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     Spanish conquistadors, or conquerors, and the colonies formed on the land they claimed, had a lasting influence in South and Central America. In order to understand their influence, it is important to know why they came to the Americas. The conquistadors were looking for precious metals, which would make them wealthy. They were also looking for land, although their goals at that time were not to create permanent settlements. Some explorers, such as Ponce de Leon, were looking for a fountain of youth. Although their reasons for going to the Americas had nothing to do with those who lived there, the conquistadors ended up causing great suffering for the native people. Huge numbers of natives were killed, were enslaved, or died from European diseases. The advanced Aztec society was devastated by Hernando Cortez, and Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital city, was destroyed. Another important empire, the Incan Empire, was destroyed by Spaniards under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro. Because the conquistadors claimed land in the Americas for Spain, colonies were established, which brought about an even more long-term Spanish influence in the Americas. According to their parentage, the colonists were considered to be in different social levels in society. Conquistadors and others were given huge tacts of land according to the encomienda system, and Spanish nobles were appointed as viceroys to govern the colonists. Spanish missions were established to train the natives in European religion and to help them become loyal Spanish subjects. It is easy to see that the way of life of the people in Central and South America was permanently altered because of the lasting effects of the presence of the Spanish.

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