1. The Fall of the Aztec and Inca Empires Pages 594-600
Chapter 16, lesson 3
The Fall of the Aztec and Inca Empires
Pages

2. The Spanish Arrive in America
* European countries compete with each other to trade with East Asia.
* The first were the Portuguese.
* Next were the Spaniards who were influenced by Columbus’s discovery of Hispaniola.
* Columbus went on a second voyage to Hispaniola and brought soldiers with him.
* The Taino people of Hispaniola were startled at the site of the spanish soldiers known as conquistadors.
* Conquistadors were armor clad men who rode on armor clad horses who fired guns of flames and lead balls.
* Soldiers claimed the land for Spain.
* Enslaved the Taino people and forced them to do labor.

3. Spain Conquers Mexico
Many of the conquistadors came from a part of Spain known as the Extremadura.
Hernan Cortes was a noble who chose to become a soldier.
Cortes was put in charge of some of the Native Americans in Cuba and the goods they produced.
Smallpox would wipe out many of the Natives and he would be asked to find new workers for the Spanish.

4. Cortes invades Mexico
Cortes invasion began in April 1519 when he stepped onto a beach with 550 soldiers, 16 horses, 14 cannons, and a few dogs.
He startled the Tabascan people and made them surrender.
The Tabascan people gave Cortes a Mayan woman named Malintzin who knew the language of the Aztec people.
Malintzin gave Cortes a detailed description of the Aztec ways and told him how many people would help to fight against them and the Aztec ruler Montezuma.
Diseases like small pox and measles would also kill many of the Aztec in conquering the huge warrior empire.

5. Cortes Defeats the Aztec
The Spaniards had to travel 400 miles to the Aztec capital known as Tenochtitlan.
Messengers would report to the Aztec leader every move made by Cortes and the spanish soldiers.
Legend promised the return of the light-skinned Aztec god named Quetzalcoatl, and the Aztec thought that Cortes might be him so they would not kill him right away.
As the Spanish came closer Montezuma decided to ambush them but Cortes leaned about this attack before so he attacked first.
In November 1519, the Spaniards marched into Tenochtitlan, and took control of the cities.

6. Cortes defeats the Aztec continued
Cortes then takes Montezuma hostage and orders the Aztec to stop sacrificing people.
A rebellion occurred and the Spanish killed thousands of Aztec.
Montezuma was also killed.
Outnumbered the Spanish fled out of the city and lived in the nearby hills with their allies.
Cortes was planning a 2nd attack of the city and then smallpox broke out killing many of the Aztec.
In June 1521, the Spanish destoyed the Aztec capital.

7. Pizzaro Conquers the Inca
Franciso Pizzaro took up the search for the golden empire that Balboa had longed to find but did not.
He wanted to become wealthy and did so in his exploration of Panama (1502) but he still wanted to find the golden empire.

8. Pizarro and the Inca Smallpox and Pizarro threatened the Inca Empire.
Pizarro raided Incan storehouses and fired guns at the villagers.
The Incan emperor, Atahualpa thought that Pizarro was a crazy or a fool.
Pizarro decides on a plan to defeat the Inca.

9. Pizarro defeats the Inca
Atahualpa agrees to a meeting with the Spanish and leaves his huge Incan army behind, and has his 5,000 body guards to go with him.
Pizarro tells Atahualpa to give up his gods.
Atahualpa laughs at the request, war breaks out, and Atahualpa is taken by Pizarro off the battlefield.

10. Pizarro defeats the Inca
Atahualpa offers gold and silver and had it brought in to Pizarro in order to be free.
Pizarro takes his wealth and then charged the emperor with many crimes; plotting a rebellion, worshipping false gods, having too many wives, and others.
Pizzaro was appointed as the new governor of Peru and chose a new Incan emperor who answered to him.
Final Result- conquest opened South America to the Spanish.
Spain would control a large territory of 375,000 square miles with nearly 7 million people.
Spain was on its way to building the world’s first global empire.