Spanish Technology Advantages

The Spanish forces that arrived in Mexico with Cortes numbered five hundred and eight and were staggeringly outnumbered by the Mexica Empire. However, these Spanish forces held a number of technological advantages that helped counter this numerical disadvantage. Three technological advantages that were particularly important to the Spanish success were steel, gunpowder and horses. These three thigs gave the Spanish an advantage in both offensive and defensive capabilities. They also served as a major psychological blow to the Mexica forces.
The first technological advantage held by the Spanish was the use of steel weapons which proved far more capable than the indigenous weaponry. The Spanish were equipped with steel swords, lances and other

According to the review that Cortes conducted of his forces before the attack on Tenochtitlan, his forces contained a total of eighty-four horsemen. These horsemen played an important role in scouting, maintaining supply lines and pushing through the causeways leading into Tenochtitlan. Of particular importance was the ability of the horsemen to charge into the Mexica lines and cause breaks in the defensive lines. According to the conquistador Aguilar’s account of the attack on Tenochtitlan the horsemen played an important role in advancing along the causeways, causing numerous casualties for the indigenous forces. However, it is important to note that while important, the advantage given by horses was by no means absolute. The Mexica forces were able to utilize numerous tactics to lessen the impact of the horses. One of these was the establishment of blockades which were defended by Mexica warriors with lances. Another tactic that the indigenous forces utilized was attempting to pull the Spaniards off of their horses by grabbing their lances or legs. An account of this tactic’s success can be found within the Florentine Codex wherein it discusses the Mexica forces successfully pulling a Spaniard off of his horse and killing him. These tactics along with the disadvantage that comes with the narrow causeways reduced the effectiveness of the horsemen in the early portion of the attack on the

The Spanish utilized two different types of gunpowder based weapons, muskets and cannons. For the Spaniards, muskets played a role very similar to crossbows, of which the Spanish were also well supplied, with the added benefit of higher penetration. This allowed them to retaliate against the Mexica arrows and stones from a distance. Bernal Diaz describes the effect of the musket fire as sweeping away numerous Mexicans. While the Spanish muskets served a comparable role to the crossbows on their side and the bows on the Mexica side, the impact of cannon cannot be compared to anything else on the battlefield. The Spanish cannons were able to tear through the fortifications of the Mexica and were also used to tremendous effect against the massed Mexica forces on the causeways leading in to Tenochtitlan. One indigenous account of the Spanish bombardment of Tenochtitlan states that the wall began to collapse after only two hits from the cannons and that the bombardment caused the wall to be perforated with many gaps. However, the biggest impact that the cannons had was the psychological blow that they delivered to the indigenous forces. The Mexica had never seen anything like the loud cannon, which bellowed smoke, fire and death. This caused the cannons to become a major source of fear for the Mexica forces. In the indigenous account from the Florentine Codex it