Incas make up about 50 percent of Peru’s population.

How the conquest of the Spaniards led to an impact on one of the world’s largest empires.

Cortés came not to the New World to conquer by force, but by manipulation. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, in the "Conquest of New Spain," describes how Cortés and his soldiers manipulated the Aztec people and their king Montezuma from the time they traveled from Iztapalaopa to the time when Montezuma took Cortés to the top of the great Cue and showed him the whole of Mexico and its countryside, and the three causeways which led into Mexico. Castillo's purpose for recording the mission was to keep an account of the wealth of Montezuma and Mexico, the traditions, and the economic potential that could benefit Cortés' upcoming conquest. However, through these recordings, we are able to see and understand Cortés'

The Spanish Conquistadors affected the world immensely. Beginning in 1519, Leader Hernan Cortes created and led the group of soldiers under the idea they would conquer all of the land. When the Aztecs had conquered land, the settlers had grown to oppose Aztec ruling. As a result of this, Cortes found it easy to make allies with people who felt the same way he did. Cortes started by attempting to conquer Tenochtitlán by cutting off food and water supply. This tactic was successful, for at the time smallpox spread and killed thousands of people. Tenochtitlan was conquered and the Spaniards looked to conquer Peru next. Under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro, the Inca empire was weakened significantly. Cuzco, the Incan capital, was captured

At the beginning of the book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond, the question is posed by Yali, as to why people of European decent are rich and why people in New Guinea are poor. Throughout the book, Diamond explains that the geography is what made Europe better because it gave them guns, germs, and steel which enabled them to conquer other nations. Chapter three of this book entitled “Collision at Cajamarca” specifically examines the Spanish conquering of the Incan Empire in 1532. As Diamond tells, Inca emperor Huayna Capac and his heir were killed by a smallpox epidemic brought to the New World by Spanish settlers in Panama and Columbia. This sparked a civil war between half brothers Atahuallpa and Huascar.