Spanish and Incan Advantages During the Battle of Cajamarca

During the 16th century, the Spaniards had dominance over the Incans’ territory, exposing the Incans to diverse weapons. In this Age of Exploration, the Spanish conquistadors such as Francisco Pizarro and his followers were devising a plan to attack the Incan Emperor, Atahuallpa. The conquistadors attained their goal and were soon taking over the entire Incan Empire. This period was very effective for the Europeans and their own prudence helped them be dominant in the battle of Cajamarca. The Spanish were victorious over the Incans due to their advanced weaponry and education; however, they were both culturally unaware of each other. At the battle of Cajamarca, advanced weaponry and education were major influences between the Spanish and the Incans during their war. For the Spaniards, horses allowed for the capturing of more natives because they gave Europeans speed and agility. In addition, guns and trumpets benefitted them because the Incans did not know what they were; therefore, the natives’ response was fear. Although the Incan army had about 80,000 men and the Spanish army had 62 cavalrymen and 106 soldiers on foot, this major discrepancy did not affect the Spaniards during their success in the battle because they were still able to conquer and seize more land. Moreover, education was the key to triumph for the Europeans at Cajamarca because although Francisco Pizarro was illiterate since he did not know how to read nor write, it did not impede him from using his wisdom to capture Atahuallpa and conquer the Incans. Nevertheless, like the Spanish, the natives were also uneducated because none of them knew how to neither read nor write as well. These advantages and disadvantages have taken their role in the victory at Cajamarca, however little did both groups know that they were parallel in some way. The Spaniards and the Incans were both culturally unaware of each other in varied ways. The Incan civilization was uninformed of the lifestyle many