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media type="custom" key="29529523" align="right" =Explain why the Aztec and Inca civilizations declined in the 16th century. =
 * **


 * Topics on the Page **
 * A. the encounters between Cortes and Montezuma **
 * B. the encounters between Pizarro and the Incas **
 * C. the goals of the Spanish conquistadors **
 * D. the effects of European diseases, particularly smallpox, throughout the Western hemisphere **

A. the encounters Cortes and Montezuma

 * The arrival of Hernando Cortes and the Spaniards in Mexico marked the beginning of the end of the Aztec empire.
 * Biography of Cortes from BBC History
 * Cortes and his army first met the Aztec people in February of 1519, and completed their conquest two years later.


 * By allying with the Aztecs enemies, and deceiving their leader, Montezuma, the Spaniards were able to defeat an army that vastly outnumbered their own.


 * For a full overview with vocab help on the [|Fall of Aztecs]

For more, see [|The Conquest of Mexico]series of paintings.

Go here for a [|biography of Cortes] from BBC History or Here for a short video explanation of his life.

Visit here for an interactive timeline of the life of Hernan Cortes.

Click here to learn more about [|the Fall of the Aztecs] from PBS

Click here for Aztec Conquest lesson plan from [|PBS]

===B. The encounters between Pizarro and the Incas===
 * [[image:http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/cunniff/americanhistorycentral/Graphic_Images/04_Encounters_in_America/02_Fall_of_the_Incas/inca_empire_map3.jpg width="193" height="259" align="left"]]In 1532, Francisco Pizarro and his men arrived from Panama during a time of civil unrest for the Inca.
 * Huayna Capac, the ruler at the time, had died and left his kingdom to his son Huascar. Enraged, Atahualpa, Capac's other son, murdered his brother.
 * Taking advantage of the weakness of a culture in civil war, Pizarro attacked and killed Atahualpa, signifying the end of the Inca Empire, then melted down all of his gold.'

Click here to learn more about [|the Conquest of the Incas] from PBS

Click here for a timeline of the Inca Empire and here for an interactive timeline of Pizarro's life

To learn more, National Geographic has an article on the Inca Empire, including more information on the succession crisis of Atahualpa. Additionally, they have an interactive map of the empire.

For a Peruvian viewpoint on the [|Fall of the Inca Empire]

C. The goals of the Spanish [|conquistadors]
The primary reasons for the Spaniards' arrival in Mesoamerica was to for the three G's: gold, glory, and God. The Spaniards believed they would become rich and powerful if they were able to conquer a land full resources and gold, and also wished to convert the natives to christianity.

For a comprehensive view, see [|Conquistadors from PBS.]

[|Peruvian Ice Cap Harbors Evidence of Conquistadors' Greed] The article describes the earliest evidence of air pollution in South America from sliver mines where natives were forced to work by the Spanish.

[|Pizarro and the Conquistadors] from the Library of Congress

D. The effects of European diseases, particularly smallpox, throughout the Western hemisphere
A major contributor to the European conquer of Mesoamerica was disease.
 * European diseases, especially smallpox, decimated the native inhabitants.
 * With a decreasing, unhealthy population, there was little hope for the indigenous peoples to prevent the Europeans from conquering them.

Cause of Epidemic [|video]


 * When Cortes finally entered Tenochtitlan (Mexico City today) in 1520, the year after he first arrived in the New World, he found half of the inhabitants infected with smallpox
 * By 1595, over 18 million people had died of smallpox, mumps, measles and other European diseases.

[|Guns, Germs and Steel] by Jared Diamond presents a theory of why civilizations decline.

For more on the impact of smallpox and other illness from Europe, see [|Diseases], a website created by students in a history class at Gettysburg College.

See also, [|Massive Population Drop found for Native Americans, DNA Shows]from National Geographic (December 5, 2011).

**Teaching Resources**
Quia games and jeopardy style PowerPoints about explorers. Inca empire map from http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/cunniff/americanhistorycentral/04encountersintheamericas/Fall_of_the_In.html

Click here and here for Lesson plans on Aztec and Inca Empires