Like other past societies, the Mesoamericans developed an eminent warrior character, with groups of armed men who fought to defend or expand the domains of their parents. Thanks to the work of historians, we can study the different weapon systems of the Mesoamerican peoples before the arrival of the Spanish. Being able to see its evolution, with a process of constant improvement that distances us from late medieval[1] and/or propagandistic[2] perceptions, in which the Indian was a naive person who did not know war until the appearance of the Castilian ships. Through the studies of specialists, we will have a correlation of the respective cultural areas of Mesoamerica[3] and their main advances in the art of war.
The substantial populations of each zone advance from the Preclassic, (2000 BC – 200 AD), to the Classic, (s. II – X), and from this to the Postclassic, (s. X – XV), with warrior panoplies that little by little are reaching perfection that will allow the emergence of dominant powers and interesting cultures far beyond the initial life of hunter-gatherers. On the Gulf Coast, passing through the Olmecs , the Classic of the Center of Veracruz will be quickly reached with full panoplies of maces and long rectangular shields, highlighting the later huastecos of the Postclassic that add bows and canes. In western Mexico, where in the Classic there are already warriors with two-handed clubs, cuirasses, shields and conical helmets, the Tarascos will stand out. of the Postclassic, staunch enemies of the Mexica [4], which will already present, in a minority way, cold-forged copper axes, maces and spears.
In Oaxaca, peoples such as the Zapotecs of the Classic represent their warriors with shields, batons and spears, moving on to the Mixtecs of the Postclassic, who already fought against the Aztecs using macuahuitl , blowguns, bows, and cotton breastplates. The Mayan zone has a very warlike Classic period, with complex weapon systems in which fully equipped heavy and light spearmen units are distinguished. The same area reaches the Postclassic with macuahuitl made of flint flakes (instead of obsidian), arches, maces and possible tepuztopilli. The Central Altiplano has the Classic of the militaristic Teotihuacán , with warriors armed with spears, atlatls, bows and knives. The important need to take prisoners for sacrifice leads to talk about possible non-lethal strategies for reducing the opponent by the Teotihuacans. In the Postclassic, the Toltec culture will stand out here , presenting heavily equipped warriors, protected by pressed cotton armor and with up to five weapons at the same time:spear, atlatl, baton, knife and shield.
The Mexica panoply
Given this, we can deduce that the Aztec warriors were the culmination of a process that lasted many centuries. for the s. X, the arrival of the Mexicas to the center of Mesoamerica presents them as barbarians chichimecas [5] who soon became steeped in local tradition, quickly adopting elements such as the atlatl, but being innovative at the same time, as they are the ones who began to generalize the use of the bow and arrow.
In the s. XV will seize power in the region, giving birth to the Triple Alliance[6], forging an empire in which men were trained in religion and administration, at the same time that they learned to use a varied panoply. For the arrival of the Spaniards, Aztec supplies could present a whole series of highly heterogeneous offensive[7] and defensive[8] weapons.
Among the first, would be the dart-throwing staff or átaltl, the bow or tlahuitolli, (with quiver or micomilt), the knife or tecpatl, the sling or temalatl, the javelins of toasted wood or tlazontectli, the macuahuitl (wooden cane with obsidian blades on the upper sides), the stone-tipped spear and its variant with obsidian blades, the tepuztopilli; the mallet or quauhololli, and the club or wooden baton, without confusing it with the macuahuitl, as used to happen in the original sources. For the latter we will have the useful and light shell of pressed cotton bathed in salt, the ichcahuipilli; and the buckler or chimalli, made of wood, animal skin and cane.
Although it seems obvious, the body itself must be cited, since it is very likely that the pressure of prisoners for sacrifices and anthropophagy[9] encouraged the practice of tactics of capturing enemies based on submission[10], as if it were a grappling martial art. This would be learned in the Mexica military schools, the Telpochcalli and the Calmécac, and would have little to envy other submission techniques, such as those of the current Russian sambo.
The weapons of the conquerors in the hands of the Mexica
At this point, in which the culmination of the weaponry evolution of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica has been dealt with, it is now possible to dive into the impact of the weapons of Hernán's men Courteous in the Tenochca hosts. In this case, the impressions caused on the indigenous by elements unknown to them, such as the case of the Castilian horse, trained “a la jineta”[11], the artillery bursts of bombards, falconets or culverins[12], the fierce war dogs[13], (believed to be dragons[14] by the Tlaxcalan allies), the few firearms[15], (espingardas, shotguns and arquebuses), or the unusual hardness of European armor[16], (since gambesones and brigantines of fabric and metal, to the most common steel cuirasses, reaching the complete cavalry harness of Cortés himself).
Well, despite the first impact of the Spanish presence on the Mexicas, they did not take long to realize two very important principles; that the newcomers were not gods, and that their weapons could be turned against them. Therefore, even if it was already in the last hour of their civilization, the use of this weaponry by the locals should be included in their deadly panoplies (see The Hispano-Mexica panoply in Modern History no. 12:The conquest of Mexico).
It should be noted that this reuse of enemy weapons was mutual, with the conquerors themselves, together with their horses and dogs[17], using the indigenous ichcahuipilli, due to a lack of their own protections, propitiated by the fact that each soldier had to pay for his own equipment, and cited by Díaz del Castillo.
Going back to the Aztecs, the high point of collecting Castilian weapons will be the Sad Night [19], in which the locals collected all the war material they were capable of. As León Portilla shows us here:
Although part of the material was destined for the ritual bonfires[22] or the horrendous tzompantli[23], (the unused or more complex one); the easy-to-use[24] was quickly added to their arsenals. For when Cortés returns to besiege Tenochtitlán (seeThe Siege of Tenochtitlan in Modern History No. 12:The Conquest of Mexico), together with the myriad of auxiliary Tlaxcalans, Totonacs, Chalcas and Texcocans[25], Díaz del Castillo narrates the evident reality of the use of European swords[26] by the Mexicas, not only as close-range weapons, but also as the heads of their spears.
Once the siege began, Díaz del Castillo describes how the indigenous people fought the Spanish on the entrance roads[28] using spears they had made from the recovered swords[29] .
And it even shows that they not only forced the besiegers to retreat, but also killed some equids using reused[30] Castilian spears[31].
We will not only see this on land, but also in the battles on the lake between the Mexica canoes and the Castilian brigantines[32].
As in any siege action, several counter-attacks were launched with the intention of breaking the siege, in one of them, Díaz del Castillo tells us about one of the most interesting events of the site[34], where the Mexica came to shoot the Spaniards with their own crossbows[35]:
To conclude, as a sign of the breadth of this topic, I must emphasize that not only the Aztecs knew how to use European weapons systems, being the weapons and tactics of the Old World used by other indigenous people, such as the Chinantecas, allies of Cortés who quickly learned the use of long spears as pikes with flint or copper heads[36], and who were used against the Narváez “counter-expedition”, and, possibly, in the streets of Tenochtitlán.
Final considerations
With this micro-essay, a sample is given of the complexity of the clash of two worlds that had never before coincided on the same physical plane, and how, contrary to popular belief, The Mexicas knew how to overcome the setback caused by the difference in weapons that separated them from the Spaniards, knowing how to turn their strengths against them and showing a mentality of plasticity/adaptability far superior to what had been believed until now.
Bibliography
Physics:
- BRUHN DE HOFFMEYER, ADA. The weapons of the conquerors. The weapons of the Aztecs . (1986). Madrid. Gladius, XVII. pp:5-56.
- CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2007). The weaponry among the Mexica . Madrid. Gladius annexes. Polyphemus Editions. pp:33-53. 65-72. 125. 157.
- CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2008). Brief history of the Aztecs . Madrid. Ediciones Nowtilus, S.L. pp:29. 126. 196. 202.
- CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2011). Aztec warriors. Weapons, combat techniques and military history of the relentless army that conquered Mesoamerica . Madrid. Unknown story. Ediciones Nowtilus, S.L. pp:51-52. 165.
- DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True story of the conquest of New Spain (2) . Madrid. American Library. History 16. Information and magazines S.A. pp:419. 436.
- DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True story of the conquest of New Spain (3) . Madrid. American Library. History 16. Information and magazines S.A. pp:29. 55. 61. 85. 94-95.
- ELLIOT, JOHN. (1972). The Old World and the New. 1492-1650 . Madrid. Alianza Editorial, S.A. pp:54. 120.
- LEÓN-PORTILLA, MIGUEL. (1992). Vision of the Vanquished . Madrid. American Library. History 16. Information and magazines S.A. p:119.
- THOMAS, HUGH. (2015). The conquest of Mexico. The meeting of two worlds, the clash of two empires” . Barcelona. Editorial Planeta S.A. p:341. 563. 626. 657. 658.
- October 2014. Desperta Ferro, Modern History, nº 12, the Conquest of Mexico . Madrid. Wake up Ferro Editions.
Digital:
- Nievas Muñoz, David. August 17, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (I) – Bucklers and shields”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://bellumartishistoriamilitar.blogspot.com/2018/08/las-armas-de-los-conquistadores-i.html
- Nievas Muñoz, David. August 24, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (II) – Ride the genet”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://bellumartishistoriamilitar.blogspot.com/2018/08/las-armas-de-los-conquistadores-ii.html
- Nievas Muñoz, David. August 31, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (III) – Artillery”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://bellumartishistoriamilitar.blogspot.com/2018/08/las-armas-de-los-conquistadores-iii.html
- Nievas Muñoz, David. September 7, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (IV) – Crossbows. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://bellumartishistoriamilitar.blogspot.com/2018/09/las-armas-de-los-conquistadores-iv.html
- Nievas Muñoz, David. September 14, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (V) – The sword”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://bellumartishistoriamilitar.blogspot.com/2018/09/las-armas-de-los-conquistadores-v-la.html
- Nievas Muñoz, David. October 6, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (VI) – Polearms”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://bellumartishistoriamilitar.blogspot.com/2018/10/las-armas-de-los-conquistadores-vi.html
- Nievas Muñoz, David. October 13, 2018. "The weapons of the conquerors (VII) - Shotguns, espingardas and harquebuses". Bellumartis Military History. [Blog post]. Retrieved from
https://bellumartishistoriamilitar.blogspot.com/2018/10/las-armas-de-los-conquistadores-vii.html
- Molina Fernandez, Juan. September 21, 2018. "The armor of the conquerors of Mexico." Bellumartis Military History. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://bellumartishistoriamilitar.blogspot.com/2018/09/las-armaduras-de-los-conquistadores-de.html
Notes
[1] ELLIOT, JOHN. (1972). The Old World and the New. 1492-1650. Madrid. Alianza Editorial, S.A. p:54.
[2] ELLIOT, JOHN. Op.cit, p:120.
[3] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2007). Weaponry among the Mexica. Madrid. Gladius annexes. Polyphemus Editions. pages:33-53.
[4] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2008). Op.cit, p:136.
[5] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2008). Op.cit, p:29.
[6] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2011). Aztec warriors. Weapons, combat techniques and military history of the relentless army that conquered Mesoamerica. Madrid. Unknown story. Ediciones Nowtilus, S.L. pages:51-52.
[7] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2007). Op.cit, pp:65-71.
[8] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2007). Op.cit, pp:69-72.
[9] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2011). Op.cit, p:164.
[10] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2007). Op.cit, p:125.
[11] Nievas Muños, David. August 24, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (II) – Ride the genet”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog Post].
[12] Nievas Muñoz, David. August 31, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (III) – Artillery”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog Post].
[13] BRUHN DE HOFFMEYER, ADA. The weapons of the conquerors. The weapons of the Aztecs. (1986). Madrid. Gladius, XVII. Q:10.
[14] THOMAS, HUGH. (2015). The conquest of Mexico. The meeting of two worlds, the clash of two empires”. Barcelona. Editorial Planeta S.A. p:341.
[15] Diaz Muñoz, David. October 13, 2018. "The weapons of the conquerors (VII) - Shotguns, espingardas and harquebuses". Bellumartis Military History. [Blog Post].
[16] Molina Fernandez, Juan. September 21, 2018. "The armor of the conquerors of Mexico." Bellumartis Military History. [Blog Post].
[17] BRUHN DE HOFFMEYER, ADA. (1986). Op.cit, p:15.
[18] DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True history of the conquest of New Spain (2). Madrid. American Library. History 16. Information and magazines S.A. p:436.
[19] THOMAS, HUGH. (2015). Op.cit, p:563.
[20] Nievas Muñoz, David. August 17, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (I) – Bucklers and shields”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog Post].
[21] LEÓN-PORTILLA, MIGUEL. (1992). Vision of the vanquished. Madrid. American Library. History 16. Information and magazines S.A. p:119.
[22] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2007). Op cit, p:157.
[23] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2008). Op.cit, p:196.
[24] CERVERA OBREGÓN, MARCO ANTONIO. (2008). Op.cit, p:202.
[25] THOMAS, HUGH. (2015). Op cit, p:657.
[26] Nievas Muñoz, David. September 14, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (V) – The sword”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog Post].
[27] DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True history of the conquest of New Spain (3). Madrid. American Library. History 16. Information and magazines S.A. Q:29.
[28] DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True history of the conquest of New Spain (3). Op.cit, p:55.
[29] THOMAS, HUGH. (2015). Op cit, p:626.
[30] Nievas Muñoz, David. October 6, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (VI) – Polearms”. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog Post].
[31] DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True history of the conquest of New Spain (3). Op.cit, p:61.
[32] THOMAS, HUGH. (2015). Op cit, p:658.
[33] DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True history of the conquest of New Spain (3). Op.cit, p:85.
[34] DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True history of the conquest of New Spain (3). Op.cit, pp:94-95.
[35] Nievas Muñoz, David. September 7, 2018. “The weapons of the conquerors (IV) – Crossbows. Bellumartis Military History. [Blog Post].
[36] DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. (1991). True history of the conquest of New Spain (2). Op.cit, p:419.