History Fact Finder | Exploration and Settlement - Who Were The Conquistadors?

Who were the conquistadors?

The conquistadors (conquerors) were Spaniards who subjugated (conquered) the native peoples of North and South America during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. As the Spaniards began to arrive in the Americas, they claimed territory for Spain. They obtained this land by conquering the Aztecs in Mexico, the Mayas in southern Mexico and in Central America, and the Incas in western South America. The native peoples, who traveled on foot and defended themselves with spears and knives, were no match for the conquistadors, who rode on horseback and were armed with guns. Many natives also died from illnesses (such as smallpox and measles) that the Europeans inadvertently carried to the Americas. Between warfare and disease, by the mid-1500s, the Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro (c. 1475–1541), Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), and Vasco Nuñez de Balboa (1475–1519) had subdued the...

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