conquistadores

Cultural  

1. The Spanish military leaders who established Spanish rule in the New World by overthrowing Native American governments. (See Hernando Cortés and Francisco Pizarro.)

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Example Sentences

López Obrador, an avid amateur historian, said he has been working on his latest book, a study of Mexico before the 16th century arrival of Spanish conquistadores.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2025

Peru's largest archaeological sites are located outside Lima in places such as Cusco, which was the capital of the Inca Empire and fell to Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century.

From Reuters • Nov. 22, 2023

Some of the vines had been planted centuries earlier, by conquistadores and missionaries.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 18, 2019

Spanish conquistadores came to this region in the 16th century seeking the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.

From New York Times • Nov. 6, 2019

American civilizations resting on animal power might have been sending their own conquistadores to ravage Europe.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond