The Incas were in the midst of a civil war over who should inherit the
throne when the Spanish arrived. With primitive weapons facing gunpowder
and armor, and a disunited military force, they presented little challenge and were quickly defeated.
The Aztecs were only recently dominant in their region, and were widely
hated for taking POWs(<span>Prisoner of war)</span> or demanding hostages, as these people were then
used as live human sacrifices, their beating hearts torn out and burned
on an altar, and their bodies eaten in a religious ritual. The Spanish
had little problem getting neighboring nations to help overthrow the
Aztecs.
