1) Explain and compare the conquest of the Inca and the Aztec empires.
One of the most influential empires of the colonial era is the Spanish empire. The effects of this empire can be still seen today in those areas of Latin America and the Caribbean that they colonized in the 1500's. The Spanish are credited for conquering some of the most notable civilizations of the Americas, especially the Aztec and Inca empires. Two of the most powerful empires of the Americas fell to the Spanish, more specially the Aztecs to Hernán Cortés and the Incas to Francisco Pizarro. Although both conquistadores hailed from Spain there were plenty of differences as well as similarities in their conquests of each of these native empires. But to understand these differences and similarities, one must also understand this time in history and the people. .
At this time of exploration, discovery, and conquest, it was the Americas that had everything to offer as the New World. Europeans on the search for precious metals and riches found just that in the Americas and were eager to obtain each and every piece of it. More specifically it was the Aztec and Inca civilizations that remain noted because of the remarkable gold and silver they possessed which caused Cortés, Pizarro, and the Spanish government to colonize these areas as quickly as possible.
First, both conquistadores possessed advantages that would intern make conquering the Aztec and Inca people seem to be inevitable and somewhat easy. To start, both Spaniards had translators to help them through their conquest. However, whereas Pizarro had one translator, Cortés had two translators, one was Jerónimo Aguilar, a man that due to a shipwreck landed in Yucatan and unavoidably learned the language of the people as he cohabitated with the native. The other was Malintzin, who later changed her name to Doña Marina, a native woman that spoke both Maya and Nahuatl.
