Conquest

We explain what a conquest is and what its reasons were throughout history. Also, the most important conquests and the conquest of America.

What is a conquest?

A conquest is occupation of a territory through military force. It usually takes place at the end of a war, when a victorious army prevails over a defeated one. Throughout history, there have been hundreds of conquests, each time a state expanded the territory under its control at the expense of another population.

In the past, The conquest of a territory was a celebrated act that represented the greatness of a State. Stories of wars and battles became the founding myths of many cultures. In them, military leaders and conquering soldiers were portrayed as heroes.

For example, the war and conquest of the city of Troy were the setting for the epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey, central stories of Greek mythology. Likewise, in Ancient Rome, “Arches of Triumph” were built as monuments in honor of military victories.

Currently, a large part of the population rejects everything that implies a conquest: violence, war, oppression and subjugation. From both academic fields and popular culture, stories about the conquests are revised and the conquerors are no longer seen as honorable characters. Such is the case of the conquest of America, a process that today is criticized for the brutal repression it exerted against American societies.

• See also: Revolution

Historical reasons for the conquests

Throughout history, numerous societies expanded the territories under their control through violence. These wars and conquests were carried out for different reasons.

First of all, The conquest of a territory meant the material appropriation of everything that was there. The conquerors looted the cities, appropriated the wealth and, on many occasions, captured prisoners. These goods were taken to the places of origin of the conquerors and displayed as spoils of war to popular acclaim. Prisoners could be enslaved or, if they were people of importance, freed in exchange for the payment of a ransom.

Secondly, with the conquest and occupation of the new territory, victorious states could impose the payment of tribute and organize the exploitation of local natural resources. Tributes could be paid in the form of work, species or money.

Third, the rulers who led the victorious conquest campaigns consolidated their political and military power within their own territory. In many cases, success in war was interpreted as a positive omen from the gods in favor of the ruler. This was very important in ancient and medieval societies.

Finally, there were many wars that began with the objective of recovering a territory that was considered its own and had been lost in the past at the hands of another State. In these cases, we usually speak of “reconquest.”

• It may help you: World power

The best-known conquests in history

There are some conquests that are especially famous. This may be due to different reasons: the amount of territory conquered under the leadership of a great military leader, because the battles were described in recognized literary works or because the conquest had important consequences on posterity.

Among the most recognized achievements are:

• The Trojan War (12th century BC). The conquest of the city of Troy by the Achaeans is the scene of the Iliad and the Odysseytwo fundamental epic works of Ancient Greek mythology. Historians still debate the veracity of this war.
• The conquests of Alexander the Great (4th century BC). This Macedonian leader created the largest empire of ancient times and expanded Greek culture to the East. Under his reign, the empire occupied all the territory from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River.
• The conquests of Rome (3rd century BC-4th century AD). Through different wars, the ancient Romans expanded from the Italian peninsula and came to occupy most of Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor.
• The invasions of the Germanic tribes (4th and 5th centuries AD). Different peoples of Germanic origin invaded and conquered portions of the territory of the Western Roman Empire. Historians consider that the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. C. marks the end of the Ancient Age and the beginning of the Middle Ages.
• The Spanish reconquest (8th-15th centuries AD). This name refers to the wars carried out by the different Christian kingdoms in the Middle Ages with the aim of occupying the lands of the Iberian Peninsula that were under the control of the Muslim caliphates.
• The Crusades (11th to 13th centuries AD). It is a series of conquest campaigns organized by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages with the aim of occupying Jerusalem and other lands in Western Asia. Although there were victorious battles and a Christian kingdom was created in the region, it was defeated by the Muslim Mamluks in 1291 AD. c.
• The conquest of America (15th and 16th centuries AD). The military conquest of the Aztec Empire by the Spanish paved the way for the occupation of the rest of the continent, the subjugation of American societies and the subsequent colonization process.
• The Napoleonic Wars (19th century AD). The French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte faced different European powers and sought to impose himself on a large part of the continent. Although he was defeated in 1815, he occupied Spain for a few years. Consequently, the Spanish American colonies began independence revolutions.
• The conquest of Africa (19th and 20th centuries AD). Through the invasion, occupation and colonization of most of the African continent, the powers of Europe established their political dominance there and a colonial economy dedicated to the extraction and exploitation of natural resources.
• The invasion of Poland (20th century). The invasion of Poland by Adolf Hitler's Nazi German army began World War II (1939-1945 BC), which was the deadliest war in human history.
• The conquest of space (20th century). This name refers to the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to explore outer space within the framework of the Cold War (1947-1991).

The great conquerors of history

Among the great military leaders who were acclaimed for their conquests, the following can be highlighted:

• Cyrus “the Great” (ca. 575-530 BC). The Persian emperor Cyrus “the Great” was notable for his conquests of Media, Lydia and Babylon, and for founding the Achaemenid Empire.
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC). The Macedonian king Alexander the Great conquered Greece, Egypt and Persia, creating the largest empire of ancient times.
• Julius Caesar (100-44 BC). Politician and military man of Ancient Rome, Julius Caesar led numerous victorious campaigns in Europe.
• Attila (ca. 395-453 AD). The king of the Huns Attila expanded his domains from Central Europe to the Black Sea and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea.
• Genghis Khan (ca. 1162-1227 AD). A great warrior, Gangis Khan unified the nomadic Mongol tribes and founded the Mongol Empire.
• Tamerlane (1336-1405 AD). A Turko-Mongol political and military leader, Tamerlane conquered Central Asia, part of the Caucasus, and parts of Asia Minor and South Asia, and founded the Timurid Empire.
• Mehmed II (1432-1481 AD). The great Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II took the city of Constantinople and conquered the Eastern Roman Empire.
• Hernán Cortés (1485-1547 AD). The Spanish expeditionary Hernán Cortés led the conquest of Mexico and subdued the Aztec Empire.
• Francisco Pizarro (ca. 1478-1541 AD). Spanish captain Francisco Pizarro led the expedition that reached the Andes, captured Atahualpa, and subdued the Inca Empire.

• See also: The 10 most influential leaders in history

The conquest of America

“The conquest of America” is a concept that encompasses the different wars of conquest carried out by the military forces of the Spanish Empire and other European empires to occupy different territories in America and subject the American populations to their domination. Most of these wars happened in the 16th century. Among the most important are the wars of conquest of the two great American empires: the Aztec Empire and the Inca Empire.

In the conquest of Mexico, the expeditionary Hernán Cortés led the war against the Aztec Empire. To do this, he created alliances with the enemy communities of this American empire. In 1521, he managed to prevail and conquered Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital. In the following years, the Viceroyalty of New Spain was founded, which became the main center of Spanish colonization in America.

In the conquest of Peru, Captain Francisco Pizarro led the war against the Inca Empire. The Spanish under his command reached the Andes, captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa and subdued his empire and the different resistance movements. In 1542, the Spanish Empire founded the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The main consequence of the conquest of America was the beginning of the process of Spanish colonization of the continent. During this process, millions of Native Americans died and many indigenous cultures were destroyed.

References

• Ackermann, M. (2008). Major themes. Encyclopedia of World History,. vol. II: The expanding world. 600 CE to 1450. Facts on File.
• Ackermann, M. (2008). Major themes. Encyclopedia of World History,. vol. III: The First Global Age. 1450 to 1750. Facts on File.
• Ackermann, M. (2008). Major themes. Encyclopedia of World History,. vol. IV: Age of Revolution and Empire. 1750 to 1900. Facts on File.
• The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2007). Conquest. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
• The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024). Conqueror. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/