This weaponry contrasted to the Conquistadors steel weapons and armour. On top of this, and even more feared by the Indigenous people was the horse. One historian described their importance:.
"Fifty horsemen with lances, or even as few as twenty, could roll back or split up an entire Indian army, however large, at will"." .
Despite the Aztec's positional advantage and weight of numbers, their traditional combat methods were simply not enough against the conquistadors "modern" tactics. They possessed no hard-metal tools, no wheeled vehicle and no horse. In fact the Native Americans were unsurprisingly fearful of the horse, having never encountered such a beast ridden in this way. It would seem they even believed horse and man to be the same at first, de-capitating the horse as well as Spaniard after capture. Such was the psychological and physical advantage of cavalry, that the Spaniards sent horses in every fleet from the second voyage of Columbus onwards. They even organised special breeding grounds in Cuba and Jamaica. This dominance over the Aztecs helps account for the rapid conquest. Cortes said: "Our lives were dependent on the horses". This is valuable evidence.
The Spaniards had experienced a massive growth of military power stimulated from experience in Granada and the Mediterranean. Latest artillery and weapons were taken to Mexico such as the "Arquebus", a popular new firearm used in the conquest. However their impact was not particularly overwhelming, as they were still slow and heavy, and used up a lot of gunpowder. Cortes" use of firearms was limited as he spoke of possessing in April 1521: "Three large iron guns, fifteen small bronze field guns". The psychological contribution of weaponry must be considered however. They played a vital role in the warfare, as the Indigenous people, like the horse, were astonished and afraid of such modern materials and designs.
