What factors enabled the Spanish to conquer the Aztec and Incan empires in Central and South America with relative ease in the 16th Century

Students must submit one of these essay topics in paragraph form through the Assignments Tab if Canvas by the deadline specified in the Syllabus and in Assignments.  It is worth fifty points. The essay should be 1 1/2 to 2 pages in length (approximately 300-500 words). Be sure to cite properly, as per the MLA Format every time that any information is directly copied (and quotation marks are needed), paraphrased (writing someone else’s ideas in your own words) or for any facts that are not common knowledge (like “the sky is blue”).  Be sure to provide a works cited section with a bibliographic citation of each source used; be sure to include the Date Accessed is the date that YOU previewed a particular website or watched a Youtube video because website/video content can change.  As per the syllabus, students must use a minimum of two sources that are to be cited in the body of the essay as well as the works cited section be counted for a grade.  Please consult the syllabus for more information. 

Please note that the textbook is an acceptable source for both of the identification terms:

David Shi, America: A Narrative History, Volume 1, Eleventh Edition. New York:  W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2019.

Essay 1 (From Chapter 1)

What factors enabled the Spanish to conquer the Aztec and Incan empires in Central and South America with relative ease in the 16th Century (meaning 1500’s)?  Give an introductory paragraph briefly summarizing the conquest of one of these two empires. Write another paragraph about the Spanish advantages in military technology, and a fourth paragraph about such biological factors as the animals used by the Spanish and the effects of disease on the Native Americans.  Be sure to give specific examples of the leaders (both Spanish and Native Americans), weapons, diseases, and events to support your case.  Finally, write a concluding paragraph where you summarize this information and provide your own thoughts and ideas.

History.com Editors, “Aztec capital falls to Cortes.”   History, A&E Television Networks August 19, 2019.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/aztec-capital-falls-to-cortes  Date Accessed:

History.com Editors, “Pizarro Executes the Last Inca Emperor.” History, A&E Television Networks

July 27, 2019  https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pizarro-executes-last-inca-emperor

No Author Listed, “Guns Germs and Steel Variables: Horses.”  Lion Television 2005.

https://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/horses.html  Date Accessed:

No Author Listed, “Guns Germs and Steel Variables: Smallpox.”  Lion Television 2005.

https://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/smallpox.html  Date Accessed:

Harvey, Ian, “Spanish Conquistadores used advanced armor and weaponry to their advantage.”

The Vintage News February 3, 2017.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/02/03/spanish-conquistadors-used-advanced-weaponry-and-armor-to-their-advantage/  Date Accessed:

Kings and Generals, “Aztecs: Arrival of Cortes and the Conquistadores.”  October 11, 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRAVIndO4Y  Date Accessed:

Kings and Generals, “Spanish Conquest of the Incan Empire.”  June 7, 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPm8E-zWwsQ  Date Accessed:

Essay 2 (From Chapter 2)

Discuss Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676.  Be sure to write three paragraphs, with one discussing the major causes of the rebellion, another paragraph narrating the major events of the rebellion, and a third and final paragraph about the consequences of this rebellion.

Blakemore, Erin, “Bacon’s Rebellion: Why America’s First Colonial Rebels Burned Jamestown to the Ground.”

August 8, 2019.  https://www.history.com/news/bacons-rebellion-jamestown-colonial-america

Date Accessed:

McCulley, Susan and Loux, Len, “Bacon’s Rebellion.”  NPS.gov  February 26, 2015

https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/bacons-rebellion.htm  Date Accessed:

Jocz Productions, “Bacon’s Rebellion APUSH Review.”  June 9, 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQa2zIJ81Ow  Date Accessed: