Age of Exploration & The Spanish

Conquistadors Lesson 2:
Who were the Spanish people of the time?
Lesson Overview
Learning Intention & Success Criteria

Learning Intention:
Who were the Spanish people of the time?

Success Criteria:
I can List the significant Spanish figures in the conquest of the Americas

I can Identify key parts of the Conquistador armour and weaponry

 Warm Up: Timeline

Question:

1. How many different

countries are attempting to
colonise?
Answer: 6 Countries

2. Do you think it was a race to

get as much land and
resources as possible?
Answer: Because people
wants home to live and have
much resources like food
and water.
 Independent Activity: Key Vocabulary

Conquistador - A conqueror or soldier, especially one of

the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16th
century.

Colonisation - The action or process of settling among and

establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.

Treaty of Tordesillas - Divided the ‘New World’ (The

Americas) between Spain and Portugal. This included land,
resource and people

Source - An artist’s impression of conquistadors

slaughtering the indigenous population at
Cholula in central Mexico
Independent Task

Choose one of the following to complete:

Task 1: Use the timeline on the Slide 8 to draw a storyboard for each of the events that took place. You can draw
this in your books and upload a picture to the next slide, or you can use a program like paint and take a
screenshot. You should use at least 6 events on the timeline

Task 2: Creating a Profile on Christopher Columbus using the 5Ws as a guide, answering the questions about
his significance to exploration and colonisation of the Americas.
Example Question: Who was Christopher Columbus?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/columbus_christopher.shtml
https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus
Independent Task - Use this page for your task

Task Chosen: Task 1: Use the timeline on the Slide 8 to draw a storyboard for each of the events that took place.
You can draw this in your books and upload a picture to the next slide, or you can use a program like paint and
take a screenshot. You should use at least 6 events on the timeline
Independent Activity
 Spain during the 15th and 16th Century
Conquistador Weapons
There were two sorts of Spanish
conquistadors: horsemen or cavalry and foot
soldiers or infantry. The Spanish horsemen
generally had two sorts of weapons: lances and
swords. Their lances were long wooden spears
with iron or steel points on the ends, used to
devastating effect on masses of native foot
soldiers. In close combat, a rider would use his
sword. Steel Spanish swords of the conquest
were about three feet long and relatively
narrow, sharp on both sides. The Spanish city
of Toledo was known as one of the best places
in the world for making arms and armor and a
fine Toledo sword was a valuable weapon
indeed. The fine Spanish steel sword was such
an advantage that for some time after the
conquest, it was illegal for natives to have one.
Spanish foot soldiers could use a variety of weapons.
Some Spanish soldiers used an arquebus, a sort of
early musket. The arquebus was undeniably effective
against any one opponent, but they are slow to load,
heavy, and firing one is a complicated process
involving the use of a wick which must be kept lit. The
arquebuses were most effective for terrorizing native
soldiers, who thought the Spanish could create
thunder. Like the arquebus, the crossbow was a
European weapon designed to defeat armored
knights and too bulky and cumbersome to be of
much use in the conquest against the lightly
armored, quick natives. Some soldiers used
crossbows, but they're very slow to load, break or
malfunction easily and their use was not terribly
common, at least not after the initial phases of the
conquest.
Spain during the 15th and 16th Century

Conquistador Armor
Spanish armor, mostly made in Toledo, was
among the finest in the world. Encased from
head to foot in a steel shell, Spanish
conquistadors were all but invulnerable
when facing native opponents. The helmet
most commonly associated with the
conquistadors was the morion, a heavy steel
helm with a pronounced crest or comb on
top and sweeping sides that came to points
on either end. Later in the conquest, as
conquistadors realized that full suits of
armor were overkill in the New World, some
of them switched to lighter chainmail, which
was just as effective.
Source - An artist’s impression of
conquistadors. A Swordsmen, Arquebusier
and Pikemen from the 1520-1550
 Independent Activity: Spanish Weapons and Armour

Answer the following questions based off of the previous slides:

1. What were the two types of Spanish Conquistadors?

Answer: The two Spanish conquistadors are Weapons and Armour.

2. Describe the Spanish weapon ‘Arquebus’

Answer: The Spanish weapon is the form of gun and developed
armour in 1521.

3. What city was best known for creating armour and weapons in Spain?
Answer: The Spanish city of Toledo is the best city to make
weapons and armour.

4. What did the Spanish realise about their full suits of armour?
Answer: The Spanish armour can be protected for the fight and the
sacrifice and the armour is a full suit.

5. Pick one weapon used by the Spanish and describe it and which type
of soldier would use it
Answer:
Reflection: Jamboard

1. What factors do you think was the most

important factor that contributed to the
Spanish’s dominance in the Americas’?

Source - A 19th-century illustration of the final

battle between Cortés and Aztec ruler
Cuauhtémoc at Tenochtitlan in August 1521