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The Conquistadors
Conquistador is the Spanish word for "conqueror", and this is exactly what the conquistadors were – soldiers in search of new conquests. Many were hidalgos, young men from noble but poor backgrounds. As such, they were always on the lookout for a good opportunity to win themselves glory, honour, and gold. The conquistadors were very brave, but they also had a reputation for being very cruel. They believed they were the conquerors of new territories, and therefore thought it was within their rights to do whatever they wanted – enslaving the native Indians, and brutally killing any who refused or dared to fight back. The conquistadors' pride, and their lust for power and wealth, made them fierce rivals – they spent as much time fighting each other as they did against the Indians. Once the conquistadors had plundered all of the Indians' gold, they often forced the Indians to work exhausting hours digging in the mines for more. Working in mines was extremely hard work, especially in the hot tropical weather of Central and South America. To make things worse, if any of the Indians were caught taking a rest or trying to escape they were beaten and punished severely by the Spanish. For this reason, many of the Indians chose to kill themselves and others of their tribe instead of suffering as slaves. However, the greatest killer of Indians were the diseases that the conquistadors brought with them from Europe. The Conquest of MexicoThe conquests began in 1511, with Diego Velßzquez's conquest of Cuba. Several years later, in 1519, Velßzquez sent his lieutenant, Hernßn CortΘs, to investigate the territory of Mexico. CortΘs landed in there with a small 600 men, 20 horses, and 10 cannons – but then refused to recognise Velßzquez's authority and set out to conquer the territory for himself, destroying his fleet so that his men were unable to desert and return back to Cuba. At that time, Mexico was ruled by the powerful Aztec Emperor, Montezuma II. Because an ancient Aztec prophesy had foretold of the return of the white-skinned god, Quetzalcoatl, Montezuma mistakenly received the Spaniards as gods – lavishing them with gifts and treating them very hospitably. CortΘs and his men took advantage of Montezuma's mistake, discovering a civilisation almost as advanced as the Europeans', and rich in gold, silver, and other precious minerals that they used to make jewellery and beautiful ornaments. Greedy for the Aztec gold, and fearful that they might turn against the Spaniards, CortΘs took Montezuma as a hostage then set about his conquest of his Empire. The Aztec capital was completely destroyed, with Mexico City now built on top of its ruins. CortΘs was extremely successful – he and his men soon conquered the Aztecs', stole their gold, and became very rich. This inspired more adventurers to travel out from Spain to conquer other territories throughout Central America – including the remains of the ancient Maya Empire. The Conquest of PeruAfter hearing rumours of more gold, another conquistador called Francisco Pizarro travelled south into Ecuador and Peru. Pizarro led two expeditions, in 1524 and 1526. It was on the second of these expeditions that Pizarro reached the heart of the Inca Empire and confirmed the stories of the Inca's huge quantities of gold. He and his men kidnapped the Inca Emperor and demanded a huge ransom in gold and silver. Although the ransom was paid, the Spaniards killed the Inca Emperor and proceeded to conquer the Empire. Within a few years the Inca territory was secured by the Spanish, though a few of the Incas escaped to the hidden city of Machu Picchu. The conquests resulted in other treasures besides gold and silver – one of which was spices. It was a search for spices ("forests" of cinnamon trees) that led to the Spanish expedition across the Andes in 1541, and Francisco de Orellana's subsequent epic journey of discovery along the Amazon. The age of the conquistadors ended in 1548. Pizarro, who had fallen out of favour with the Spanish crown was assassinated in his palace in Quito, Ecuador. His brother, Gonzalo Pizarro (who had travelled across the Andes with Orellana) raised an army to revolt against the Spanish monarchy, but was captured and executed in Cuzco, Peru, on 11 April 1548.
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The
early European explorers on the American mainland were conquistadors.
They were the people most responsible for opening up the
new territories for later settlers and colonists,
founding major cities, starting plantations,
"pacifying" the local Indian populations, and
demonstrating that there was plenty of wealth to be
earned in the New World. All of this took place in a
remarkably short time, a little under 40 years. 
