Key Figures and Concepts in the Conquest of the Americas

Posted on Mar 27, 2025 in Security and Emergencies

Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of the Aztecs

In 1518, Cortés commanded his own expedition to Mexico, ignoring orders from Velázquez, with more than 500 men and 11 ships.

Cortés allied with some native peoples, but used force to conquer others. He fought Tlaxcalan and Cholula warriors. Cortés took Montezuma hostage, and his soldiers raided the city. He left the city after learning that Spanish troops were coming to arrest him for disobeying orders. The Aztecs eventually drove the Spanish from the city, but Cortés returned to defeat them in 1521. King Charles I of Spain appointed him governor of New Spain the following year. Later removed from power, Cortés traveled to Spain to plead his case to the king, but he was not reappointed. In 1540, Cortés retired to Spain, seeking recognition for his achievements and support from the Spanish royal court. He died in Spain in 1547.

Bartolomé de Las Casas: Advocate for Indigenous Peoples

Bartolomé de Las Casas was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer, and Dominican friar. He was the first to expose the oppression of indigenous peoples by Europeans in the Americas and to call for the abolition of slavery there. His works include Historia de las Indias (1875). A prolific writer and influential figure in the Spanish court, Las Casas failed to stop the enslavement of indigenous peoples. He immigrated to Hispaniola in 1502 on the expedition of Nicolás de Ovando.

In 1510, he was ordained a priest, the first in the Americas.

Key Works by Las Casas:

  • Memorial de Remedios para las Indias
  • A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
  • Apologetic History of the Indies
  • History of the Indies
  • De thesaurus in Peru

Francisco Pizarro and the Inca Empire

Francisco Pizarro (ca. 1474-1541) was the Spanish conquistador who overthrew the Inca Empire of Peru in the 1530s. He assassinated the Inca Atahualpa and was later assassinated by his own countrymen. Lima was founded by Pizarro three years after conquering Peru. He served as governor of Peru for 10 years, from 1535 until 1545. In 1538, Pizarro had Diego Almagro, an expedition partner, killed. Many Peruvians view Pizarro unfavorably, considering him responsible for the murder of their ancestors. In 2005, a statue of Pizarro in Lima was moved from the central square to a park outside the city.

Key Concepts

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the view that one’s own ethnic group is superior to all others. It represents a cultural or ethnic bias, whether conscious or unconscious, where individuals view the world from their own group’s perspective, establishing their in-group as archetypal and rating all other groups in reference to this ideal.

Anthropology

Anthropology aims:

  1. To understand who we are, why we are here, and what our purpose is.
  2. To understand the characteristics of human beings.
  3. To investigate the evidence for human evolution.
  4. To study culture and its relationship to other aspects of life.
  5. To study individuals as members of society.

Reducciones

Reducciones: The ravages of Conquest and pre-European contact led to the dispersal of indigenous peoples throughout the countryside, where they were often forced, intimidated, and bullied by Europeans.

Mesoamerican Chronology

Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation-3500 BCE), the Archaic (3500-2000 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2000 BCE-200 CE), the Classic (200-1000 CE), and the Postclassic (1000-1697 CE). Some period divisions are taken from Maya history: The Preclassic-Classic boundary marks the first Maya “collapse”, the Classic-Postclassic boundary marks the second, and the end date of 1697 marks the conquest of the last independent Maya city-state, Tayasal. This chronology applies to other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations as well.

Ethnogenesis

Ethnogenesis refers to the process when people share a common language and culture. It is relevant to European colonialism because of the new people and cultural history that emerged in various regions.