Spanish Conquistadors
What is a mercenary?
A mercenary is a soldier who is paid to fight.
Who was Bartolome de Las Casas?
Bartolome de Las Casas was a priest who encouraged better treatment of Native Americans and fought against the encomienda system.
Where did the Spanish takeover by the mid-1500s?
By the mid-1500s the Spanish took over Puerto Rico, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Southwestern United States, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
What were conquistadors?
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers who led military expeditions in the Americas.
Who went the farthest north?
Coronado went the farthest north.
Why might Cortes have wanted to conquer the Aztec?
Cortes might have wanted to conquer the Aztec because he wanted gold, silver, to convert them to Christianity, glory, and greed.
Why might de Las Casas have spoken out against the encomienda system?
De Las Casas might have spoken out against the encomienda system because he didn't think it was right to treat the native americans as slaves.
Who was Francisco Pizarro?
Francisco Pizarro was a conquistador that captured the Inca capital and killed the Inca leaders.
How was Hernan Cortes able to conquer the Aztec Empire?
Hernan Cortes was able to conquer the Aztec Empire by scaring the natives with the 16 horses, gaining alliances with the other enemies of the Aztec, having superior and better weapons than the natives (like guns), having armor, and having steel.
Who was Hernan Cortes?
Hernan Cortes was the conquistador that conquered the Aztec Empire.
Why do you think the Spanish wanted to convert the natives to Christianity?
I think that the Spanish wanted to convert the Natives to convert to Christianity because they thought Christianity was the right religion and that everybody should be Catholic.
What do you think helped the Europeans the most in the defeat of the Inca and Aztec?
I think the many diseases that the Europeans had helped them the most in the defeat of the Inca and Aztec empires because disease killed the majority (75%) of them.
Where did Cortes reach in 1519?
In 1519 Cortes reached Mexico City, which at the time was called Tenochtitlan.
What were missions?
Missions were buildings that the Catholic church built to convert natives to catholicism.
Who was Moctezuma II?
Moctezuma II was the ruler of the Aztec Empire.
Why do modern armies still use armor?
Modern armies still use armor to protect them from weapons and keep them safe just like armies in the past.
Why did Pizarro first enter the Inca Empire?
Pizarro first went to the Inca Empire for gold.
What are plantations?
Plantations are large farms that grow just one kind of crop and make huge profits for their owners.
What are Presidios? What is an example?
Presidios are military forts. An example is the Alamo in Texas.
What were Pueblos?
Pueblos were trading posts, towns, homes, or shops.
What diseases did the Spanish bring to the new world and how many Natives did it kill?
The Spanish brought chickenpox, smallpox, measles, mumps, and rubella to the new world. These diseases killed 75% of the Native Americans.
What advantages did the Spanish have over the Aztec?
The advantages that the Spanish had over the Aztec were 16 horses, guns, armor, formed alliances, and diseases, steel.
What advantages did the Spanish have over the Native Americans?
The advantages that the Spanish had over the Native Americans were 16 horses, some guns and other superior weapons, and alliances with fellow enemies of the Aztec.
Why did the armor need to be heavy?
The armor needed to be heavy because the heavy steel protected the soldiers from enemy weapons and kept them safe.
What was the encomienda system?
The encomienda system gave settlers the right to tax local Native Americans or to make them work. In exchange, these settlers were supposed to protect the Native American people and convert them to Christianity.
What were the four reasons why the Spanish went to America.
The four reasons why the spanish went to America were god, gold, glory, and greed.
What were the Natives most afraid of.
The natives were most afraid of the horses that the Spanish brought over.
How did the Spanish conquer the great Aztec and Inca empires?
The spanish conquered the great Aztec and Inca empires by bringing diseases to kill most of them off quickly, scaring them with the horses, and using their more advanced superior weapons to kill them.
What were some things that the spanish conquistadors brought over to the new world?
The spanish conquistadors brought over the spanish language, food (corn, rice, tacos), place names (San Salvador, El Salvador, San Fransisco), and Spanish descendents.
How many Natives were there against the Spanish?
There were 80,000 natives and 608 spanish.
