Conquistador ( or in English; ) (meaning "Conqueror" in the Spanish and Portuguese languages) is the term widely used to refer to the Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th through the 17th centuries following Europe's discovery of the
New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the non-Afro-Eurasian parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and possibly Australia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia,...
by
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
in 1492. The leaders of the conquest of the Aztec Empire were
Hernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
and Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras.
Francisco PizarroFrancisco Pizarro González, 1st Marqués de los Atabillos was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, modern Spain. Sources differ in the birth year they assign to him: 1471, 1475–1478, or...
led the conquest of the Incan Empire.
Characteristics of the conquistadores
The captains were gentlemen of varying nobility, who fought in earlier battles from within the peninsula and further away in Italy. The
Conquistadores in the Americas were more volunteer militia than an actual organized military. They had to supply their own materials, weapons and horses. The first parties to explore the mainland of the new world in 1516 were on trading and mapping expeditions. After realizing the size of the continent sitting between the old world and Asia, more permanent settlements needed to be founded. Many of the first contacts with the Indians resulted in Mayan attacks on poorly-armed trading parties that resulted in several Spaniards taken to be slaves in the Yucatan. The Crown soon sent better-equipped men for protection and were the first to introduce the modern horse to the New World. These
caballeros, being the most prolific horsemen in the world at the time, quickly had an impact in balancing the dramatic population and terrain advantages of the natives. The speed, strength and mystery behind these animals left many natives terrified in battle and, with the ability of the Conquistadors, the Spanish were able to control the battlefield with as few as ten riders in later battles against up to 10,000 warriors. Prominent during the conquest of Mexico and Peru (
CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
, Alvarado) were, on average, 34 years old. Francisco Pizarro, the oldest of all, was called "El Viejo" (The Old One) by the Spaniards and "Apu Machu" by the Incas. Although both being from Extramadura, Spain and distant relatives, these two men were complete opposites in temperament, manner and abilities. Cortes having attended the University of Salamanca and holding several prominent positions in the settlement of the island of Cuba, Hernan was well versed in Spanish law and legalities. He kept a detailed journal of his travels to the mainland and of the eventual developments there. He was said to be very articulate and had much influence with people due to his good manner and generosity. It was also said that "a good time would follow Cortes" and preferred to settled disagreements over a bottle of wine rather than by sword. Pizarro had spent many years serving with other explorations such as in the South Eastern United States with Ponce de Leon, the Yucatan under orders of Governor D. Vasquez, and eventual into South America. Pizarro later had a wounded eye that required a patch and was know for his deep, throaty voice. He was said to have a bad temper and that with iron fist he maintained strict order among his men. Both men were extremely devout Catholics and regularly held mass before leaving camp or before a battle. They believed like many Hispanics today, that all things were possible through God and made dutiful effort to establish the ways and laws of Christianity to the natives. The Conquistadors many times encountered situations which to them were pure acts of evil. They challenged the rituals of the natives and destroyed many of the demonic idols and replaced them with crosses and statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus child.
The authority of the captain was first assured by being granted a royal commission, by his experience and regard among the aristocratic and military circles. On some occasions, captains resorted to testing the limits of their authority, as when
Hernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
ordered his men to burn their ships and establish the first city on the main land. Due in part to the dire situations and horrible customs faced by these first explorers, the
conquistadores continued to see themselves as the evolutions of the Latin hero in the vein of Christian knights against the Moors, or Alexander and Julius Caesar. After hearing of the first-hand accounts of what the surviving
Conconquistadores witnessed, many people saw these captains as heroes and legendary figures. In every circumstance, the Spanish were outnumbered with little in the way of fresh water, provisions or even shelter. They believed, due to their devotion to God, that they survived many ambushes and traps set by the Indians by His grace. They were later able to peacefully ally with many of the native tribes and educate the peoples on the ways of Christianity. Even today, the largest percentage of Catholics are in former Spanish territories. They did their best to eradicate the most barbaric of practices like ritual sacrifice, cannibalism, slavery and sodomy. In the later legal systematization of New Spain they were given plots of land under orders to protect and educate the natives on the land. This later set the way for the first universities and monasteries that would dot the New world from modern Northern California down to the cape of Argentina. From as far east as Florida and the Carolinas, up the Mississippi River and great plains, to the Alaskan shores and Rocky Mountains, the Spanish
Conquistadores were the first representatives of the Intrepid American spirit.
Another feature of the conquistadors was the number of them who came from upper nobility compared with other contemporary military ventures. While some like Julio R. Villanueva Sotomayor suggests that only 30% of conquistadores were noblemen. similar to the United states, the middle class made up the bulk of the Spanish forces. Joining a military company was a very attractive method of social advancement in a rigidly stratified society, where most men were ranchers, in the clergy or in politics for advancement.
The conquest of the Americas by Spain
- Main article Spanish colonization of the Americas
The Spanish colonization of the Americas was the settlement and political rule over much of the western hemisphere which was initiated by the Spanish conquistadors and fought mostly by their native allies...
.
Spanish chroniclers have always maintained traditionally that the conquest of the Americas was an impressive feat that occurred at an unprecedented pace. The stated purposes of these conquests were to equally spread the word of God and to bring this new civilization in the most obscure parts of the world into the Spanish Crown as dutiful vassals. Spain accomplished this goal with astounding ability, quickly expanding its borders far larger than previous Golden empires like Rome, Greece, Egypt. To the contrary, the testimony of some modern indian civil rights groups as well as support from contemporary non-Hispanic humanists and writers Like Matthew Restall and William Prescott have presented the Spanish Conquest of Americas as a series of unfortunate and morally questionable acts driven by greed for gold and resulted in the destruction of several native civilizations. The continued perpetration of the "
Black LegendThe Black Legend is a term coined by Julián Juderías in his 1914 book La leyenda negra y la verdad histórica in reference to the world´s Hispanophobia in the Early Modern period, resulting in the depiction of Spain and Spaniards as "cruel", "intolerant" and "fanatical"...
" to denigrate and overlook the accomplishments of Mediterranean peoples by North Europeans with Anti-Hispanic, anti-Catholic, and socialist motives has persisted for the last 500 years. It is due to these erroneous ideas that comments like "the first group of
conquistadores that came with Cortes went for the sole reason to find gold in the New World." This is from the previous description found on this page. Like all people, the Spanish cared very much about making a good living and supporting their family. So many historians point to this a fact to the "true purpose" of the exploration of the New World. But how many citizens would join the U.S military today without any pay or compensation for the time spent and dangers faced. Additionally, the idea of a capitalistic society would also be incompatible with that of people eager to risk their lives just for the sake of teaching the word of God to heathens. These biases along with others has tainted the perception and true facts of the discovery, exploration, and settlement in the Americas by the Spaniards.
Historians like
Tzvetan TodorovTzvetan Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher. He has lived in France since 1963 writing books and essays about literary theory, thought history and culture theory....
and
Jared DiamondJared Mason Diamond is an American scientist and nonfiction author whose work draws from a variety of fields. He is currently Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA...
have highlighted the short time required for the Spanish conquest and establishment in the Americas. Exposure of these previously remote populations to European diseases caused many more fatalities than the wars themselves, and severely weakened the natives' social structures. Recent genetic studies on the skeletal remains of natives peoples find that very few died as a result of violence but rather by disease. One study estimated that up to 85% of the drop in population was due to illness. Many oral stories are told that the Indians saw this as a sign and lack of faith in their old customs. The people in the Americas were not previously exposed to the variety of European diseases and which resulted in their eventual demise. The diseases moved much faster than advancing Spanish. When the Spanish
conquistadores arrived in the Inca empire, a large portion of the population, including the emperor, had already been killed by a
smallpoxSmallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic. When the Francisco Coronado and the Spanish first explored into the Rio Grande Valley in 1540, in modern New Mexico, many of the chieftains complained of new diseases affecting their tribes. The Spanish
curanderos (folk healers) recognized the symptoms and attempted to relieve some of the ailments.
The Laws of Burgos, 1512-1513, were the first codified set of
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
s governing the behavior of Spanish settlers in America, particularly with regards to
Native AmericanThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
s. They forbade the maltreatment of natives, and endorsed their conversion to
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
. In the 16th century perhaps 240,000 Europeans entered American ports. By the late 16th century American
silverSilver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
accounted for one-fifth of Spain's total budget.
Significance
While technological and cultural factors played an important role in the victories and defeats of the conquistadors, one fatal factor was the disease brought from Europe, especially
smallpoxSmallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, which in several cases destroyed entire nations before the arrival of the Spaniards(debated). Another key factor was the ability of the conquistadors to manipulate the political situation between indigenous peoples, either by supporting one side of a civil war, as in the case of the
IncaThe Inca civilization began as a tribe in the Cuzco area, where the legendary first Sapa Inca, Manco Capac founded the Kingdom of Cuzco around 1200. Under the leadership of the descendants of Manco Capac, the Inca state grew to absorb other Andean communities. In 1442, the Incas began a...
Empire, or allying with natives who had been subjugated by more powerful neighboring tribes and kingdoms, as in the case of the Aztec empire.
Militarily, conquistadors had several advantages over native peoples, most notably firearms and steel. While the indigenous peoples had the advantage of established settlements, determination to remain independent and the large numerical superiority, which in many cases was a decisive factor in the defeat of the conquistadors, the European diseases combined with the European's advanced military technology and divide-and-conquer tactics ultimately overcame the native populations.
Throughout the conquest, the numbers of people within the indigenous nations greatly exceeded the Spanish conquistadors; on average the Spanish population never exceeded ca 5% of the native population. The Spanish conquistadors commonly allied with natives to bolster their numerically inferior ranks with thousands of indigenous auxiliaries. The army with which
Hernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
besieged Tenochtitlan was composed of ca 100,000 soldiers, of which less than 2% were Spaniards.
Although many American civilizations had developed methods for working soft metals including
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
,
silverSilver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
,
bronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age...
,
tinTin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead, like the two possible oxidation states +2 and +4...
and
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color...
, this knowledge was applied mainly to the development of religious and artistic objects, as well as some household utensils for everyday use. Few metals were used by native populations for military applications. One exception was that the Quechuas and
P'urhépechaThe P'urhépecha, sometimes referred to as Tarascan or Purépecha are an indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of the Mexican state Michoacán, principally in the area of the cities of Uruapan and Patzcuaro...
developed weapons of copper, but these could not match the hardness or durability of iron and steel. Most cultures used weapons of wood,
flintFlint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in color, and...
and
obsidianObsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth...
. Most Conquistadores had limited access to steel armor and helmets as the more common chain mail and leather were worn by the Spanish and were an important factor in their success. However, many indigenous cultures had used woven grasses and leathers as similar protection for centuries. In fact, mostly the mounted conquistadors (the cavalry) used steel breastplates and armor during Cortés' campaign against the Aztecs. The varying climate between coastal and mountain regions and high heat and humidity of Central and South America made wearing such heavy iron and steel items mostly impractical, and the humidity caused a significantly faster rate of corrosion than in Europe.
In their first contacts with native peoples, archaic firearms and especially arquebuses were very formidable battles due to the great impression on morale because of the noise, light and smoke. But their military effectiveness was limited due to the time to reload, difficulty maintaining the weapon with no resources, and availability usually in the single digits for most Spanish parties. The weapons and armor of steel and iron proved to be much more effective militarily. A Spanish sword made from Toledo steele was considered the pinnacle of craftsmanship and a well trained knight could be a dominant foe. When they took control of a nation the conquistadors usually banned possession of steel swords by the subjugated peoples for civil obedience and to the Spanish a sword represented their chivalry, honor, and devotion as Christian Knights.
The animals introduced were another important factor. On the one hand, the introduction of the horse to the American continents by the Spaniards allowed them freedom of mobility and the use of domesticated pack animals which were unknown to the Indian cultures. But in the mountains and jungles, the Spaniards were less able to traverse Amerindian roads and bridges made for pedestrian traffic some times not wider than a few feet wide. In many cases the Spanish taught the native peoples, in places such as Argentina, New Mexico, and California the techniques of horsemanship, cattle raising, and sheep herding training and they soon excelled at the skills of the Spaniards. This later would become a disputed factor in the native resistance to the Spanish and their use of the new techniques. The Spaniards also were well trained at breeding dogs for war, hunting, and protection. The introduction of the Mastiffs, Wolf hounds, and sheep dogs were unexpectedly effective as a psychological weapons rather than physical ones against the natives who in many cases had never seen domesticated dogs, and none of whom had seen horses before.
The Spanish methods of war were some what similar to other Europeans powers, but were more organized and directed within the terms and laws of "a just war" being considered at all times than the Indian's regards to warfare. In addition, the most prominent native peoples like the Aztecs and Mayans preferred to capture their victims for use as sacrificial victims to their own gods rather than to commit their armies to death on the battlefield. Many historians count this as a less brutal way to wage war termed "Flower wars".
One factor in the defeat of the American-Indian civilizations was their demographic collapse. There has been an debate among researchers, that "there is no consensus as to the cause of that collapse; some give genocide as the main cause",which is very exaggerated claim with no factual basis. Some attribute it to the introduction of new diseases and a still others to a combination of both factors. Scholars now believe that, among the various contributing factors,
epidemic disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the Native Americans because of their lack of
immunityImmunity is a biological term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion. Immunity involves both specific and non-specific components. The non-specific components act either as barriers or as eliminators of wide...
to new diseases brought from Europe. The American researcher HF Dobyns has estimated that 95% of the total population of Americas died in the first 130 years after the arrival of Columbus. Cook and Borak of the University of Berkeley claim that the population in Mexico declined from 25.2 million in 1518 to 700 thousand people in 1623, less than 3% of the original population. In 1492 Spain and Portugal populations combined did not exceed 10 million people. There is some consensus that the demographic collapse of the original population of the Americas was the main cause of its military defeat. One factor overlooked is that there was no set political standard among the vast and greatly dispersed indigenous peoples of the Americas. Most peoples were in isolated communities with only limited trade contact and no standard communication. The limited trades was the only constant contact between most new world cultures.
Disease decimating the population is commonly listed as the reason for this decline in population. This happened with the Inca Empire, defeated by
Francisco PizarroFrancisco Pizarro González, 1st Marqués de los Atabillos was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, modern Spain. Sources differ in the birth year they assign to him: 1471, 1475–1478, or...
in 1531. The first epidemic of smallpox was recorded in 1529 and killed the emperor
Huayna CapacHuayna Capac was the eleventh Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire and sixth of the Hanan dynasty. He was the successor to Tupac Inca Yupanqui. His legitimate wife was Coya Cusirimay...
, the father of
AtahualpaAtahualpa, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, or Atawallpa , was the last Sapa Inca or sovereign emperor of the Tahuantinsuyu, or the Inca Empire...
, as well as a large portion of the population. New epidemics of smallpox broke out in 1533, 1535, 1558 and 1565, as well as typhus in 1546, influenza in 1558, diphtheria in 1614 and measles in 1618. Dobyns estimated that 90% of the population of the Inca Empire died in these epidemics.
Finally,
Jared DiamondJared Mason Diamond is an American scientist and nonfiction author whose work draws from a variety of fields. He is currently Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA...
summarizes the causes of the Pizarro's victory as "military technology based on firearms and steel and horses, infectious diseases endemic in Eurasia, European maritime technology, centralized political organization of States Europeans, and in writing". The significance of writing is attributed to the errors of judgement Atahualpa and Moctezuma, which led them to be deceived by the Spaniards since they belonged to a literate society. This allowed them to have at their disposal a huge body of knowledge about human behavior and its history, something that no native nations possessed.