Text 1: Conquistadores Arrive in the Americas. Topic 2 Lesson 1: Spanish Colonization and New Spain

Transcription

1 Text 1: Conquistadores Arrive in the Americas Topic 2 Lesson 1: Spanish Colonization and New Spain

2 Conquistadors Bernal Díaz del Castillo was one of the many Spanish conquistadors or conquerors, who marched into the Americas in the 1500s In their search for glory and gold, the conquistadors made Spain one of the richest nations in Europe

3 Other Spanish Settlers Spanish colonists followed the conquistadors and created a vast new empire in the Americas The rulers of Spain gave conquistadors permission to establish settlements in the Americas Conquistadors agreed to give Spain one fifth of any gold or treasure they captured

4 Hernando Cortes Like other conquistadors, Hernando Cortés was eager to win riches and glory He had heard rumors of a fabulously wealthy Native American empire in Mexico With about 600 soldiers and 16 horses, Cortés set sail for Mexico in 1519 in search of gold

5 Cortes and the Aztecs Moctezuma, the Aztec emperor, heard disturbing reports of a large house floating on the sea, filled with white men with long, thick beards Aztec sacred writings predicted that a powerful white-skinned god would come from the east When the strangers were approaching Tenochtitlán Moctezuma decided to welcome them as his guests

6 Cortes and the Aztecs Cortés took advantage of Moctezuma s invitation Cortés had already begun to win the support of other Indians who resented Aztec rule One of his trusted advisers was an Indian woman the Spanish called Doña Marina, gave Cortés valuable information about the Aztecs and acted as a translator and negotiator

7 Cortes and the Aztecs On November 8, 1519, Cortés marched into Tenochtitlán The city was much larger than any Spanish city at that time Thousands upon thousands of Aztecs turned out to see the astonishing newcomers riding horses

8 Primary Source Who could count the multitude of men, women and children which had come out on the roofs, in their boats on the canals, or in the streets, to see us? Bernal Díaz del Castillo, True History of the Conquest of New Spain

9 Cortes and the Aztecs Cortés was friendly to Moctezuma, yet quickly made the emperor a prisoner The Aztecs drove out the Spanish but with aid from the people whom the Aztecs had conquered, Cortés recaptured the city The Spanish destroyed Tenochtitlán, and Moctezuma was killed, ending the Aztec empire

10 The Inca Empire Another conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, set his sights on the Incan empire Pizarro sailed down the Pacific coast of South America with fewer than 200 Spanish soldiers 1532, he captured the Incan emperor Atahualpa and later executed him

11 Without the leadership of Atahualpa the Incan resistance collapsed By 1535, Pizarro controlled much of the Incan empire

12 Why the Spanish Won The Spanish were able to conquer and control two great empires because: -had superior military equipment -protected by steel armor -had guns

13 The Aztecs and Incas relied on clubs, bows and arrows, and spears They had never seen horses, and were frightened by mounted Spanish soldiers The did not fight as hard as they might have

14 The Aztecs hesitated to attack at first because they thought the Spanish might be gods The Incas were weak from fighting among themselves over control of their government

15 Many Indians died from European diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza Some historians believe that disease alone would have ensured Spanish victory over the Indians

16 The Spanish believed that their interaction with the Aztecs and the Incas resulted in great victories that brought wealth and power and saw the conquests as further proof of their natural superiority The Aztecs and Incas, of course, had a much different view of the same events, and in their perspectives, the Spanish conquests were disasters that devastated their civilizations