Jason He Wu

June 16, 2014

902
Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration is the period of time when people in the Old World explored and
conquered new territories in the New World that started during the 1400s. There were many
reasons why people wanted to explore to the New World. Europe, in particular, explored the
New World for three key reasons: to spread Christianity, gain wealth, and gain fame from their
discoveries. All of these are related to one general concept: power. Two Spaniards, Hernan
Cortes and Francisco Pizarro went on an expedition to conquer two empires in the New World,
the Aztec and Inca Empires. The Spaniards used many ways to conquer these empires, they
used the Aztecs' belief that the Spaniards were "white gods" to their advantage, they had
superior technology than the Native Americans, and they carried diseases that the Spaniards
were not immune to. Because of these methods, Spain gained a lot of power and benefitted
from these expeditions.

During the Hernan Cortes expeditions, he and his crew of conquistadors gained power by
deceiving the Aztecs into thinking that they are "white gods". The Aztecs believed a prophecy
that gods will visit the Aztecs and bless them. When Hernan Cortes arrived to the New World,
the Aztecs' prophecy coincided with their arrival, so they believed they were "white gods".
Because of this, the Aztecs believed them, and Cortes used their belief to their advantage. As a
result, the Spaniards surprise attacked the Aztecs and had an upper advantage because the
Aztecs were unprepared of their attack. In the document, "Aztec Account of the Conquest of
Mexico" states, "On the second day they began to sing again, but without warning they were all
put to death." This quote is saying that the Aztecs were celebrating the arrival of the Spaniards,
but the Spaniards attacked them by surprise. This proves that Spain had more power than the
Aztecs because it shows how they use their decisive power to take over them.

During their exploration, the Spaniards gained their power not just by deceiving them,
but they also had superior weapon over the Aztecs that gave them a higher chance of
conquering Mexico. The Spaniards had guns, while the Aztecs had bows and arrows. The
Aztecs primitive weaponry gave them a huge disadvantage that made them lose their land. It is
because of this huge disadvantage that they weren't able to keep their land. In the document,
"Later Spanish Exploration and Conquest", it states, "Third, their horses, armor, and superior
weapons gave the Spanish an advantage in battle. The Aztecs had never seen any of these
things before." Because the Spaniards had better weapons and armor, they beat them easily.
Also, the quote proves that they had more power over the Aztecs.

The explorers not only brought in physical attacks, they also brought with them deadly diseases.
The Aztecs didn't had any immunity from the diseases that they've brought with them. As a
result, millions of Native Americans died, and it gave the Spaniards an upper advantage over
the Aztecs. In the document, Later Spanish Exploration and Conquest", it states, "Fourth, the
Spanish carried diseases that caused deadly epidemics among the Aztecs." This proves that
Spain had more power over the Aztecs.

Another explorer, Francisco Pizarro, did the same exact thing as Hernan Cortes. Pizarro
gained permission from Spain to reach the Incan Empire in South America. When Pizarro
reached the Incan Empire, there was a civil war in advance of his arrival. Because of this war,
they were easily conquered. In the document, "Later Spanish and Conquest", it states, "Pizarro
launched a surprise attack and kidnapped the emperor." Furthermore, the Icans paid the
Spaniards a large amount of gold and silver, but they just took the gold and silver, and killed the
emperor. Without their leader, the Incan Empire quickly fell apart. In "Later Spanish and
Conquest", it states, "Without their leader, the Incas' empire quickly fell apart." These two
quotes clearly shows that the Spaniards had more power than the people of the Americas.

Because of how the Spaniards conquered the Americas, it had many effects on the
Natives and the Europeans in the short term and the long term. One short term effect of their
exploration was that the Spaniards took all of the gold and silver from the New World. One long
term effect was that the smallpox and conquering of their territory caused millions of death in the
Aztec and Incan Empire. Furthermore, that loss of population erased both the Aztec and Incan
culture.

In the end of the exploration, Spain had more power than the people of the Americas.
They gained this power by deceiving the Aztecs that they were "white gods" that came from the
sky to visit the Aztecs, the Spaniards had more sophisticated technology that gave them and
upper advantage in fighting the Aztecs, and finally, they brought diseases that the Aztecs
weren't immune to, so they got infected and died from illnesses. As you can see, the Spaniards
gained more and benefitted more from their exploration to the Americas than the Aztecs and
Incas.