Spanish Alliance With The Tlaxcalan Indians

After arriving in Mexico, the alliance with the Tlaxcalan Indians was the smartest move made by the Spaniards. It was unchallenging for the Aztec soldiers to occupy the smaller Spanish forces without the help of the native tribes. By the time Tenochtitlan was beleaguered, 300,000 Aztec soldiers were overreached and the Spanish entered the mainland of Mexico with 600 men, 17 horses and 10 cannons. But the real question is that why did Tlaxcalan choose to make alliance with the Spanish and not the Indians? Tlaxcalan was a federation which consisted of 200 towns that had been struggling to go along with the Aztecs for nearly a century. In these battles, the main aim was to capture the enemy’s warriors for sacrifice and not to kill the opposition.