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THE CONQUEST AND COLONISATION OF AMERICA - Coggle Diagram
THE CONQUEST AND COLONISATION OF AMERICA
INTERNAL CONFLICTS :
The indigenous peoples in America had suppressed other tribes to gain power, and this caused rivalries.
In rainforests, the conquistadores’ firearms and armour could not be used effectively.
Cavalry charges were impossible, and the humidity caused the firearms to rust and made the gunpowder useless.
The conquistadores took advantage of these rivalries, recruiting groups of indigenous fighters.
TACTICS
The indigenous empires had rigid, hierarchical societies.
Their societies were not hierarchical, so the tactic of attacking the leader would not work.
The conquistadores attacked the centre of each empire to capture the emperor, who held all the power.
MILITARY EQUIPMENT
The conquistadores used firearms, metal armour and horses.
Tribes lived in small territories,
in order to conquer an area similar to that of a large empire,
the conquistadores had to fight numerous exhausting battles.
The indigenous peoples were not familiar with this equipment and were initially terrified.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONQUEST OF AMERICA
Once the American coast had been discovered and explored.
The Spaniard¡s justification for the conquest was that they need to convert the indigenous inhabitants to Christianity.
The resistance of the large empires and smaller tribes was weakened by infectious diseases introduced by the Europeans.
In some areas, these diseases killed more than half of the indigenous population.