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There are many factors that gave the Spaniards the upper hand in con-questing the American Civilization. The Spaniards have superior weapons and even their less sophisticated weapons like crossbow and steel spar heads were superior to the native American civilization. Secondly, the use of gun powder by the Spaniards shocked the indigenous tribes, which have no answer to them. The horses provide greater mobility to the conquers while natives use IIama which is less suitable for horses. And last but not the least is the diseases Spaniards carried with them, which eliminated a large native population.
In the early 1500s, Spanish forces sailed across the Pacific and conquered the Aztec and Incan civilizations, even though the invading armies were greatly outnumbered by the indigenous population. This conquest was due, in part, to differences in technology and experience. Yet in the long term, Hernán Cortés' victory over the Aztecs and Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Incas was the result of something that couldn't be seen by the naked eye. Superior Weapons
Spanish weaponry was far superior to anything used by the Aztecs or Incas. Cortés and his men used over a dozen large portable guns, mainly for their shock value against the Aztecs. Pizarro's conquest of the Incas was also made possible by the use of gunpowder, a substance the Incas didn't have at their disposal. Even less sophisticated weapons like steel-edged swords, pikes and crossbows, gave Spaniards the upper hand.
Alliances and Experience
The invading Spanish forces also took advantage of internal divisions within the Aztec and Inca empires. As Cortés began his march into the interior of Mexico, he first battled many local Indians. However, these people would become his allies after learning of his plans to conquer the Aztecs who ruled them. Written accounts by Cortés and his men on how they achieved victory were then published in Europe. A dozen years later, these experiences provided both inspiration and instruction to Pizarro in his conquest of the Incas. The Power of Horses
While Europe and Asia were home to most of the world's domesticable mammals, including the horse, the Incas in South America had only the llama, which is not a load-bearing animal, nor is it capable of transporting human beings or being ridden in times of war. This gave Spaniards, with their history of horsemanship from years of cattle herding, not only a tactical advantage but a psychological edge over the Incan population, who had never seen this before.
Deadly Disease
The invading forces' biggest advantage came from something microscopic in size: European diseases they introduced to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is estimated that up to 90 percent of the native population died from smallpox, measles, and similar illnesses within the first decades after contact. This dramatic decline in the native population played a large part in giving the Spanish invaders, who had developed immunity through generations of exposure, a complete victory.
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