The Conquistadors and the Decline of the Native Americans

of Central and South America

By: Kelly Ward

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Standards

• 5.2 Identify the three major pre-Columbian civilizations that existed in Central and South America (Maya, Aztec, and Inca) and their locations. Describe their political structures, religious practices, and use of slaves.

• 5.4 Explain why the Aztec and Inca civilizations declined in the 16th century.

• A. the encounters between Cortez and Montezuma• B. the encounters between Pizarro and the Incas• C. the goals of the Spanish conquistadors• D. the effects of European diseases, particularly

smallpox, throughout the Western hemisphere

AztecsThe Aztecs were a Native

American tribe that lived in the Valley of Mexico, which is also Central Mexico.

Their capitol city was Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was a strange city because it was built in the middle of a lake on a series of islands. Now Tenochtitlan is Mexico City.

The Incas were polytheistic. Polytheistic means that they believed in many gods.

The Aztecs controlled many other tribes, and forced them to give money and tribute, and used other tribes and slaves as a human sacrifice. Human sacrifice was very important to the Aztecs.

The Aztecs had a pale skinned god named Quetzacoatl, who they thought was Hernando Cortez. They welcomed Hernando Cortez into their Empire.

The Aztecs were brought down by smallpox.

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Mayas

The Mayas lived on the Yucatan Peninsula, which is on the Mexican coast.

They had slaves who could sometimes gain their freedom.

They had more than one major city, so it was much harder for conquistadors to conquer.

The Mayas were polytheistic, which means that they believed in many gods.

The Mayan priest received the top amount of respect in the Mayan Empire.

The Mayan region did not contain that much gold.

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IncasThe Incas lived in the west coast

of South America, in the Andes Mountains, and in Peru.

The Incan capitol was Cuzco, which is in the middle of the area that the Incas lived in.

The Incas had no written language, but they had no spoken language. Instead of a written language, they used knots as messages.

The Incas were polytheistic, which means that they believed in many gods.

The Incas practiced animal sacrifice on llamas, and on special occasions, there was human sacrifice on children.

In 1531 when Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas, it was easy to get in to their Empire because the country was fighting a civil war. A civil war is when there is fighting between two or more groups in the same country. The Incas were fighting about who would be the new emperor.

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CortezCortez was a Spanish conquistador

and explorer, and he traveled with around 500 men and 16 horses to conquer the Aztecs in their capitol city of Tenochtitlan. A conquistador is one who conquers, and takes over by force.

The Aztecs were surprised when they saw Cortez because they thought that he and the horse that he was riding was one mythical beast.

The Aztec leader, Montezuma, thought that Cortez was their god, Quetzacoatl, and welcomed him.

Cortez took Montezuma hostage, and he was killed in a battle that followed. The Spanish were driven away, but defeated the Aztecs in 1521.

After the Spanish defeated the Aztec Empire, they destroyed Tenochtitlan and made a new city called Mexico City, which is still there today. On the top of the Incas most holiest place, Cortez and the Spanish built a church that is still there today.

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PizarroPizarro was a Spanish conquistador and

explorer, and he traveled with around 180 soldiers and 27 horses to conquer the Inca Empire. A conquistador is one who conquers and takes over by force.

The Inca Civilization was giant, with around 20 million people in it, and the land was on the west coast of South America. They lived on a large amount of land, and the Andes Mountains went all through it.

The Incas were easily taken over by Pizarro and the Spanish in 1531 because they were fighting a civil war, which is when two or more groups in the same country are fighting with each other.

The Incan emperor, Atahualpa was kidnapped and held for ransom. The ransom was that Pizarro demanded that a room be filled with gold and silver, or Atahualpa would not be returned.

The Incas didn’t value gold and silver like the Spanish did. The Incas valued cloth more than the metals, which they used for decoration.

Pizarro tricked the Incas and took the ransom, he eventually killed Atahualpa.

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Conclusion

How did the Spanish explorers and conquistadors change Central and South America forever?

In present day, Spanish is what most of Central and South America speak, and not their native language.

In present day, most people in Central and South America are Christian, and no longer worship their many native gods. They were polytheistic, so they had many gods that are no longer worshiped.

A lot of Aztec, Inca, and Maya cultures and traditions have disappeared forever, including sacrifice and their native building construction.