trip in 1492. These conquistadors sailed
to the Americas to conquer the native
peoples and to spread Christianity. They
were also looking for gold and other
treasure.
Because of the conquistadors, Spanish
culture spread widely throughout South
America, Central America, and the
southern regions of North America. The
Spanish influence is strong in these areas
even today.
Many of the conquistadors’ actions were
cruel. They stole the riches that they
found in the new lands. They brutally
murdered thousands of native people.
They also brought diseases such as
smallpox that killed many more thousands.
One of the most famous conquistadors
was Hernan Cortes. He destroyed the
Aztec Empire in what is now southern
and central Mexico. Cortes arrived in
Mexico in 1519. He and his men
defeated the Aztec in 1521.
Another Spanish conquistador, Francisco
Pizarro, conquered the Inca
Empire in what is now Peru. Pizarro
came to Peru in 1531. He killed the
leader of the Inca and captured their
capital in 1533.
#More to explore
Aztec • Columbus, Christopher
• Cortes, Hernan • Inca
Conservation
Conservation is the protection of things
found in nature. It requires the sensible
use of all Earth’s natural resources:
water, soil, minerals, wildlife, and forests.
People who care about conservation
try to preserve natural resources so they
An illustration shows Spanish conquistadors supervising Native Americans, who are carrying
supplies for them.
186 Conquistador BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
will still be around in the future. They
also try to keep the environment clean
and healthy.
Types of Resources
Some resources are renewable, which
means they can be replaced. Living
things, such as plants and animals, are
examples of renewable resources because
they can reproduce themselves. But
renewable resources can still be
damaged or destroyed. For example,
people might catch too many of one
type of fish. If not enough fish are left
to reproduce, that type of fish might
die out. Conservation helps people
manage renewable resources so they are
kept in good supply.
Other resources are nonrenewable,
which means they cannot be replaced.
Fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum
(oil), are examples of nonrenewable
resources. Minerals, such as iron ore,
also are nonrenewable resources. People
can conserve nonrenewable resources by
using them carefully. They can also look
for other resources that serve the same
purpose. For example, people can use
less petroleum by using other types of
fuel instead.
Conservation Challenges
Conservation can be hard because it
can require people to give up some
conveniences. For example, cars make
travel easy, but they also produce a lot
of air pollution. To have cleaner air,
people can choose to drive less and
walk more. Such changes can be hard
when people have gotten used to a
certain way of living.
Money is another reason why conservation
can be a challenge. For example, a
timber company might be able to protect
forest animals by limiting the number
of trees it cuts. But the company
might not be willing to do this because
it will make less money. Also, factories
might not want to spend the money to
clean up the messes they make.
Conservation Solutions
Everyone can contribute to
conservation in one way or another.
Workers take care of young tropical trees in
Brazil. The trees were planted to replace
trees that were cut down.
Some cities encourage people to carpool,
or share car rides. Carpooling is a good
way to conserve gasoline.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Conservation 187
People can recycle paper, plastic, glass,
and other materials. Recycling saves
resources by reusing materials that
would otherwise be thrown away.
Industries can limit the amount of
pollution they create. Governments can
make laws that help to keep the air and
water clean. Governments have also set
aside land as national parks. These
parks protect land and animals in their
natural state.
#More to explore
Environment • Fossil Fuel • National
Parks • Natural Resources • Pollution
• Recycling
Constellation
A constellation is a group of stars. The
groups are identified according to patterns
that people have seen in the stars.
For example, the stars of the constellation
Leo seem to trace the outline of a
lion. The name Leo means “lion” in the
Latin language. The constellation Draco,
whose name is Latin for “dragon,” is said
to look like a dragon. However, these are
not scientific groupings. They are simply
ways that people have imagined the
stars.
Since ancient times people have tried to
explain the night sky. Over thousands of
years different cultures have seen different
patterns in the stars. They have
named many different constellations
after familiar animals, everyday objects,
and characters and beasts from stories.
Today constellations provide a
connection between modern humans
and ancient stories. They are also
interesting to spot in the night sky.
Astronomers, or scientists who study
stars, have named 88 constellations.
They use the constellations to help
describe the location of specific stars.
Among them are the 12 well-known
constellations that lie in a band of space
