SPANISH CONQUISTADORES

SPANISH CONQUISTADORES

Here's a new mnemonic by Peter Hobbs for recalling which territories and Empires were overrun by the Spanish in their rapid conquest of the Americas in the early 1500s:

" COCOA 19, PIPs 31 "

(CO-CO-A) = MEXICO - CORTÉS - AZTECS (1519)
(P-I-P) = PERU - INCAS - PIZARRO (1531)

Hernando Cortés had a force of only 600 men, a few small cannon, 13 muskets and 16 horses when he invaded Mexico in 1519, and Francisco Pizarro had even less when he attacked the Inca Empire in 1531 - 180 men, 27 horses and 2 cannon. Yet each vast Empire (Aztec and Inca) was brought under complete Spanish control within weeks of discovery.