Summary Of Hernan Cortes Campaign Against The Aztecs

Hernan Cortes led a campaign against The Aztecs. He brought only a few hundred Spaniards soldier and defeated millions of Indians on their home territory. Such a feat would’ve been impossible had it not been for several key factors. In a war, numbers does not mean victory and Cortes was fortunate enough to make up for his lack of men with the aid of other Indians, nature, and religion. Nature’s force played a powerful and unforeseen role that decimated the Native’s population. The Spaniards brought deadly diseases such as smallpox and measles that the Natives have never encountered before. The Natives were not immune to these new diseases and that lead to the deaths of thousands of Indians, closing the gap between the number of men under Cortes’ control and the Indians. The surviving warriors were unable to fight at their full potential due to the sickness. The Spaniards, who were immune to these diseases, were able to at their full strength. Without this natural factor, the chances of the Mexicans beating Cortes with sheer number increases.
Steel and technology will beat wood and stones any day.
Cortes’ men are properly equipped and armed. His troops are equipped with advanced weapons, while the Mexicans were using clubs and stone weapons. Not only did Cortes’ men fought with armors, the Spaniard brought horses with them. This gave them an edge to chase and cut down the Mexicans who were fighting on foot. The Mexicans have never seen this type of warfare before, so they have limited knowledge on how to stop the cavalries effectively. Cortes also brought canons, and muskets, which wreak havoc on the Mexicans. The final piece of advantage Cortes has over the Mexicans in battle tactic is discipline and organization. His troops are organized and fought in an orderly fashion compared to the Mexicans, who are
unorganized. Even religion played a role in Cortes’ triumph over the Mexicans. Had Montezuma and the other Mexicans that Cortes and his men are associated with the god of their religion; they could’ve defeated Cortes when he was a sheep in wolf’s den because he was greatly outnumberd. Under Christianity, the Spaniards never felt that god has abandoned them, but the Mexicans look toward their priest for answers before a battle. This usually lead to the priest’s conclusion that god is going against them, bringing diseases and facing an impossible fight. The motivation and support from Christianity increased the Spaniards’ drive to fight while the Mexican’s religion instilled fear of defeat. We definitely cant neglect the fact that Cortes was able to ally himself with the enemies of the Mexicans. Many Natives under the Mexican’s rules are unhappy and resent the Mexicans. Cortes was able to manipulate their hatred to his advantage and he obtained a large amount of aid from the Natives in the form of warriors and supplies. Cortes started out with a few hundred Spaniard forces, his forces ended up in the thousands because of the Natives’ contributions. The passive Natives that didn’t come to the Mexican’s aid in supplies and forces also contributed greatly to Cortes because this ensures that Cortes and his forces can focus solely on the Mexicans. When all of these factors are added up, it’s believable that Cortez managed to conquered the millions of Mexicans. Victory is war does not depend solely on numbers; unforeseen factors and tactics can easily change the tide of battle. Cortes was smart enough to see the situation clearly and used everything to his advantage and that includes allying himself with “savages”.