Spanish Conquistadores

Kofa Advanced Placement United States History

United We Stand, Divided We Fall!

Spanish Conquistadores

August 19, 2008 at 5:15 am · Filed under Enrichment

Well developed agriculture contributed to the growth of mighty empires. The ability to cultivate plants resulted in the building of a more complex society because humans were able to settle in one area instead of living a nomadic existence. The Incas however was no match for the Spaniards. We can look at each civilization and be able to discern the consistent pattern of conquest.

Watch the video, all parts of it. Then answer this question: How did the Spaniards conquer the Incas? What did they have as an advantage?

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14 Comments»

Nicole Northcutt wrote @ August 20, 2008 at 1:38 am

This video shows vital information of Spanish Conquistadores. They were powerful and the Incas had no knowledge of these white people nor had they seen men on horses before. Their lack of knowledge only made the Conquistadores a bigger threat. The clothing and the weapons that they had were much more than the Incas so they were no match. Francisco Pizzaro was probably the biggest advantage. The Conquistadores had in possession a leader that was strong and determined to get what he wanted. Pizzaro’s leadership and strong will led to their conquering. They also had the advantage of containing weapons, like large sticks and sharp objects. The sat fierce on horses intimidating the Incas, and I bet the Incas were frightened by the Conquistadores presence. The Spaniards were also a little more aware and smart of the area around them and didn’t just settle in one area. Pizzaro’s group was a great example of European conquest, which is why he is remembered in our history today. He even has his own monument and his home is a museum! I don’t know about everyone else, but that would be pretty cool to have a monument when you die so people hundreds of years later can learn what you did to make history. This was a very interesting video even though I was hesitant to watch it because educational videos are sometimes monotone. I learned alot though!

Laotian Teacher wrote @ August 20, 2008 at 3:01 am

Nicole, wonderful job answering the question. I’m glad you give the video a chance! I try to find ones that are educational and entertaining for you guys.

Branden Lau wrote @ August 21, 2008 at 1:18 am

It doesn’t take much imagination to realize how the Spaniards defeated the Incas. Through deception and lies, the Conquistadores took advantage of the natives’ naivety when they mistook the Spaniards as “Gods” and such. When it came to actual combat, the Spanish were better organized and more prepared, what with their horses and rifles. Of course, there’s also the sheer amount of unintentional damage done due to the spreading of various diseases to the Incas. What wiped out the majority of the Incas was because of their unadjusted immune systems. Luck was just plain against the Incas.

Mia Patel p.5 wrote @ August 21, 2008 at 5:11 am

The Incas were a great civilization indeed. However, the Spanish had a greater advantage because of their background and clash with other Europeans, enabling them the opportunity to learn more effective means of conquest. The Incas had no knowledge of other nations beyond their world and no interactions of peoples other than their own. They were amazed by the fact the Spanish Conquistadores used animals (horses) as a means of transportation and of course later they would learn the use of animals as force. They had only domesticated the lama, using their own skills for cultivation and necessities. Europeans at the time had come into contact with many other cultures and lifestyles, giving them the higher advantage with weaponry. The Incas were a peaceful and inviting people according to the video; they were very open to letting the Spanish Conquistadores come into their territory. They even were willing to offer the Spanish what they had. Being a civilization entirely cut off from other world influence seeing the Spanish Conquistadores riding on horses, truly must have been a bewildering sight. The video referred to the Incas believing these white men to be Gods, even. The coercive style of riding the Conquistadores used left the Incas defenseless, as they had not witnessed such vigor. The Spanish had the upperhand with weaponry and force. The Incas were very limited to their resources. Francisco Pizarro was a retired army Captain. He had the familiarity and skill of combat with nations of similar defense and weaponry. The Incas never had a chance, because as the video mentioned they were amazed at the Conquistadores and their advancements. Another contributing factor for the Spanish was their determination for gold and glory, nothing was going to stop them. Enslaving the Incas was very simple for the Spanish because they were the more advanced group with the most knowledge of conquest.

Sarah Davis wrote @ August 22, 2008 at 2:21 am

I thought that the Conquistadores didn’t make a good impression on the Incas. Because whe they first arrived in the appalachain mts. the Incas were out of their comfort zone by seeing white men who appereared supirior on their horses and that they believed to be gods. The incas in good nature still offered them food and drinks but the Conquistadores were very ungreatful for what the Incas were trying to do for them.They spit out the drinks and in some cultures that is one of the greatest insults. The Incas were still a truly great civilization but they were no match for the spainards, because of the fact that they were isolated for so long and 4,000 years behind on advancement of other civilization. Also the spainiards had had previous expirences in combat defending the territory that had alreay acquired. So for the Incas to be overpowered and enslaved so easily is not as baffeling as some may think.

Sal Alonso wrote @ August 22, 2008 at 3:09 am

The Incas were a very powerful and mighty nation feared by many other civilizations and people. But not by one, the Spanish Conquistadors. The Spanish had many advantages and they were that they had fire sticks and horses. Ther were able to kill the people faster with these fire sticks or guns. War for them was really like childs play and was very easy to trick them and decieve them. At first they would pretend to be nice but would actually lies to them and steal behind their backs.The horses were also a big surprise to the Inca people. They have never seen or heard of a horse they were also very scared by how it looked and acted.The Incas probably and most likely thought them to be gods sent to help them against hteir enemies and with thier crops. The advantage that the Spanish had was that they were already more ahead of the Incas in certain ways and were very easy to manipulate.They had their own tactics and methods far beyond than what the Incas knew. So in thte end for the spanish it was like slicing cake for them to enslave the Incas and the Incas didnt really have a chance.

Liz D Hr. 4 wrote @ August 22, 2008 at 3:11 am

Okay, the Inca were not as helpless and peace loving as people think. Nor were they as primitive. With no iron or steel to work with, the Incas were able to build vast architectural wonders that still stand today out of stone. They were the most powerful nation out of all the other Andean nations.

When Pizarro attacked the Inca with his measly 180 men and 1 canon, the Inca had an army of 40, 000 strong. How was Pizarro able to win when so heavily outnumbered? Well, the majority of the Incan army was wiped out through an unintentional early form of biological warfare. (They all got smallpox and died from Pizarro’s men.) Pizarro had also gone around to the surrounding kingdoms who were unhappy with the Inca expansion and succeeded in gaining their support. The Incan emperor was also in the middle of a civil war with his brother over the throne. By taking advantage of the divided loyalties and epidemic, Pizarro kidnapped the Incan emperor, had his brother assassinated, and despite being offered a mountain of ransom gold for their captive king’s return, Pizarro killed their king and installed his own people to control the once great empire.

The fact that men like Pizarro and Cortez, who actually did kill millions of people and destroy whole cultures and empires are considered heroes while Columbus is villianized is a travesty and reflects how little importance these people’s lives really were.

Malini Chauhan wrote @ August 22, 2008 at 3:29 am

The Spainards had many advantages over the Incas, many of them already mentioned in the other posts here. They had more advanced technology (the disparity between Native American technology and European technology is especially apparent in terms of weaponry during this time period), they were carrying diseases that the Natives’ immune systems were not at all prepared for (though the Natives did transmit some diseases to the Europeans, disease was a major killer for the Natives), and at first the Natives were under the impression that the Spainards were god-like figures, giving the Spainards ample oppurtunity to use deception to meet their goals of conquest. All of these factors and probably more contributed to the fall of the Inca Empire.

M. Vincent wrote @ August 22, 2008 at 6:24 am

The Inca civilization was easily defeated by Pizarro and his men due to the fact they were unable to see the Spaniards as the major threat they were till it was too late. The Incas were confused by the sight of white people and the beasts they rode, which to the Incas made them appear half man half beast, thus making it seem that new creatures may be gods. Pizarro used the Inca’s lack of knowledge of who they were and what they could do, to conquer them. Aside from having the element of surprise, Pizarro had experience in more advanced and organized military tactics than the Incas, plus the addition of horses made them more mobile. The Spaniards also had the benefit of the weak immune systems of the Incas’ to the European diseases they had brought with them over seas. So to put it simply the Spaniards were like greedy, glory hungry strangers, who had Hummers (horses) and a big fancy gun (rifles) and put it up against a less organized military who had sticks as weapons, then with a very determined will mowed them down like blades of grass. And not to mention the unseen bio-war fare.

little chickon nuget wrote @ August 24, 2008 at 5:56 pm

the Spanish were looked at as Gods and were very different from the Indians. the Spanish had horses which gave them maneuverability and the Spanish had much better weapons then the Indians. So, in essence the Spanish out did the Indians in smarts rather numbers.

Adr1an A. 5th p. wrote @ August 26, 2008 at 1:29 am

I really liked the video Mrs.Arogon it was very interesting. I think the whole conquering part of history is interesting and important. We can learn so much just from this part of history. Well to answer the question, I think that they over whelmed the Incas. The Incas had never seen people riding animal. They had never seen these strange looking people on horses and wearing armor. The way they looked had the Incas fascinated. It was probably so scary for them. So maybe Pissaro saw this in the Incas. Remember Pissaro was a leader and a good one. His skills leading the Spanish conquistadors would have played as a huge advantage if Pissaro decided to take over the Incas. He had already taking over other people in other areas. What made the Incas any better then the other natives, why not take over them as well. All this could have gone through his head. Using the armor and weapons the Spanish conquistadors could have taken over. That was not all that they used against the mighty Incas. They had Pissaro leading them ,and their powerful horses. The Spaniards were trained on horses to have great speed and agility. The Spaniards would be unstoppable on their horses, a force to be reckoned with. Easily over powering the Incas the Spaniards would have claimed this new territory as there own.

Laotian Teacher wrote @ August 26, 2008 at 6:21 am

Amazing thoughts students. I like how you guys are candid about the topics.

Branden, I think the luck was on the Spaniard’s side like you said because of the sickness and diseases they brought unwittingly to the Americas.

Vincent, good point about the Natives underestimating the might of the Spaniards and their cunning.

Malini, interesting point about the Spaniards using “deception to meet their goals of conquest.”

Sarah good point about culture clash, ‘spitting on the food”.

Liz, a person can be a hero and a villian at the same time. It depends on who is telling the story: the conqueror or the conquered.

Laotian Teacher wrote @ August 26, 2008 at 6:22 am

Adrian, I’m glad you found the video interesting. It’s good to see that you learned something from the video.

RS 2nd period wrote @ September 17, 2008 at 5:42 am

i think the spaniards were unfair to the inca civilization beacuse they used the incas lack of knowledge against them in the way that they used them as slaves and the incans not knowing their real threat didnt have much to do but to follow orders, i mean i would to if i was being threat by a gun and strange people. also the spaniards had the advantage of how the icans were weak in their immune system and didnt really have chance up against those diseas.

Kofa Advanced Placement United States History