Should spanish conquistadors be considered villains or heroes for their actions?

Answer 1

It’s hard to pick a position about the Spanish conquistadores because they can be villains for all the atrocities, they did to the Native Americans but heroes on discovering the Americas and a new race. In this opportunity I will put the Spanish Conquistadores in the villains side just because they basically took all the good stuff that the native American had and then just disappear them.

Answer 2

Answer 1

Villains, because against the Native Americans there was deadly impact.

Answer 2

There is always a question of morality for the times and a question of morality as we understand it today.

At the time, the acts of the Conquistadors where a huge gamble. This concerns the acquisition of ships, arms, and countrymen being a difficult feat and this does not take into account getting around in the wilderness without losing your head to tropical diseases and wild animals. As such the successful Conquistador performed a grand service in extending the Empire of his fatherland. Spain's ascendancy in the 16th century was due primarily to conquests made in Latin America.

Of course, in the modern era, we recognize that the ideas of Imperialism, conquest, subjugation, enslavement (or vast impoverishing of populations to create endless servitude), and land acquisition are grave wrongs. The Conquistadors savagely disrupted and destroyed entire Empires and lowly tribes in pursuit of riches and glory. Forced conversions robbed many Native Americans of the birthright of their religion.

It is up to each person to judge the morality of the Conquistadors.