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From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS
XXIII. GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION
» Contents of this Chapter
Page 22
CONQUEST OF MEXICO 1519-1521 A.D. AND PERU 1531-1537 A.D.
The overthrow of the Aztec power was accomplished by Hernando Cortés, with the aid of Indian allies. Many large towns and half a thousand villages, together with immense quantities of treasure, fell into the hands of the conquerors. Henceforth Mexico, or "New Spain," became the most important Spanish possession in America. Francisco Pizarro, who invaded Peru with a handful of soldiers, succeeded in overthrowing the Incas. Pizarro founded in Peru the city of Lima. It replaced Cuzco as the capital of the country and formed the seat of the Spanish government in South America.
EL DORADO
The Spaniards, during the earlier part of the sixteenth century, heard much of a fabled king whom they called El Dorado. [27] This king, it was said, used to smear himself with gold dust at an annual religious ceremony. In time the idea arose that somewhere in South America existed a fabled country marvelously rich in precious metals and gems. These stories stirred the imagination of the Spaniards, who fitted out many expeditions to find the gilded man and his gilded realm. The quest for El Dorado opened up the valleys of the Amazon and Orinoco and the extensive forest region east of the Andes. Spanish explorers also tried to find El Dorado in North America. De Soto's expedition led to the discovery of the Mississippi in 1541 A.D., and Coronado's search for the "Seven Cities of Cibola" not only added greatly to geographical knowledge of the Southwest, but also resulted in the extension of Spanish dominion over this part of the American continent. About 1605 A.D. the Spaniards founded Santa Fé and made it the capital of their government in New Mexico.
[27] Spanish for the "gilded one."
* * * * *
THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents
url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp
Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy
