In the 15th and 16th century, Spain moved to expand their empire through imperial conquest of the Americas. Under the leadership of Cortes in Mexico and Pizarro in Peru, the Spanish solidified their power in the New World. Natives of these regions were thought of as inferior and barbaric. For the glory of the empire, and in the name of religion, Spain subdued the native peoples of the Americas in a successful effort to control land and labor for the purposes of imperial economic expansion. The Spanish claimed that they were bringing civilization in the name of God to an otherwise uncivilized pagan society. In reality, the European hegemony brought a potent mix of oppression, death, and exploitation.