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  • 7 - The Indian and the Spanish Conquest

  • from PART TWO - EUROPE AND AMERICA
    • By Nathan Wachtel, Élicole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris
  • Edited by Leslie Bethell
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of Latin America
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    06 December 1984, pp 207-248

  • Summary

    This chapter examines the effects of the Spanish invasion on the Aztec and Inca empires during the first stage of colonial rule with particular emphasis on the case of the Andes. It looks at the peripheral areas, north of the central Mexican plateau, south and south-east of the central Andes, in order to present the broadest possible picture of the 'vision of the vanquished'. The Spanish victory was helped by the political and ethnic divisions of the Indian world: the Aztec and Inca empires had themselves been built up by successive conquests. The extension of the mitmaq system, applied within the framework of the ethnic group, constituted one of the most remarkable achievements of the Inca Empire. Under colonial rule, native traditions were confronted by newly introduced European practices. In the religious sphere, the Indians' fidelity to their traditions expressed their rejection of colonial rule, although there were differences.