How Did Technology Conquer The Native Americans

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After Columbus returned to Spain from the Americas, the king sent a fleet of ships filled with men responsible for settling this "New World." These men were called conquistadors, and at the root of this word lies “conquer," which means to overcome and take control of a place or people by the use of military force. In two expeditions led by Hernando Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, and within only a few years, the Spanish had almost completely taken over the Native American’s land and destroyed their culture. How was it possible that a foreign force, thousands of miles from home, could accomplish this so quickly? The main reason for their success was their technology. Technology was the prime factor in aiding the Spanish in conquering the Natives. …show more content…
First was their weapons and armour. Steel is almost entirely a unique European technology. Thanks to the dry environment of Europe, the fire pits that the steel was cooked in were able to be ablaze for several days at a time. The steel was engineered in a way that made it very strong and durable. The weapons of the Spaniards were originally made out of bronze, but over several hundred years, they perfected their weapon-making process by making their swords out of steel. On the other hand, the weapons of the Natives were still made out of wood and bronze, materials that were no match for the early guns and sharp blades of the Spanish. Wood can be very easily sliced through by a sharp blade, and the Spanish had just those. Because the Spanish had the guns and the blades that the Natives lacked, they were able to use their weapons as a way to defeat them. Because the Spanish had plentiful more advanced weapons than the Natives, they were easily able to first take out their wooden bows and arrows and then kill the defenseless Natives. Steel is an incredibly hard metal, and though it is not unbreakable, it is very hard to break. Because of this, the Natives could not easily penetrate the Spanish’s hard armour. They wore large steel chestplates, hard metal helmets, and most likely some sort of guards for their …show more content…
Another technological advantage that the Spanish had over the Natives was their written language and books. Because the Spanish created a printing press, they were able to write books. Because this tool was available to them, people who had fought other civilizations were able to share their experiences with others. Then, Cortes and others who had later and earlier come to fight and conquer the Natives were able to put that knowledge and information to good use. The ability to write down proven war tactics against other civilizations. The Spanish could utilize the experiences and the expertise of their predecessors to use tactics and logic that were already proven successful to prove victorious over their foes.The printing presses gave them the tools and the resources that the Spanish needed to efficiently print the needed literature. They had the war tactics, and the strategies that were needed to defeat the Natives. In addition, the Natives the Incas in particular, were extremely illiterate. The Incan emperor had never seen a book before Pizarro had presented the Christian Bible to him. Having no idea what to do with it, he tried to listen to it, smell it, and even shake it, as the idea of reading was simply incomprehensible to him. Because of his reaction, the Spaniards were horribly offended, thus immediately attacking the
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