Aztecs VS. Spaniards?

Question

What are some things that the Aztecs had and the Spaniards did not have?What weapons and animals did the Spaniards have that helped them in their conquest? What made the Spaniards so successful?

Answer 1

guns, horses, Armour, swords and surprise.  The Aztecs lost because they were too trustful.

Answer 2

Read "Colapse" by Jared Diamond.  Very informative.

Answer 3

aztecs had a lot more gold. knowledge of the area. better math. spaniards had horses, guns, the wheel.

Answer 4

The Spaniards had the advantage over the Aztecs in every way except for numbers in that case the Aztecs won out, but even in that case the Spaniards were able to gain other Indian allies against the Aztecs.

1.)  Weapons  -  The Spaniards of course had guns, but they were large, cumbersome, and often unreliable.  Remember moisture is the enemy of gunpowder and Mexico can be wet and rainy.  Even without guns though the Spaniards still had metal weapons, specifically steel swords and metal and wood buckler shields.  The Spaniards were also experts at using them as most of them were veteran soldiers.  In terms of armor the Spaniards had steel helmets and breast plates.

The Aztecs had wooden and obsidian weapons.  They would break or shatter against steel weapons.  Their best weapon was the sling with a good stone against a Spaniard who had lost their helmet.  In terms of armor, most Aztecs were unarmored and when they were it was with padded armor made of strips of cloth and padding stitched together.

2.)  Animals  -  The Spaniards had horses that terrified the Aztecs.  When the Aztecs saw the Spaniards mounted on a horse they first thought that this was some kind of giant monster, not separate but one whole creature.  The Spaniards would charge the Aztecs in a tight formation.  This scattered and killed thousands.  Many Spaniards also brought huge wolf hounds with them.  Again these were animals that the Aztecs never saw before and they were terrified of them.

The use of these weapons combined with ruthless tactics by the Spaniards made them so successful against the Axtecs.  Remember the Aztecs and the Spaniards were fighting two different kinds of warfare.  The goal of the Spaniards was to kill and kill and kill until they have conquered the Aztecs.  This was the legacy of the reconquista from decades of war in Spain.  War with the Indians in the Americas was generally not to kill and kill.  It was to capture the enemy to take them home as slaves and sacrifices.  The war that the Spaniards was fighting was totally foreigin to them.

Answer 5

there is a big misconception that thousands of natives were defeated by a bunch of spaniards. there were only around 600 spaniards, and despite their advantages (weapons, horses, etc) their chances of destroying the aztec empire alone was quite slim. it was the alliances they made that lead to their success. the aztecs were despised by many native tribes, and when the spaniards came, many saw the opportunity for conquest. theres an estimated 6000 indian people helping out the spaniards in their conquest against the much despised aztecs/mexicas (their native name)

Answer 6

The Spaniards brought the seven-winged assault:

christianity, small pox, mumps, whooping cough, measles, influenza, diphtheria, typhus.

To read that the Spanish, disease ridden christians one and all, were conquerors, is laughable. Sure they called themselves that...but Republicans call themselves..."conservatives". I guess when you're picking a name for something embarrassing you want to put a positive spin on that thing.

It's not hard to defeat an enemy if you can infect them weeks before you invade.

Conquistadors, my ***!

Answer 7

Guns, horses, small-pox and syphilis guaranteed the Spanish victory.  (That and the Aztec's neighbors were sick of being under Aztec control.)

Answer 8

They had guns, germs, and steel as in the Pulizer Prize winning book by Jerod Diamond.  He talked  more about the Inca conquest but they followed the Aztec model.  Horse's were something that terrified the soldiers.  They didn't know what they were.  Spanish calvary were very effective and intimidating.  The Aztecs fled and the spanish mowed them down.  They captured Montezuma leaving them controlling their King/God.  The Aztecs had man power and could have easily defeated the Spanish but they were unaware of that.  They had legends of white gods, if memory serves.  The Aztecs had one thing that led to their fall, lots of gold.  The Spanish found every reason to try to take the gold and become wealthy.

Answer 9

The Aztecs had gold, cocoa, and slave labor.

Answer 10

Along with what Tiana says above me, some very good points, I'd like to add that the Spaniards were seen as Gods by the indigenous population of their South American colonies. They rode great steeds, had sticks that could shoot fire, the wheel, and wore arrow-proof armour that shone like the sun; because of this, and the many prophecies telling of the imminent arrival of a 'Godly Race', the Spanish were able to make powerful allegiances and destroy/ plunder largely with inpunity. Good question!