Indian Conquistadors
By Brent Day
The idea of the Spanish
conquest in America was that the Spaniards had completely overpowered the natives with no help from anyone
This idea was popular but it began to fade when questions were asked and there were no satisfactory answers
The new idea is that it was from disease, native disunity, and metal weapons that helped the Spaniards conquer the Americas
Fading of Believes
The Spaniard’s native allies
outnumbered their main force at about 5:1 or more
In later years not as many natives accompanied the Spaniards on their expeditions but they still out numbered the Spaniards
The natives were taken with the Spaniards to other countries to aid their conquering as well
Native Support
Native warriors were not the only
ones that helped out in the Conquistadors conquest
The Conquistadors also had guides, cooks, translators, and porters
The native porters were of extreme importance due to the fact that the Conquistadors brought with them few beasts of burden
They also were the ones that carried sick and wounded from the battle field and during marches
Native Network
Cortez’s conquest
strategy composed of repeating the same thing
When Cortez conquered a new city he would use it as a spring board for his next attack
He would then pray on the local people and intimidate them to keep them under his control
The Pattern of Conquest