Title: 
Headings: Latin America and the Conquistadors The general term “conquistador” refers to Spanish and Portuguese adventurers/warriors who led the expeditions into the New World during the Age of Exploration.  These conquistadors invaded and conquered lands in the Americas and the Caribbean from the late fifteenth through the late seventeenth century. Conquistadors can also be understood as colonizers who were acting in the name of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires.  Overseas expeditions and voyages were typically sponsored by the monarchy or by members of the nobility.  Spreading Catholicism and converting indigenous peoples acted as a major impetus for colonization and imperial expansion.  The conquistadors are known today in part for their harsh behavior toward natives throughout the early phases of colonization.  As professional soldiers, these men utilized European technology, weaponry, and cavalry against unknowing indigenous populations. Old World versus New World Although scholars today refer to the periodfrom the fifteenth to the seventeenth century as the Age of Discovery, many of the lands that Europeans “discovered” were already inhabited by rich and vibrant indigenous civilizations for tens of thousands of years.  When Christopher Columbus first landed in America, the population of Central America was around 45 million people.  The cultures in the Americas were extremely diverse and distinct from one another.  Columbus and his fellow conquistadors mistakenly believed that they had reached the East Indies and, as a result, labeled any and all indigenous peoples “Indians.”  By grouping together such disparate groups of people, the Europeans perceived unity among the indigenous population that did not always exist. The major differences between the peoples of the Old World and the New World were the relative isolation of the New World from exposure to other peoples and cultures.  Unlike Europeans, who had been in contact with peoples from Africa, the Ottoman Empire, and Asia for centuries, natives from the New World were extremely susceptible to diseases brought over by conquistadors from the Old World.  Diseases, such as smallpox, ravaged New World populations, who had never come into contact with peoples affected with such diseases.  Europeans also had access to newer technologies, such as steel and iron, which provided them with the military advantage that allowed them to successfully dominate the peoples of the New World. Factors Leading to the Conquest of Latin America There were several motivations behind the expansion and conquest of South America.  Religion was a commonly used justification for colonization.  The Spanish victory and expulsion of the Muslim Moors from the Iberian Peninsula (referred to as the Reconquista), after hundreds of years of occupation, occurred at the same time as the beginning stages of the Age of Discovery.  Many Europeans regarded the liberation of their land as an extension of the medieval Crusades, during which time Catholic soldiers
Latin
 
America
 
and
 
the
 
Conquistadors

Content: It
 
provided
 
Spain
 
with
 
power,
 
influence,
 
and
prestige
 
within
 
the
 
European
 
community. During
 
the
 
earlier
 
phases
 
of
 
overseas
exploration,
 
Spanish
 
conquistadors
 
successfully
 
acquired
 
monopolies
 
on
 
the
 
spice
 
trade
in
 
the
 
East. In
 
addition
 
to
 
spices,
 
the
 
Spanish
 
discovered
 
silver
 
and
 
gold
 
in
 
Latin
America,
 
which,
 
for
 
a
 
short
 
time
 
at
 
least,
 
generated
 
an
 
enormous
 
amount
 
of
 
wealth
 
for
the
 
Spanish
 
Empire. The
 
Conquest
 
of
 
the
 
Aztec
 
and
 
Incan
 
Empires
Some
 
of
 
the
 
most
 
famous
 
conquistadors
 
and
 
their
 
territories
 
of
 
conquest
 
include
Hernan
 
Cortes
 
(Mexico),
 
Juan
 
Ponce
 
de
 
Leon
 
(Puerto
 
Rico
 
and
 
Florida),
 
and
 
Francisco
Pizarro
 
(Peru). The
 
Spanish
 
conquest
 
of
 
the
 
Aztec
 
and
 
Incan
 
Empires
 
were
 
two
 
of
 
the
major
 
episodes
 
in
 
the
 
Spanish
 
colonization
 
of
 
Latin
 
America. From
 
1519
 
to
 
1521
 
the
Spanish,
 
led
 
by
 
Hernan
 
Cortes,
 
conquered
 
the
 
Aztec
 
Empire. Initially,
 
it
 
seemed
 
as
though
 
Cortes
 
and
 
his
 
men
 
were
 
going
 
to
 
try
 
and
 
preserve
 
some
 
of
 
the
 
Aztec’s
 
social
and
 
cultural
 
structure. The
 
Aztecs
 
were
 
integrated
 
into
 
the
 
Spanish
 
Empire
 
and
 
in
 
the
first
 
phase
 
of
 
Spanish
 
conquest
 
many
 
wealthier,
 
elite
 
Aztecs
 
were
 
considered
 
to
 
be
noblemen. This
 
leniency
 
and
 
flexibility
 
came
 
to
 
an
 
end
 
when
 
the
 
Spanish
 
government
rewarded
 
the
 
conquistadors
 
with
 
considerable
 
pieces
 
of
 
land
 
throughout
 
present-day
Mexico,
 
along
 
with
 
Aztec
 
slaves
 
who
 
would
work
 
the
 
land
 
under
 
the
 
Spanish
 
agricultural
system
 
referred
 
to
 
as
 
the
encomienda. The
 
structure
 
of
 
the
encomienda
 
was
 
meant
 
to
 
better
 
regulate
 
the
 
land
 
and
 
labor
in
 
Spain’s
 
newly
 
colonized
 
American
 
territories.