Assess the Annihilation of the Ingenious People of the Americas

Assess the   Annihilation of the Ingenious people of the Americas
The   16th   century   became a landmark in the annuls of history.   Spain produced two men that the world can never forget, Hernán Cortés, born in 1485 and Francisco Pizarro born in 1470.   They were without question, some of history’s greatest military leaders.   Together these conquistadores did the world a terrible disservice – they caused the genocide of millions of ingenious people.   On April 21st, 1519, Cortés armed with 500 men, 16 horses and 11 ships began the invasion and subsequent annihilation of the Aztecs.   In December 1531 Pizzaro with 200 men, about 60 horses and cannons marched to Cajamarca   - thus begun his invasion.
The ingenious people of the Americas were some of the most advanced people of that era and were they alive today, their technology would have far surpassed what we are now attempting to develop.   But inspite of their advance knowledge, their were completely annihilated by the Spanish conquistadores.   However, there are a number of factors which when combined, would provide the reasons for the annihilation of the ingenious people. Factors to take into account are, new diseases inadvertently introduced by the Spaniards, different technology, the religious beliefs of the Amerindians, the psychological atmosphere created by the Spaniards, the different methods of warfare, the political system for some of the ingenious people, the military strategy of the Spaniards, horses which were new to them and war dogs just to name a few.   I posit that a combination of circumstances worked in the favour of the Spaniards, pivotally, that the Iberians knew the weaknesses of the Amerindians and used their weaknesses as artillery in the destruction of these cultures.

Before the 16th century, the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs civilizations lived in what is   now southern Mexico and parts of Central America.   They were architects and artisans.   They developed a system of hieroglyphic writing;...