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IBHistoryofAmericas
Mr.DuttonP5
September11th,2016
Although the Conquistadors were highly out numbered they displayed strategic ability and
use of advanced technology to suppress the Aztec Empire with their steel swords, muskets, cannons,
and horses, which definitely accounted for the advantages the Spaniards had. Although, Dona
Marinas diplomatic manipulation played a key role in the process of coming in the massive city,
local natives also helped provide support in securing the victory. Likewise, the Aztecs offered naive
like character where they were tricked into a blunder of mistakes and soon a permanent collapse of a
dynasty. The Aztecs described the Conquistadors as people of unknown worldly creation and when
Moctezuma II, Aztec leader, heard news of them he was astounded and frightened by how they came
and displayed such authority. Some six hundred veteran soldiers were lost in battle, thousands
surrendered inside the city and the remaining Aztecs fell due to famine and disease. smallpox was
one of primary causes of death in the Aztec Empire because of antigens brought from Europe. This
killed tens of thousands of inhabitants and made maintenance of slavery difficult for future use. As
a result, the Spaniards transformed their colonial regime in the Americas and exemplified wit
through the use of their resources and provided expansion of a future investment.
Francisco Pizarro's conquest was much more swifter and conducted with brute force in
comparison to Hernan Cortess. Pizarro led an expedition to Central America and the northern part
of South America. Francisco Pizarro was a distant relative of Cortes, but even then in 1513 he had
accomplished a significant achievement where he discovered the Pacific Ocean with other voyagers,
which made him rich before he found out about the Inca. When he first started his journey in
Panama, he went into the Pacific ocean side by side of modern Ecuador, Colombia and marched
down the western coast of South America side by side of the Andes Mountain Range. He was in
search of a so called empire mentioned to him when he was in Panama. He had 168 men crew,later
on joined by reinforcements, but his first act was to infiltrate the capital, a tactic which was widely
adopted by many Spaniard Conquistadors and proved successful similar to in history.
When Pizarro found out where Cuzco was,the Inca Capital, he planned to siege the entire
city during night. The inca had no real significant reason as to why their army was so powerful,
they portrayed their dominance primarily through a tactic used today called, strength in numbers,
where swarms of people attack all out at once primarily used by the Persians, as seen in history
which validated bravery but their weakness was innovation primarily their only weapon used, a
stone edged sword however Hernan Cortes had an advantage with advanced guns loaded with
gunpowder from China, massive horses imported to the new world, steel swords and armor crafted
from alloys of Copper and Iron. These factors played a huge significance as to why the
Conquistadors eliminated the Incan Empire and when the war commenced Atahualpa,the leader of
the Inca, was confident in a victory when he sent as many as a thousand soldiers, but little did he
know he had been ambushed by the Spaniards. This is where Hernan Cortes wiped out most his men
hiding in the rainforests, mountains and tactful areas they had set up beforehand. The next step
was to decimate the empires physiological side of mind by targeting the leader. His men set up
cannons around the city in which they hid just outside the city and fired at point blank range in
which groups of people died instantly.
As time went on through the battle, Pizarro captured the leader, Atahualpa and executed
him but strangling him and then finally decapitated him in front of the entire city. This crumbled
the empire onto their knees and led Pizarro to take all the treasure they and to offer ranging from
gold, silver, carved stones, corn, wheat and cocoa. The assassination of Atahualpa also meant the
political system was no longer in place, and because of this led the Conquistadors to take the
remaining Inca people and either execute remaining threats or put them into the slave labor system
the Spanish set up. Although, Pizarros men defeated the inca without losing a man in battle did so
because of use of native strategy and native allies. Pizarro was also coincidently attacked during the
inca civil war, which was taking place between Atahualpa and his brother, Huascar in order to
place the new reigning successor of the empire due to the last emperor dieing due to disease, but
Atahualpa was the real successor but because of his brothers motives a new regime peeled out of the
Inca. This had played an important role because it crippled the empire from the beginning of the
siege and played in favor of Pizarro where he took out both sectors of the empire and harvested the
riches he gained.