Abstract

This article reflects on the milestones that shaped the Spanish conquest of America and the Spanish Monarchy's conception of the process. Its missionaries and military conquerors found themselves surrounded by millions of potential enemies. The Europeans possessed powerful steel swords that were very effective against the obsidian-encrusted clubs of the Aztecs or the maces of the Incas, but their armour was often a hindrance, although horses were very effective in the fight with the native Indians. Firearms, beyond the initial impact effect, were of relative significance because of the lack of gunpowder, the difficulty of maintenance and the time needed to load forked arquebuses. It is also argued that there were other circumstances that explain the great success of the Spanish conquistadors, who were always in the minority in the face of the masses of highly bellicose natives. Thus the hatred that other peoples had for the Aztecs and the Incas, the Indians who helped the men of Castile and Aragon in the war, help us to understand the rapid Spanish conquest.