A Spanish or Portuguese conqueror who explored, traded with, and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania during the Age of Discovery.  Sailing beyond the Iberian Peninsula, they established numerous colonies and trade routes, and brought much of the New World under the dominion of Spain and Portugal.

After Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the West Indies in 1492, the Spaniards, usually led by hidalgos from the west and south of Spain, began building a colonial empire in the Caribbean using colonies such as Santo Domingo, Cuba, and Puerto Rico as their main bases.  From 1519 to 1521, Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, ruled by Moctezuma II. From the territories of the Aztec Empire, conquistadors expanded Spanish rule to northern Central America and parts of what is now the southern and western United States, and from Mexico sailing the Pacific Ocean to the Spanish East Indies.  Other Spanish conquistadors took over the Inca Empire after crossing the Isthmus of Panama and sailing the Pacific to northern Peru.

Spanish conquistadors also made significant explorations into the Amazon Jungle, Patagonia, the interior of North America, and the discovery and exploration of the Pacific Ocean.  Conquistadors founded numerous cities, some of them in locations with pre-existing settlements, such as Cusco and Mexico City.

(Wikipedia contributors. (2026, March 27). Conquistador. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.)