Topic 2.2: Conquest of Mexico and Peru (1519–1551) Questions

Which native people allied with Cortés because they hated Aztec rule?

Which conquistador led the conquest of the Aztec Empire, and in which year did its capital fall?

According to Source A, what does Cortés claim about the conquest of Tenochtitlan and what does he ask of the King?

According to Source B, what factors does the account say broke the Aztec city, apart from Spanish swords?

Where and in what year did Pizarro capture the Inca emperor Atahualpa?

According to Source A, what does the conquistador ask King Charles to grant him?

With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source D for a historian studying the motives and impact of the Spanish conquest.

Why was the Inca Empire especially vulnerable when Pizarro arrived in 1532?

Compare and contrast what Sources A and C reveal about the motives behind the Spanish conquest.

With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the values and limitations of Source A for a historian studying the conquest of the Aztecs.

According to Source A, what were the effects of the Spanish conquest on the Indigenous people of central Mexico?

Using the sources and your own knowledge, evaluate the view that disease was the most important impact of the Spanish conquest on the Indigenous people of the Americas.

With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source A for a historian studying the motives of the Spanish conquest.

According to Source B, what reasons does the survivor give for the fall of Tenochtitlán?

With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source C for a historian studying why the Spanish were able to defeat the Aztec and Inca empires.

Using the sources and your own knowledge, evaluate the claim that the desire for gold was the main reason for the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires.

Compare and contrast what Sources B and D reveal about how and why the Spanish were able to overcome the peoples of the Americas.

Using the sources and your own knowledge, discuss the view that the Spanish conquest succeeded mainly because of factors beyond Spanish control, such as disease and internal divisions among the Aztecs and Incas, rather than Spanish strength.

According to Source C, what factors contributed to the collapse of the Indigenous population after the conquest?

Using the sources and your own knowledge, examine the importance of religion (God) as a motive for the Spanish conquest of the Americas.