Conquistador

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/conquistador

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary nationality?Spanish and Portuguese
2. What is the historical period?Age of Discovery (roughly 15th to 17th centuries)
3. Why did Conquistadors want to explore?They were driven by the promise of money, fame, and the idea of converting people to Catholicism.
4. How did Hernán Cortés defeat the Aztec Empire?Cortés used alliances with other indigenous groups and the spread of European diseases to weaken the Aztecs, then fought them with a small army.

Age of Discovery: A historical period characterized by extensive European exploration, mapping, and colonization of new territories.
Columbian Exchange: The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World.
Hispanosphere: The collective cultural and linguistic sphere of Spanish-speaking countries and peoples worldwide.
Lusosphere: The collective cultural and linguistic sphere of Portuguese-speaking countries and peoples worldwide.