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Genocide is sort of a painful subject for young people to be studying, or anybody, for that matter.

Genocide is engaging in certain acts in order to destroy a group of people. It is the worst crime anyone can commit. People debate what the precise definition should be but the acts are killing or doing severe physical or psychological harm to the group or creating conditions in which the group dies out or falls apart.

The group can be any particular national group, ethnic group, racial group, or members of a religion.

One of the missions humanity has committed itself to is trying to create rapid reaction forces led by the United Nations so that genocide never occurs again on any continent.

I think your teacher probably wants you to read a bit about Hernán Cortés (AKA Hernando Cortés) and then decide for yourself whether what he did as a "conquistador" was genocide.

[It's interesting that 'Hernán Cortés' is actually the most common spelling of his name BY FAR on the web.]

The different ways he is portrayed reflect the wide diversity among historians and where they stand on the question as to whether we should judge historic figures who lived 500 years ago by our own standards.

Sometimes you wonder whether the reason European kings sent men like Cortés off to explore the world was just to get rid of them. They sound dangerous. LOL

it is spelt genocide.

genocide refers to the attempt to kill off a certain ethnic group.

I don't think he was actually trying to get rid of the natives even though he did decieve them and then salughter them to steal their gold. That jerk.

Like all Spanish Conquistadores they killed Indians by thousands or millions.