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Aztec weaponry was not limited to obsidian blades. They had extremely effective slingers and other ranged weapon types that were devastating even to the armored
by Amezarak 3y ago
Aztec weaponry was not limited to obsidian blades. They had extremely effective slingers and other ranged weapon types that were devastating even to the armored Spanish. Excepting the cannons and horses, the Aztecs were not really significantly worse off than the Spanish in terms of weapons.
If you had to choose between 100 trained Aztec slingers and 100 Spanish armed with only with their personal firearms, you'd almost certainly want to choose the slingers.
edit: according to conquistador accounts, apparently even the atlatl darts could pierce their armor.
- FredPret 3y agoHow, then, did an absolutely tiny number of Spaniards regularly defeat large numbers of Aztecs?
- khuey 3y agoThe Spaniards allied with other groups the Aztecs had subjugated to increase their numbers.
- eropple 3y agoThey didn't. The Spanish invaders allied with locals, to the point where some of those locals' descendants had special--though not equal--status into the colonial era as the indios nobles.
- FredPret 3y agoThe numbers were still very skewed
- Amezarak 3y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_... It's fairly clear that the numbers on both sides are very rough, but it's not what I would describe as very skewed at all. Also, note the Spanish themselves suffered 50%+ losses, which is a horrific casualty rate for pre-industrialized warfare. Aside from that, it's historically very common for one side to win even against much higher numbers with good (even accidentally good) strategy and with decisive bold actions, or even just good luck. edit: also worth mentioning that the Spanish were mostly fighting with their lances and swords, not guns.
- eropple 3y agoYeah, what you describe is not a remotely hot take. The technical advantage, such as it was, for the Spanish invaders was armor more than guns (though that was also subject to being unsuited for climate, etc.).
- inglor_cz 3y agoThe Guanche, native inhabitants of the Canary Islands, deployed both slings and cast stones (incl. boulders) against the Spanish very efficiently. It is a rather unknown fact, but the worst colonial defeat of the Spanish ever didn't happen in the Americas, but on the island of Tenerife, where a Guanche chief called Bencomo trapped the Spanish at Acentejo and killed several thousands of them. It is doubly remarkable, because the Guanche at that time were really living in their Stone Age. Their civilization was nowhere near as developed as the Aztec Empire.