Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SPANISH CONQUEST
The Spanish conquest of South America was remarkably quick. The chaos left by the Inca
civil war helped, as did the epidemics caused by European diseases. European mastery of
metallurgy for war also played its part, and so did their horses (what strange beasts they
must have seemed to the Inca people) and the myth that bearded men would some day be
sent by the great Viracocha.
Within a year of their arrival in Ecuador in 1531, Francisco Pizarro, Diego de Almagro
and their bands of conquistadors arrived in Cuzco.
Alto Perú (the area we now know as Bolivia)
was aligned with the defeated Huáscar during
the Inca civil war, making its conquest rather
easy for Diego de Almagro. He was assassin-
ated in 1538, then three years later Pizarro
suffered the same fate at the hands of mutinous
subordinates. But this didn't deter the Spanish,
who kept exploring and settling their newly conquered land.
During these initial stages of conquest, infighting between Spanish factions was common
and the fate of Bolivia - a political backwater until the discovery of silver - was tied to the
interests of the more powerful political centers in Cuzco and Lima.
About 8 million people have died in the Potosí
mine over the years. You can still visit the mine
today, or go on other interesting mine tours near
Oruro.
CONQUISTADORS - BRAVE EXPLORERS OR
SOCIAL CLIMBERS?
It's important to note the circumstances that brought the conquistadors to the Americas. Most were not part of the
landed Spanish elite, rather they were wealthy enough to make the crossing to the New World but lacked any pro-
spects of upward mobility in Europe…the kind of person that has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Ironically,
the riches they found in the Americas would never win the conquistadors (or early American settlers) a place in
European society. This no-exit scenario led to the formation of local class structures and governments, the intermix-
ing of languages and cultures, and eventually the independence movements.
