CONQUISTADORES

The conquistadors or conquerors were sent by Spain to conquer the New World.  They were mostly younger sons of poor but noble families.  They followed Columbus’ footsteps and tried to get rich setting up plantations or becoming governors of new territories.  Many became rich from sugar plantations and mines.

However, the real conquistadors were fighting for Spain and conquering the powerful native rulers. The huge empires were then becoming part of Spain and Spanish was introduced as the official language. 

Before the Spanish arrived in the Americas they were highly developed civilisations. The three biggest empires were the Incas of Peru, the Aztecs of Mexico, and the Mayas of the Yucatan  – in Mexico and Guatemala. It was these people and their empires the conquistadors conquered.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa

Balboa established a colony at Darien in Panama around 1475-1519. He became the governor and heard about the gold of Peru.  He decided to put a expedition together trying to find the gold. In 1513 after a lot of hardship they crossed the Isthmus of Panama.  They discovered the Pacific Ocean.

During this time Balboa was replaced by a new governor.  The new governor accused Balboa of treason and Balboa was executed.

Franscisco Pizarro

Pizarro (1471-1541) took part in Balboa’s expedition. He also heard about the tales of gold and went to Peru. In 1531 he marched into the country with 180 men. He tricked and kidnapped the ruler of the Incas, Emperor Athualpa.

The Incas were a South American tribe that lived in the Andes Mountains. They were great craftsmen in stone masonry, built roads, huge fortresses and temples to their Sun God but they had no system of writing.

When Pizarro arrived in Peru the Inca Empire was weakening by civil war. Pizarro kidnapped Atahualpa and asked for a ransom of a room full of gold and silver treasures. The Incas paid the ransom but Pizarro did not keep his promise and strangled Atahualpa.  This also took the Inca's will to fight and they were defeated.

Pizarro establishes the Spanish rules throughout the Inca Empire but he did not enjoy his victory for long. He was murdered in 1541.

Hernan Cortes

Cortes (1485-1547) is more known than the others of the conquistadors.  At the age 26 he joined to conquer Cuba. In Cuba he made his money with plantations and mines all worked by slaves. All this time he dreamed about conquering and ruling. When the governor asked him to lead n expedition to Mexico in 1519 he was overjoyed.

Cortes and his 600 men went towards the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. The Aztec empire was ruled by Montezuma and he thought it was their God returning to his people. Cortes turned against him and imprisoned him. The Emperor continued to rule as a Spanish prisoner. Montezuma was killed and the Spanish fled. In 1521 Cortes returned and laid siege to the capital. The Spanish brought smallpox, measles and weapon which were all fatal to the Aztecs.  The capital was conquered and Cortes became governor of Mexico.

Cortes colonized the surrounding regions but jealous rivals turned the King of Spain against him. He lost his post as governor in Mexico and returned to Spain. For the rest of his life he was very bitter.

The Aztec Empire in Mexico had 15 millions inhabitant and 500 towns. Some were bigger and better organized than those in Europe. The capital Tenochtitlan was built on an island in Lake Texcoco.  It had three causeways which connected it to the mainland.  The capital had a grid pattern divided by canals and paved avenues.  The capital had 100,000 people. Water from two aqueducts fed the public fountains.  In the middle of the town was the Temple Precinct.  The main temple was the Great Temple where horrific sacrifices took place to appease the gods.

The Aztecs had two calendars. The solar calendar had 360 days like ours and the sacred calendar has 260 days.  The sacred calendar had13 cycles of 20 days. Each day had a name and a symbol.

Pedro de Alvarado

Alvarado (1485-1541) fought with Cortes in Mexico.  In 1523-27, he took an expedition to Guatemala and conquered the Mayas.  He colonized the surrounding land, also Yucatan in Mexico and became governor of Guatemala.