The European Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas

Conquest of the Aztec Empire

As a result of the constant demand for tributes and human sacrifices, many cities within the Aztec Empire felt antagonistic towards the Aztec capital and emperor. It was in this politically charged atmosphere that Hernán Cortés first encountered the Aztec Empire in 1519 CE. Emperor Moctezuma II sent welcoming gifts to greet the new arrival, and upon receiving them, Cortés wanted more. Working with Moctezuma's enemies in exchange for a promise to release the cities from Aztec control, Cortés quietly took over while letting Moctezuma remain the face of the empire. Within two years, the Aztec people revolted against the new regime. During the revolt, Moctezuma II died and Cortés fled the area. But Cortés returned with more of the Aztec Empire's enemies. This time the people of Tenochtitlan were too sick with smallpox to fight back. Hernán Cortés declared himself governor of New Spain in 1521 CE.

Conquest of the Inca Empire

The Inca Empire, to the south, experienced a similar story. When the Spanish arrived in 1531, the Inca Empire was actually at the end of a Civil War to determine who should rule following the death of the Emperor and his eldest son by Smallpox. The Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro exploited the internal divisions among the Incas. He trapped and strangled the leader of the winning faction, Emperor Atahualpa. While Pizzaro was successful in his conquest of the Inca, less than a decade after he arrived, Pizzaro was murdered by another conquistador who also hoped to find wealth and power. The Spanish king had to step in to end the chaos in the new settlement known as the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The Encomienda System

Although explorers and conquistadors were initially granted authority by the Spanish crown to rule over the territory they found and conquered, by 1524 Queen Isabella had rescinded that decision. The Spanish government established the Council of the Indies—a group of six to ten counselors to legislate activity in Spanish overseas colonies, including parts of Central and North America, the Philippines, Peru and Grenada, and the Caribbean islands. The Council of Indies established the Encomienda System. In theory, the peninsulares (people native to Spain) received Encomiendas (land) and, in return, the peninsulares protected native people on the land and converted them to Christianity. The Encomienda System was rigidly hierarchical and based on race/ethnicity.

The painting to the right, called Las castas mexicanas (The Mexican Castes), by Ignacio María Barreda, depicts this rigid hierarchy, which is called a caste system, by showing each caste in its supposed place in the hierarchy. The caste system in this case was based on parental ethnicity. While Spanish officials tried to keep the caste system rigidly fixed, this painting demonstrates that there were various mixtures of European, Native, and African descendants in Mexico that required knowing the ethnicity of 3 or more generations!

New Spain Caste System

Peninsulares - Spanish officials sent to govern and protect Spanish interests in the new colonies
Creoles - People born in the New World to Spanish parents; they were privileged with education and wealth but not political authority, which led to a building resentment over the centuries
Mestizos - People born of Spanish and Amerindian/Native ancestry
Native Americans - those who survived worked on the plantations and mines with little to no freedom
Africans - enslaved Africans and their descendants worked the plantations and mines with no freedoms and no rights

Results of the Encomienda System

An engraving depicting Native Americans in Bolivia mining for silver. In practice, the encomienda system exploited natives. Once a system of labor was in place, the Spanish were able to enjoy its fruits and the wealth poured into the Spanish coffers. Most of this wealth stemmed from three sources: sugarcane (which required 16+ hour days during harvest time), gold, and silver.

Work in all of these areas was dangerous and exhausting. Despite Spanish laws that forbade cruel treatment of indigenous peoples whom the Spaniards were supposed to be protecting and converting to Christianity, those in charge worked the local people hard - literally to death, in many cases.

The image to the left depicts a group of Native Americans in Bolivia, mining silver. It is a line engraving by Theodor De Bry from 1590, titled Potosí Silver Mine.

Because the Native Americans were so maltreated, Spain instituted reforms for their protection. One of these reforms was to bring in more workers so that the workload per individual would decrease—this decision led to the development of Transatlantic slavery.

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