Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

141

Conquistadors

HERNANDO CORTÉS

In 1519, Cortés set out from

Cuba to conquer Mexico,

against the governor

Velázquez’s wishes. Velázquez

believed that Cortés was too

ambitious. From an early age,

Cortés had sought adventure

and wealth. Eventually, his

wish was fulfilled and he

controlled the whole of Mexico.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 16TH CENTURY, the first Spanish

adventurers followed Christopher Columbus to the Caribbean and

South and Central America. These conquistadors (the Spanish

word for conquerors) were soldiers hungry for gold, silver, and

land. They took priests with them, sent by the Catholic Church to

convert the Native Americans. The two most famous conquistadors

were Hernando Cortés (1485-1547), who conquered the Aztecs of

Mexico, and Francisco Pizarro (1470-1541), who conquered the

Incas of Peru. Although the conquistadors took only small numbers

of soldiers along, they were successful partly because they had

brought guns, horses, and steel weapons. But what also came with

the conquistadors were European diseases, such as smallpox and

measles, against which the Native Americans had no resistance.

These diseases wiped out more than 70 million Native

Americans and destroyed their civilizations. By seizing the

land, the conquistadors prepared the way for a huge

Spanish empire in the Americas that

was to last until the 19th century.

NEW SPAIN

The Spanish quickly

settled in the conquered

areas and created the

empire of New Spain. The

wealth from its silver mines

and ranches became the

envy of Europe.

FRANCISCO PIZARRO

In 1532, Pizarro marched into Peru

with 200 soldiers. He seized the Inca

emperor, Atahualpa, ransomed him

for a roomful of gold, and then had

him killed. The leaderless Inca

Empire crumbled.

EL DORADO

The first conquistadors heard legends of a

golden kingdom ruled by “El Dorado,” the

golden man. They kept searching for this

amazing place but never found it. Most of

the beautiful goldwork they took to Europe

was melted down and reused.

MOCTEZUMA MEETS CORTES

When the Aztec emperor Moctezuma met Cortés in Tenochtitlán, he
believed that Cortés was the pale-skinned, bearded god Quetzalcoatl, who

was prophesied to return from the east. He welcomed Cortés with gifts and
a ceremony. But Cortés captured him and took over the Aztec Empire.

NATIVE

AMERICANS

After conquest, the

Native Americans

were treated cruelly

and forced to work

for the Spanish.

Many slaved in the

gold mines. It was

not long before

their old way of life

disappeared forever.

Incas

Find out more

Aztecs

Columbus, christopher

Explorers

Incas

Maya

South america, history of

Hernando Cortés

Moctezuma

Aztecs