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Cortes  |  Pizarro

    The men who conquer "las indias" were men who come from wars of faith in god and who believe in novelty and glory. In 1492 the King of Aragon and the Queen of Castile enter in Granada. End at this point almost 800 years of reconquer of the Iberian peninsula to the "infiel". The times of "Caballeros", "Hidalgos" had ended in Spain, but a New World has just been discover. A world full of souls to convert and gold to win. Hernando Cortes who conquest the Aztec empire, and Francisco Pizarro who conquest the Inca empire were the most famous. The ones that gave more glory the King of a new country, Spain. 

Cortes
    Hernando Cortes was only nineteen when he sailed to the new world. He was the son of an hidalgo, a men who fought in the wars of Italy with king Fernando. When Cortes was fourteen, his parents sent him to Salamanca to study law. He was an intelligent young man, but the lack of money made him to be back a his town Medellin, too bore for him. When he was eighteen he had planed to go to la Hispanola, but and accident when he was running to escape from a woman’s house made the trip impossible at this time. A year later he got his purpose. 

    In 1511 an expedition commanded by Diego Velazquez departed from Santo Domingo to conquer Cuba. Cortes accompanied the expedition. With the conquest of Cuba Cortes made some money and powerful friends. However, this brought some enemy who charge him with accusation of rebellion. Cortes escaped from jail and after gain some help from friends he made peace with Velazquez. In Santiago de Cuba, Cortes is elected twice mayor. 

    In 1519 Cortes gets an agreement with Velaquez and with the accountant of the king. Cortes was by then a rich man and a leader. Thirty-three, Cortes was ready for bigger expeditions. Cortes when to the island of Cozumel, there he rescue a Spanish soldiers who was made prisoner and slave of the Tabasco tribe eight years before in another expedition. Aguilar (the Spanish soldiers) had learned the language and result very useful for Cortes. From Cozumel Cortes sailed to the golf of Mexico. He land in a place called Pontonchan, where the Spaniards had there first battler with the Indigenous. The Spaniards capture five men, but after the battle they have realized that they can conquer in war. Therefore Cortes sent then back with gifts an the message that they came in peace. 

    The men came back with the caciques and some gift including food and gold. Cortes, then order made a demonstration of power in front of the caciques which result very well. The caciques gave the Spaniards some women who were baptized. Among then was a princess who had been slaved by the Aztecs when she was a child and who spoke Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Then, the Spanish expedition when north were Vera Cruz in founded and the Spanish start to have contact with the Aztec. Cortes sees that to attack the Aztec with such small force was impossible. In waiting some Indians tribes who were enemies of the Aztec have contact with Cortes, and Cortes convent them to help him in his march to Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs. 

    The Spanish got to Zempoala, land of the Totonac who open there door to the Spaniards hoping that the Spaniards would help them to confront a rebellion against the Aztec, to whom they have to pay taxes in form of food and human lives for sacrifices. With more and more aliases Cortes went to Mexico-Tenochtitlan, before that Cortes gave the order of burn the ship in Vera Cruz to ensure that nobody would have the temptation of going back. When the Spaniards were a the door of Tenochtitlan Moctezuma (emperor of the Aztec) sent him a delegation with gift to encourage him to stop and no go to war. After several talks the great Aztec capital was under the control of the Spaniards and no much war would have happened if it was not because Cortes had to go to deal with a delegation of the Cuban gubernator in Vera Cruz. During the time that Cortes was there his commander, Pedro de Alvarado, provoked the Aztecs up to the point that a revolt started. Many Spaniard were kill and when Cortes went back he only had time to organize his troop and leave. It took another year to capture the city again. 

Pizarro
    Francisco Pizarro was born in the town of Tujillo in Extremadura (Spain) no very far from Medellin the town were Cortes came from. Pizarro was son of a infantry colonel who had an affair with Francisca Gonzalez. He was therefore a bastard. There is no much known about Pizarro’s early days beside that he had to rear pigs in his town adn that he was illiterate. It is not sure when did Pizarro got to the New World, but it is clear that he was there with the first expeditions. In 1509 when he was in his late thirties he took part of and expedition led by Alonso de Hojeda, in the mainland. He was with Balboa when Balboa establish a colony on the Darien isthmus. Then, he when to Panama where he served as a captain of the governor. There he had a small land that did not give him much money. 

     In the city of Panama he heard of the Incas. At this point Pizarro is fifty years old, but still looking for fortune. Pizarro and his friend Diego de Almagro convinced a priest to help them to hold a expedition to the Incaland. The two first expeditions were forced to turn back to their point of departure without reaching their objective. In the third expedition that parted from Panama in 1531 led the two captains in the Inca empire. Good news were brought to them, who heard of a civil war among the Incas. Atahualpa the bastard son of Huayna Capac has started a rebellion against his brother for the control of the empire. It is not clear if Huayana Capac had divided the empire in two parts for the two brother or Atahualpa just started the rebellion by himself, the thing is that he wanted all. 

    Pizarro started then to take some Inca villages and founded the town of San Miguel. In his advance Pizarro was gaining the support of some tribe that recently have been conquest by the Incas. After that Pizarro goes to the city of Cajamarca. Atahualpa was a few miles away with his soldiers, so Pizarro sent Hernando de Soto, a lieutenant, to convince Atahualpa to have a meeting with him. Being in Cajamarca Atahualpa troops capture and kill Huascar, the Inca legitimate emperor. Pizarro jail Atahualpa under the accusation of killing his brother. In a despaired move Atahualpa offer Pizarro a room full of gold if Pizarro let him free, at which Pizarro accept. When the room is full Pizarro execute Atahualpa for the death of his brother. After the death of Atahualpa Pizarro named a puppet ruler, the Manco Inca, and march to Cuzco the capital of the empire. 

    Then Pizarro goes to the cost and founded the city of Lima. Being in Lima the puppet Inca start a rebellion against the Spaniards. Pizarro’s brother are in charge with the defense of Cuzco. In the mid time Almagro come back from the south of the empire to which he has gone as far as middle the actual Chile. The Inca rebellion fails and Almagro ask for the half the gold that Pizarro has achieved. A brawl started among the Spaniard that end with the assassination of Almagro by the Pizarro’s brother. Later on the soldiers of Almagro went to Lima and killed Pizarro. Manco has escaped to the mountains where he would continuo forming revolts until his death. But it was to late for the Incas to win their empire back. European disease to what the Incas were not immune and the arrive of more Spaniard made the task impossible. 

    The conquest of America was not more tragic that any other conquest in the history, and even though many indigenous where slaved after have been fighting the Spaniard others were taught new forms of life, certainly more advance that theirs. In 1542 a law was passed by the Spanish King for what the indigenous could not be slaved any more. The Spaniards took native women as they conquer mixing the two culture. Pizarro had four children with two Incas princess while Cortes had a child with a Tabasco woman. Many of those men who went to America went looking for fortune hoping to come back. Some did it, but most took indigenous wives and stay. A lot of priest went to the New World with no more intention that christianize the people and doing it so the also taught them to read and write and other useful labors.