EFFECTS OF THE AGE OF EXPLORATION: THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND THE AZTEC EMPIRE
Name:________________________
During the Age of Exploration, Spaniards moved into the Americas in order to set up colonies. One famous Spaniard who did so
was Hernan Cortes. Cortes was a conquistador, the Spanish word meaning “conqueror,” but a conquistador in history means something
a little more specific. A conquistador specifically means a military leader who fought against the native people of the Americas in order
to set up colonies there.
At the time of the Spaniards’ arrival in Mexico, the Aztec emperor was Moctezuma II. Though the Aztecs were very powerful and
ruled much of Mexico, they were unpopular with some of the people they had conquered. (The Aztecs typically added territory/groups
of people to their empire through military conquest.) Hernan Cortes was able to use this lack of popularity to his advantage. By the
time he reached the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, Cortes’ small band of Spanish soldiers had been joined by thousands of Native Americans who wanted to fight and defeat the Aztecs.
Among the Native Americans who joined Cortes was a Native American woman known as Malinche. Because she was able to
speak both the Aztec language and Spanish, Malinche became invaluable to Cortes as a translator. Through Malinche, Cortes and the
Spaniards plotted to befriend the Aztecs before ultimately turning on them to conquer their empire.
In addition to his Native American allies, Cortes had several other advantages that helped him defeat the Aztecs. He had heavy
armor, guns, and artillery. Also, Cortes and a few of his high ranking soldiers rode horses, animals not seen in the Americas before the
Europeans arrived. Also, after contact with Europeans, disease swept through the Aztec Empire, killing thousands of people as well.
On November 8, 1519, Cortes and his army entered Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards took Moctezuma prisoner. During his period of
captivity, a battle erupted. Moctezuma was able to flee captivity and fight, but he was killed during the battle. After months of heavy
fighting, Cortes and the Spanish had control of the city and the entire Aztec Empire.
An artist’s depiction of Cortes speaking to Moctezuma with Malinche translating
An artist’s depiction of Hernan Cortes
An artist’s depiction of Moctezuma II
EFFECTS OF THE AGE OF EXPLORATION: THE CONQUEST OF PERU AND THE INCA EMPIRE
About ten years after the conquest of the Aztecs in central Mexico, a conquistador named Francisco Pizarro led an expedition to
Peru. Pizarro had heard legend of the untold wealth of the Inca Empire in Peru, and he hoped to win some of that wealth for himself.
The Inca Empire that Pizarro found was already weakened significantly from its original strength; smallpox had recently swept
through due to European contact, and thousands were killed, including the Inca emperor, Huayna Capac. After the death of the emperor, a civil war broke out amongst the Inca. As a result of the war, a new ruler, Atahualpa, came to power. He had just taken control
when Pizarro and the Spaniards arrived.
Atahualpa heard of the Spaniards approach and agreed to meet them in November, 1532. At that meeting, many of Pizarro’s
men took up hiding positions and waited for Atahualpa to approach. During the meeting, Pizarro used an interpreter and demanded
that Atahualpa accept Christianity in place of his native religion. He also demanded that Atahualpa surrender his empire to the Spanish.
Atahualpa refused. The religious text the Spanish presented Atahualpa when ordering him to convert to Christianity, he threw to the
ground. At this point, the Spaniards in hiding attacked and took Atahualpa prisoner. Though Atahualpa offered Pizarro a huge fortune
in gold and silver for his release, he was held prisoner for several months. The Spanish soon thought he was too much of a risk to hold
any longer. They feared the Inca Empire was planning an attack to free Atahualpa. As a result, the Spaniards staged a trial where they
found Atahualpa guilty of revolt and murder. They sentenced him to death by burning. Atahualpa was outraged by his sentence: the
Inca believed that one’s soul would not reach the afterlife if it was burned. The Spaniards made Atahualpa an offer: if he was baptized
and converted to Christianity, the Spaniards would use a different method for his execution. Atahualpa was baptized and given the baptismal name of Francisco (in honor of Francisco Pizarro), and in agreement with Atahualpa’s request, he was strangled to death. The
Spaniards then marched to Cuzco, the Inca capital. Despite being outnumbered by thousands of men, without a leader to organize the
army and defenses, and without ways to defend against the Spaniards heavy artillery, armor, guns, and horses, Pizarro and the Spaniards
destroyed the Inca army and took control of the empire.
An artist’s depiction of
Atahualpa
An artist’s depiction of the events surrounding Atahualpa’s execution.
An artist’s depiction of Francisco Pizarro
HELPFUL VOCABULARY: THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND THE
AZTEC EMPIRE
CONQUISTADOR: a Spanish conqueror or adventurer, especially one of those who
conquered Mexico, Peru, and Central America in the 16th century
SPANIARD: somebody who comes from Spain
INVALUABLE: extremely useful or valuable
ARTILLERY: powerful, large guns for long range damage, e.g. cannons, missile
launchers, and mortars
HELPFUL VOCABULARY: THE CONQUEST OF PERU AND THE
INCA EMPIRE
UNTOLD: too great or numerous to be properly described or counted
CIVIL WAR: a war between opposing groups within the same country
EXPEDITION: a trip made by a group of people for a particular purpose, e.g. to explore unknown territory, to do scientific study, or to achieve a military objective
BAPTIZE: to sprinkle somebody with or immerse somebody in water as a sign that the
person has been accepted into the Christian faith OR to give a personal name to somebody during the ceremony of baptism
CAPTIVITY: the state of being a prisoner, or a period of time that somebody is held
prisoner
DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions based on the readings from the previous pages.
1.
Explain why Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztecs with the help of other Native Americans.
2.
What were two advantages (technology or other items) did the Spaniards have over the Aztecs?
3.
What two events had recently affected the Incas before Francisco Pizarro arrived in Peru?
4. In the space below, draw a comic strip that explains/depicts the end of Atahualpa’s life, from capture to execution.