Conquistadors
■Spanish term for the word conqueror
■Soldiers, explorers, adventurers at the service of Spanish Empire
■Holy people who would generally pray with cross/rosary before battle
■Most famous: Cortes and Pizarro, but also Coronado
■Obsessed with honor and reputation
■Had reputation for rowdiness, duels were common
Cortes:
■Born to a family of lower nobility
■Father was an infantry Capitan for Spanish army
■He is 2nd cousin once removed with Pizarro
■Conquered Aztec Empire
■Aztec thought he was Quetzalcoatl
Pizarro:
■Spanish Conquistador
■Conquered Incan civilization with only 168 men, 27 horses, and 1 cannon
■Got defeated soldiers from the Incan civil war to fight for his side
■2nd cousin once removed from Cortes
Reasons why they conquered:
■Treasure (gold, silver)
■Polytheistic – not a fan. Spanish Inquisition!!
■Human sacrifice was not a well-received practice worldwide at this point
■Exploring and wanted the land to set up Spanish colonies – successful
■Slaves
■Thought the rituals and dances were “devil like”
Issues:
■Division of the treasures produced bloody conflicts, such as one between Pizarro and Almagro
■After Peru fell to Spain, Francisco Pizarro told Almagro, before they became enemies, to go to the Inca Empire’s northern city of Quito to claim it (loaded with gold)
■Fellow conquistador Sebastian de Belalcazar, who had gone forth without Pizarro’s approval, had already reached Quito.
■The arrival of Pedro de Alvarado from Mexico in search of Inca gold further complicated the situation for Almagro and Belalcazar.
■Alvarado left S Amercia in exchange for monetary compensation from Pizarro
■Almagro was executed on 1538 under Pizarro’s order of treason
■In Lima in 1541, supporters of Diego Almagro II assassinated Francisco Pizarro.
■Belalcazar in 1546 ordered the execution of Jorge Robledo, who governed a neighboring province in yet another land-related vendetta
■Belalcazar was tried, convicted, and condemned for killing Robledo and other offenses pertaining to his involvement in the wars between armies of conquistadors and was then killed.
Aztecs: • Conquered by Cortez which they believed to be their god Quetzalcoatl – believed to be a white bearded man that would appear to them. Thought Cortez was Quetzalcoatl, and gave over seat of throne of empire & then Cortez increased human sacrifices, locked Montezuma, • Conquered in early 16th century • Religion: polytheistic, human offering/sacrifice very popular • Montezuma II was leader of Aztecs when this occurred • Very unique ag – chinampas (artificial floating islands in shallow lake areas) because didn’t have enough land for all the crops they needed • Would use volcanic rock called obsidian with weaponry • Capital city: Tenochtitlan • Number system based on 20’s • Key buildings: o Temple Mayor (sacrificing building, elaborate) o Saint Cecilia Actitlan (sacrificing building, 1st four days sacrificed over 60,000 ppl – so bloody that water was red for several months) o Great Pyramid of Cholula (biggest man-made pyramid by volume) o Temples of Sun and Moon (about a mile apart from each other) Mayans: • Tikal : capital • Their classic period was from mid-3rd century to very early 10th century • Religion: polytheistic and human sacrifices common (not as much as Aztecs) • Their collapsed is still not officially known, but very recent research suggest that it was due to a 200 yr drought • Known for their calendar 12/21/12 • Popol Vuh is their book of creation – story of 2 brothers playing ball game vs demons of world. Lose at first, but then come back and rescue Mayans • Key buildings: o Great Ball Court (played games with hoops) o Temple of Jaguars (sacrificial building – captain of winning team was sacrificed due to honor, skip 13 steps to heaven) o Temple of the Magican (story that person who built it was born from an egg) o El Castillo Incan • Capital: Cuzco • No real writing system • Quipo(u) was used for both math and reading • Polytheistic religion, human sacrifice was uncommon • Created a road system consisting around 18,000 to 25,000 miles • Conquered by Pizarro and Spanish in mid/late 16th century • Massive civil war between brothers occurring at this time on who would be next leader, one brother finally killed the other • Smallpox was being spread • Pizarro had less than 200 men but went to the losing group and told them if they’d help him he’d give them land… defeated them but didn’t keep his promise to those Incans. • Key buildings: o Temple Hill
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