Topic:What were the Factors Responsible for the Conquest of the Aztecs and Inca Societies by the Spanish in the Sixteenth Century.

Objectives:

Give a general overview of the Aztec and Inca Societies Examine the factors responsible for the conquest of the Aztecs by the Spanish in 1521 Examine the factors responsible for the conquest of the Incas by the Spanish in 1533

Thesis Statement: The Spaniards were able to defeat the Aztec and Inca Societies in 1521 and 1533 respectively, due to favorable circumstances or factors including superior technology, diseases and the support of Indian allies

An Introduction to the Aztec and Inca Societies

The Aztec and Inca tribes both sprang around the 12th century AD. The Aztecs, by the fifteenth century was considered as being the most prevailing tribe in Mesoamerica. They were a civilization with a rich cultural heritage and built a mighty and powerful kingdom that occupied vast amounts of land in Mexico. The Aztecs were a fierce and warlike people and conquered their neighbors through fear and cruelty resulting in their vast expansion. The Incas however, were a more tranquil group of people. Like the Aztecs, they were polytheistic. They occupied lands in Peru, with Cuzco as their capital. Their empire included many tribes ruled by their local leaders all under the control of the capital, Cuzco. They were a very rich tribe and were rumored to have vast amounts of gold, silver and other precious stones. Like the Aztecs, the Incas had great architects and built marvelous pyramids mostly out of large boulders and stone and mud.

What were the Factors Responsible for the Conquest of the Aztecs and Inca Societies by the Spanish in the Sixteenth Century.

The Spanish after the discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492, continued to sail to the Americas to settle, and to search for gold and other precious stones and gems. There were frequent altercations between the Spaniards and the inhabitants. The Spaniards had heard rumors of vast amounts of gold possessed by the inhabitants. They were greedy, and so desirous for gold that they fought with the Aztecs and Incas in an effort to conquer their lands and obtain the gold that they owned. The Spaniards were able to defeat the Aztec and Inca Societies in 1521 and 1533 respectively, due to favorable circumstances or factors including superior technology, diseases and the support of Indian allies.Conquistador Hernan Cortez was responsible for the conquest of the Aztecs. He arrived in Mexico with an army consisting of about 550 men and 16 horses. For the conquest of the Inca, another brave conquistador by the name of Francisco Pizarro led the cohort of about 180 men to Peru. With such a small force, how were Cortes and Pizarro able to defeat thousands of the Aztec and Inca people respectively, in such short time periods? One leading factor accounting for the downfall of the Aztecs and Incas by the Spanish was due to their superior technology. The wooden shields, bows and arrows and machetes that they used to fight were no match for the heavy artillery possessed by the Spanish. They fought with steel weapons, guns, horses, canons and were shielded by steel armor. This gave them an advantage over the Aztecs, who were fighting on the ground, on foot with wooden weapons. With such advanced weaponry it was easier for the Spanish to overthrow the Aztecs and Incas as the steel weapons proved more effective in battle.The Spanish sailed to the Americas, not only carrying guns and other materials, but also tagging along lethal diseases and viruses. They brought diseases such as small pox, measles and typhoid which spread like wild fire throughout the Americas. The Aztecs and Incas had acquired no immunity to such deadly diseases and their local remedies did not do the trick. They died in great numbers, weakening their force and making it easier for the Spanish to win the ongoing battle. Diseases killed as many as 90 percent of the Inca, which also devastated the Aztec population. This continues to show the devastating effect of diseases on the Native Americans greatly contributing to their loss to the Spanish.The Aztecs were considered as the most powerful and callous tribe in Mesoamerica at the time. Such great power associates itself with much hatred and animosity towards the Aztecs by other native tribes. They were a fierce and warlike people and conquered their neighbors through fear and cruelty resulting in their vast expansion. As a result, many Indians allied with the Spanish in the conquest of defeating the Aztecs thus the increase in man power meant that the Spanish had an upper hand in overpowering the Aztec tribe. It goes without saying that the Spaniards would not have survived their ordeal without the help of their Indian (Tlaxcalan) allies as the author John P. Schmal wrote.. This shows that the Indian allies were of superior importance to the Spaniards who helped them to defeat the much hated Aztecs. For the Inca, it was not a matter of Indian allies which contributed to their demise, but instead it was as a result of the civil war in 1527 which took place just before Pizarro had sailed down to Peru in 1530. The civil war was fought between two brothers, Huascar and Atahualpa, sons of Huayna Capac, over the succession to the Inca throne, after the death of Huayna Capac's death in 1527. Huascar declared war because he thought that he was more eligible to lead as rightful heir to the kingdom of all the Incas instead of his brother Atahualpa. However, Atahualpa proved himself to be tactically superior to his brother in war thus he defeated is brothers armies and was pronounced as the new Inca. By the time Pizarro had arrived in Peru, many natives had died the remaining injured and weakened and the population decimated. Pizarro had Atahualpa murdered while the Spanish troops easily defeated the natives as they were already weakened by the civil war.