Title: The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
Headings: The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
Content: Fourteen years after Cortez conquered the Aztecs, fellow Spaniard Francisco Pizarro copied Cortez’s game plan. He landed in Incan territory in 1533 in search of treasure. He too kidnapped the emperor  (Atahualpa), demanded gold ransom, then murdered the emperor and conquered an empire. Clearly, the unifying motive of the conqueror here was plundered treasure. The Spanish set up colonial systems that allowed them to exploit and control the people and the land of the Americas for centuries. There are many reasons why Europeans succeeded in conquering diverse nations and empires of the Americas. First, the Spaniards and Portuguese employed cutting-edge sailing and navigational technology to reach, explore, and shuttle back and forth from the Americas. Cortez benefited from several other Eurasian technological advantages when his small band of six hundred Spaniards defeated the enormous Aztec empire. Conquistadores used steel swords and armor against the wooden clubs and cotton armor of the Aztecs. The original Americans had no answer for cannons and other firearms, such as arquebuses.