INDIAN CONQUISTADORS: INDIGENOUS ALLIES IN THE

CONQUEST OF MESOAMERICA.

-The Mesoamericans who helped the Spanish conquer Mexico are sometimes

overlooked or not given enough credit when looking at the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

CHAPTER 1 MESOAMERICAN CONQUISTADORS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY (PG. 28- 37)

- Spanish conquistadors documented the conquest, so they gave themselves the credit for their victories.

-Many sources give credit to how remarkable Cortes was, the greatness of Spanish military resources, Spanish help from God, European diseases that killed many of the indigenous people, Moctezuma’s fall, as well as other reasons.

-There were indeed native allies who helped the Spanish conquer Mexico.

Methods in which the natives helped the Spanish conquer the Mexica empire:

-The number of natives that gave help and aid helped the Spanish conquer the Mexica empire.

- Native allies were all over the region- they were omnipresent.

- There were native guides, spies, interpreters, cooks, etc. who could have helped the Spanish.

- There is a possibility that the Spanish were able to conquer only because they were copying and imitating a conquest plan that had already been invented and used by the Mesoamericans themselves.

Incidences in which the natives helped the Spanish:

- Taxcala was one of these native allies. - When the Spanish fought and conquered

Tenochtitlan, Tlaxcala provided them with many warriors to help them.

-As many as 40,000 native allies helped the Spanish at one point- in a Campaign to Iztapalapa.

-When the Spanish went to a city called Cholula, many soldiers from Tlaxcala went with them.

Incidences when the natives helped the Spanish (cont.):

- When the Spanish went for the conquest of Chiapas and Guatemala, 2,000 allies went with Pedro de Alvarado for the conquest.

-Even when the Spanish had campaigns outside Mesoamerica, like in the Andes, Pedro de Alvarado had brought Mesoamerican allies to help out the Spanish.

-Some natives felt that they deserved rights and privileges because they helped out the Spanish in their conquests.