1. Hernan Cortes, a Spanish conquistador, arrived in Mexico in 1519 with a small force of 550 men but was able to defeat the vast Aztec Empire through tactical advantages like horses, guns, and alliances with neighboring tribes. 2. Cortes captured the Aztec emperor Montezuma and took control of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, but a rebellion forced the Spanish to flee. An outbreak of smallpox further weakened the Aztecs, allowing the Spanish to destroy their capital in 1521. 3. Francisco Pizarro similarly conquered the Inca Empire in Peru in the 1530s with only 160 men by kidnapping the Inca emperor Atahual