Flashcards
Events from the Spanish Conquest of the Americas
Cards in this deck (13)
- 11492Christopher Columbus sails from Spain to the Americas, believing he has reached the East Indies
- 21503Spanish Crown legally grants encomienda to soldiers, conquistadors and officials.
- 31508Cuba, which Columbus had discovered on his first voyage had become an important island base for the Spanish.
- 41513Pizarro and a small number of conquistadors were the first to see the Pacific Ocean.
- 51518Cortés leaves Cuba for Mexico.
- 61519Cortés and the Spanish Conquistadors arrive at Tenochtitlán. The Aztecs were fascinated by the Spaniard’s light skin and the sight of men on horseback. (Thinking that Cortes could be the Aztec God Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec King greets the party with great honour and the first meeting of Cortes and Montezuma occurs. Eventually mistrust leads to violence and the Spanish flee the city).
- 71520An outbreak of smallpox, introduced by the Europeans, sweeps through the population of Tenochtitlán, killing half the population
- 81521Cortés regrouped and attacked Tenochtitlán. (The Aztec society had crumpled, Moctezuma was no longer trusted, food shortages and the smallpox epidemic had weakened the population. Tenochtitlán is destroyed and Cortés claims the city for Spain. Tenochtitlán is rebuilt and named Mexico City; the Capital of the Spanish colony in the Americas. King Charles I appoints Cortés Governor of New Spain).
- 91526Pizarro’s ships intercepted an Inca trading raft. The quality of the cargo lead to the belief of great wealth in the land to the south.
- 101530Pizarro sailed for Peru with 200 men.
- 111532Pizarro landed on the North Coast of Peru, in search of El Dorado, he encounters the Inca in Cajamarca, slaughtering 10 000 including the Emperor Atahualpa, despite the ransom being paid.
- 121533Pizarro conquers the Inca Empire of South America.
- 131630Inca population decreased from 1.3 million to 600 000 as more Spaniards came for gold and silver, outnumbering the Inca’s.