ABSTRACT
When the Europeans came to the Americas they sought native leaders similar to those of European states and political groups. The early chronicles often refer to indigenous ‘kings’ and ‘captains’, and ‘princes’. Europeans expected to find political leaders with powers over their subjects as great as the leaders of their own nations. In some of the higher cultures of Latin America like the Aztec and Inca, the conquistadores were not disappointed. But for the bulk of the Americas what they found were weak indigenous political leaders whose power, if any, came from leadership by example rather than by force. Leaders who did not overtly influence the actions of war and politics were completely ignored.
