Spanish and the Incas

...

In conclusion, it goes without saying that different opinions can be drawn when dealing with the conquest of the Incan Empire. Will we truly ever know if religion was the Spaniards motive more so than the want for gold, or if expansion coupled with religion was the main motivation. In short the answer is no. We have only the sources and info that have been saved and it is through these items that we must assume and for lack of a better word guess. Yes it can be said that the Spanish wanted to explore and to colonize and yes it was obvious that religion was an extremely important and integral part of their society, but certain facts and stories can’t be ignored. From Yupanqui’s account and Pedro Sancho to las Casas the main goal and driving theme is that of the shiny and desirable element known as gold. Gold, silver, bouillon, or specie call it what you will, but it was these items that the Spanish sought out after in order to fuel their empirical and religious conquests. Cortes, Pizarro, de Soto, Almagro, and several others all in conquest of gold only to destroy, enslave, and fight the indigenous peoples while adding truth to the saying that money truly is the root of all evil.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Casas, Bartolome De Las. “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies”. Trans. Nigel. Griffin. Penguin, 1992. Print.

Prescott, William H. “History of the Conquest of Peru”. Dover Publications, 2005. Print.

Sancho, Pedro. “An Account of the Conquest of Peru”. Trans. Philip Ainsworth Means. Cortes. Society, 1917. Print.

Yupangui, Diego C, and Catherine J. Julien. “History of How the Spaniards Arrived in Peru”. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Comp, 2006. Print.