onquest fthe Aztecs nd Incas

fter Columbus, others from Spain-Balboa and Magellan among them-went on to explore the Americas. Driven by their desire for gold and other riches, they pushed deep into North and South America. This was new land to the Spanish. But it was home to the people already living there.

Fall of the Aztecs The year was 1519, and the Aztec king Motecuhzoma

(mawetayekwaheSOHemah) stood at his palace at Tenochtitlan, looking out at the night sky. The king watched for signs that would tell him what was to happen.

In the last two years, some odd things had taken place in the Aztec capital. The Earth had shaken. The lake had flooded the city. Comets had been seen in the sky. Aztec priests had shldied these natural wonders and decided they were signs that the Aztec Empire was coming to an end.

Then one day people came to the bringing news of another happening. Men who had

te skin and black beards and who deer without antlers were coming

Tenochtitlan. The news startled king. The Aztec people believed

I

I ,,~s so~

1

FOCUS What might cause

people of different

cultures to fight with

one another today?

Main Idea Read to

learn what led to

fighting between the

Spanish and the Aztecs

and between the

Spanish and the Incas

during the 1500s.

Vocabulary conquistador

civil war

Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec god, was sometimes shown as a snake with feathers (left). It was believed that he controlled land and sky. The Spanish chest (above) was used in the 15005 to carry goods from the Americas to Europe.

Chapter 4 • 149

-

Route of Cortes

A~M E R) C iA O· 400 800 Miles - \ , ',

o 400 800 Kilometers

Azimu thal Equal-Area Projection

TenochtillAne

PACIFIC OCEAN

- Cortes, 1519

Aztec Empire

('ulf of "'leXIca

., ­TL VJTlC -~AN

Bahamas

H;sp~ni ola

Ldflboean Sea

SOUTH AMERICA

----.-.. I Cortes sailed west from Cuba o what Is now Mexico

• How did the location of Tenochtitlan make it difficult for Cortes to conquer the Aztecs?

that the light-skinned god Quetzalcoatl (kehtezahlekooeWAHetahl) would one day return to rule his people. Could it be that this god of old was coming back?

The person the Aztec Indians thought might be Quetzalcoatl was the explorer Hernando Cortes (kawreTEZ). He had been sent by the Spanish govern­ment to look for gold. With Cortes were more than 500 soldiers, 14 cannons, 16 horses, and several dogs. The horses were the first in the Americas for thousands of years.

This painting shows Motecuhzoma (left) meeting with Cortes (right) in Tenochtitlan. Malinnin (next to Cortes) helped translate for the Spanish explorers.

150 • Unit 2

Cortes had heard stories about the great wealth of the Aztec Empire. Before setting out, he told his soldiers,

" We are ,,,raging a just and good war

which will bring us fame. Almighty

God, in whose name it will be

waged, will give us victory. I offer

you great rewards, although they

will be wrapped about with great

hardships. If you do not abandon

me, as I shall not abandon you, I

shall make you the richest men who

ever crossed the seas. "

In the spring of 1519, Cortes landed on the east coast of Mexico. He defeated the Indians there, then set out for Tenochtitlan. The journey covered 200 miles (322 km)­ · from the tropical coast, through snowy mountains, and into the Valley of Mexico.

After marching for 83 days, Cortes and his soldiers, joined by large numbers of the

!£nocbhtlan.

Aztecs' Indian enemies, finally reached Tenochtitlan. Thinking that Cortes might be Quetzalcoatl, Motecuhzoma welcomed him, offering housing and gifts of gold. When the Spanish soldiers saw the gold, they were overjoyed.

Cortes took Motecuhzoma prisoner. Within two years the Aztec ruler was dead and his capital city was in ruins. Spanish weapons and European diseases, which were new to the Indians, had nearly destroyed the Aztec civilization. By 1521 Cortes had conquered the Aztecs.

Conquering the Aztecs won for Cortes both wealth and glory. He and his soldiers were now able to capture the Aztecs' trea­sures. Among the Europeans, the soldiers soon became known as conquistadors (kahneKEESetahedoors). This word in Spanish means"conquerors."

Spain now ruled Mexico. On the ashes of the Aztec capital, the Spanish built Mexico City. Mexico City became the capital of Spain's new empire in the Americas.

How did the Spanish acquire Mexico for their empire?

Fall of the Incas

Other conquistadors soon followed Cortes to the Americas. Sixty-year-old Francisco Pizarro (peeeZAReoh) was one of them. Pizarro had heard stories of an Indian people whose empire was far richer and more pow­erful than tha t of the Aztecs. These people were called the Incas.

, ROllte of Pizarro

PACIFIC OCEAN

Talca 1

ATLANTIC OCEA.N N

w

!' 400 800 Miles

o 400 800 Kilometers

ModifIed Chambers TrrOletnc Projection

---+ Pizarro, 1531-1533 Inca Empire

-­ Inca road

I-M_o_v_e_m_e_n_t ----' Pizarro traveled south from

Panama to the Inca capital of Cuzco (Koos-koh). Along the way he found stone­

paved roads built by the Incas. • Why do you think these roads were important to

the Incas?

In 1531 Pizarro and a group of 180 Spanish and African soldiers sailed from Panama and landed on

the west coast of South America. For the next two years, they wandered about the Andes Mountains, stealing gold and riches from the Indian peoples they found. Then one day they came across a large Inca camp.

One of Pizarro's soldiers described the camp as "beautiful."

There were so many tents

ThIS statue, made of silver and gold. represents an Inca noble. Shells were used to decorate the

statue.

Chapter 4 • 151

that the sight filled the Spanish with fear. The soldier said,

" We never thought the Indians

could occupy such a proud

position, nor so many tents, so

well set up. It filled all of us ...

with confusion and fear. But

we dared not show it. " The Spanish would soon learn that the

empire of the Incas was even larger and more powerful than they had heard. The empire covered 3,000 miles (4,828 km) of the western coast of South America, including parts of the present-day countries of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, and

Chile. The empire also included more than 9 million people. A network of roads and sta­tions connected the towns, and all the people paid taxes to the Inca ruler. Some paid in potatoes or corn, while others paid in gold.

When Pizarro and his soldiers arrived, the Inca Empire was not at peace. It was being torn in two by a civil war. A civil war is a war between people of the same country. The war was being fought between the followers of two brothers, Atahuallpa (ah.tah.WAHL.pah) and Huascar (WAHS.kar). Both said they had the right to the throne. The war finally ended when Atahuallpa killed his brother and became emperor. But the fighting had weakened the empire.

The Inca ceremonial collar and mask (below) are made of solid gold. The art of the Incas made the Spanish even more eager to capture Inca treasures. In the drawing (left) the Inca ruler Atahuallpa is being carried to meet Pizarro. Like the Aztecs, some Incas thought their Spanish visitor was a god.

152 • Unit 2

Offering friendship to the new emperor, Pizarro invited Atahuallpa to the Spanish camp. The emperor arrived the next day with several thousand of his people. They carried him on a golden throne lined with parakeet feathers. Around his neck he wore a necklace of giant green emeralds. He wore gold ornaments in his hair.

Pizarro's priest asked Atahuallpa to give up his own religion and accept Christianity. He also asked him to accept the king of Spain as his master.

When Atahuallpa refused, Pizarro took the emperor pris­oner. To buy his freedom, Atahuallpa promised Pizarro

-------------­--------------­LES SON I REVIEW

This maize plant. made of silver. shows that maize was an important food to the Incas. This artifact is about 500 years old.

enough silver and gold to fill a whole room. Atahuallpa's people provided the riches, but Pizarro had him killed anyway.

After Atahuallpa 's death in 1533, the Spanish conquered the Inca Empire and made slaves of its people. Inca weapons were no match for Spanish guns and crossbows. For the Spanish, the conquest

brought riches and power. But for the Incas, the encounter ended a

civiliza tion.

'i'MI41' lVhy did Pizarro order that Atahuallpa be taken prisoner?

-- -­ 1515 1525 1535 - --1 I • I

1519 • Cortes lands

in Mexico

Check Understanding o Remember the Facts What was the

goal of Cortes and Pizarro?

e Recall the Main Idea What was the

major reason for the fighting between

the Spanish and the Aztecs and

between the Spanish and the Incas?

Think Critically e Explore Viewpoints Compare the

viewpoints of Pizarro and Atahuallpa

about who should control land in the

Americas. List the reasons each leader

might have given to support his ideas.

1533 • Pizarro conquers

the Incas

o Past to Present Why do some coun­

tries today try to conquer other

countries? Compare and contrast these

reasons with the reasons the Spanish

conquistadors had for conquering the

Aztecs and the Incas.

Show What You Know Journal-Writing Activity Imagine that you are a soldier

traveling with Cortes or

Pizarro. Write a journal entry that describes

what you see as you arrive in the Aztec or

Inca Empire. Share your entry with a friend.

Chapter 4 • 153