Final answer:
Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire by capturing Tenochtitlan in 1519, while Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire, seizing Cuzco in 1533 after exploiting civil strife and disease.
Step-by-step explanation:
The conquests of Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro were landmark events in the history of the Americas. In 1519, Cortés and his men outmaneuvered the Aztecs and captured their capital, Tenochtitlan. Similarly, in 1532, Francisco Pizarro exploited a civil war within the Inca Empire and subsequent smallpox epidemics, ultimately capturing and executing the Inca ruler Atahualpa.
Pizarro's conquest culminated in the seizing of Cuzco in 1533, marking the fall of the Inca Empire. Both conquerors benefited from alliances with indigenous groups discontent with Aztec or Inca rule, and they capitalized on the diseases brought from Europe which decimated indigenous populations.