30 May 2025 / 10 House
Article suitable for older students
Find out moreHow did the Aztecs adapt to Spanish tactics and technologies?
Spanish forces against Aztecs illustration by Felipe Dávalos
ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - Daniel Avila: How did the Aztecs adapt to Spanish tactics and technologies? I understand that some American nations adopted firearms, armor and cavalry, managing to give a good fight to the Europeans or defeating them (such as the nation of Quigualtam or the Inca neo-state). Why didn’t the Aztecs do that? (Answered by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)
Historian Ross Hassig gives a good summary of this in his book Aztec Warfare. We can do no better than reproduce it here:-
The Aztecs were quick students, soon observing that the noise and smoke [from cannons] were of no consequence and that the shot went in a straight line. Thus, when the cannons fired, the warriors would dodge to the sides, as they also did against muskets... Major shifts in tactics would have required considerable time, since it would involve retraining professional warriors...
The responses were largely technological. Devices and practices were adopted that aimed directly at [Spaniards’] novel threats. The Aztecs initially met the Spaniards in set-piece battles in open areas amid fields of maize and maguey. While the Indians often held their own and more, open fields allowed the Spaniards to take the fullest possible advantage of their horses and guns. Hence the Indians increasingly adopted countertactics aimed at minimising the advantages of horses. For instance, when the Aztecs fell back in battle, they did so to areas, such as towns and ravines, where the Spanish cavalry could not be used to advantage. Once repositioned, the Aztec warriors turned and reformed firm lines to continue the battle.
Most of the advantages were not with the offensive, however, and the Aztecs were quick to use defensive measures. Passive traps were frequently built. Pits containing sharpened stakes were constructed in the streets of cities and covered with wood and earth so that they would not be readily detected. Hidden pits were dug in the water-filled canals to trap the Spaniards, and sharpened stakes were driven into the shallow lake bottom to impale boats. The dike system in the basin of Mexico was selectively destroyed in an effort to drown the enemy in low-lying areas.
Most of the innovative tactics adopted were static, however; the Spaniards had to be drawn into an appropriate position or manoeuvre. Thus, feints were used against the Spaniards, as they had been in traditional Mesoamerican warfare, and they were adapted to the circumstances of the day. During the siege of Tenochtitlan, for example, the Aztecs lured the Spaniards into positions on the causeways where they were open to attack from canoes. The Aztecs also subjected the attacking Spaniards to coordinated assaults by land and water, warriors often firing from armoured canoes that were impervious to gunfire.
Quote:-
• Aztec Warfare by Ross Hassig, University of Oklahoma Press, 1988, pp. 237-241.
Picture sources:-
• Main: image by and courtesy of Felipe Dávalos
• Pic 1: image from the Florentine Codex scanned from our own copy of the Club Internacional del Libro 3-volume facsimile edition, Madrid, 1994
• Pic 2: illustration by Miguel Covarrubias: image scanned from The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico 1517-1521 by Bernal Díaz del Castillo trans. A.P. Maudslay, The Limited Editions Club, Mexico, 1942.
Comments (2)
Daniel
29th Apr 2024
Thank you for answering my question, it seems that the general public underestimates the intelligence of Native Americans. But I keep wondering why the Aztecs didn’t use Spanish guns, horses, and armor? I think they also managed to capture a ship, If so, what did they do with it?
Mexicolore
Yet more interesting questions. We’ve never come across references to the Aztecs capturing a ship - we’ll try and investigate...
Guns are useless without gunpowder; horses are sensitive creatures and can be very unmanageable in the hands of strangers; and armour - native armour (layers of thick cotton padding) was in its way more effective, less cumbersome and far more suitable in hot climates than heavy steel plating...
Daniel
29th Apr 2024
That’s great! Thank you so much for answering this question and the other one about the Aztec warriors with ranged weapons. I apologize if my questions were difficult or time-consuming to answer, but it was worth the wait. Again, thank you.
Mexicolore
You’re welcome. Thanks for asking excellent questions!
Spanish forces against Aztecs illustration by Felipe Dávalos
More Ask Us Entries
- The colours of maizeDid the Aztecs and Maya believe in predestination?What did the Europeans make of the Aztecs brought to Spain?Is the Templo Mayor the only double shrine?How were disputes settled?Why no backgrounds?What was the Maya moon symbol?Why didn’t most Aztec warriors wear helmets?Why did the Aztecs sculpt goddesses?Why did Aztec priests practice asceticism?Was the Toltec calendar similar to the Mexica?What about cougars?Is Xoaltecuhtli a real Aztec god?Was another layer planned for the Templo Mayor?Did women sing and dance in rituals?Did the Aztecs have organised schools of thought?What about Aztec toilets and bathing together?Did the Aztecs adapt to Spanish tactics?Questions about Aztec warriorsDid Aztec warriors have their own warrior code?Did the Aztecs know about peccaries?Did the Aztecs know soap?A symbol for welcomeAre Toci and Tlazolteotl the same?Aztec fortressesAhuitzotl’s childrenDid the Aztecs have ritual specialists?Tell us more about OpochtliDid the Aztecs use canoes for war?The town of MixtlanWas tobacco a harvest offering?Who was Huemac?Diadem versus feather headdressWhat did the Aztecs think of Venus?Did the Aztecs perform mummification?Did the Toltecs paint codices?What is the origin of the Aztec spirit bird?What were battle formations like?Calendar signs on a chess setAztec stone toolsWhat is the object in Xochipilli’s hand?Did the massacre of Toxcatl affect the Mexica army?Did Tezcatlipoca have four wives?What did noble houses look like?Is this a Nezahualcoyotl poem?What do we know about Teotitlan?The art of magicWhat did heron feathers represent?How did the bridges in the causeways work?How did Spaniards describe Aztec warriors?How bad was it to be under the control of the Mexica?How did the Aztecs write distances?What connects Xiuhtecuhtli, Huehueteotl and Chantico?Itzpapalotl and her Chichimec originsDid spiders have any symbolism?What’s with Ixtlilton?Please describe Aztec sling projectilesWere other animals associated with the moon?What do Quetzalcoatl’s earplugs really look like?The ‘Rise Talokan!’ hand gestureHow did Aztec warriors train?Were fish symbolic to the Aztecs?Did sharks or swordfish symbolise anything?Did crows mean anything to the Aztecs?Did they scar children going to religious school?What rituals accompanied Aztec deaths?Did the Aztecs have anything like the 7 deadly sins in Christianity?What was the average age of an Aztec emperor?What would be the Aztec term for empress?Did the Aztecs refer to Tenochtitlan and Mexico?Did merchants stay at inns?Could priests and priestesses marry?Did codices advise on being a good ruler?Did commoners have access to codices?Did they have a preferred hand for wielding weapons?How did warriors carry weapons?Did Mictecacihuatl have her own temple?What was the symbol for the Mexica themselves?Did the Aztecs use wood saws?Why did Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca dominate creation?The Mexica war cryA name for the north American continentDeclaring warDid the Aztecs use perfume?How do I choose an Aztec name?Did the Mexica say prayers before hunting?Who created Mictlantecuhtli?Were there initiation rites for new warriors?Did they use cooking fat and earth ovens?What animals were associated with the sun?Were albinos special in ancient Mexico?Is there an Aztec symbol for family?Is sobador (massage) culture prehispanic?What type of war paint did they have?Did the Aztecs practice martial arts?Is any of Cortes’s treasure left today?Everything for sale in the great marketDid Aztec men grow beards?Did all festivals include human sacrifices?What happened to the Culhuas?When does a day ‘start’ in the tonalpohualli?Towns linked by causeways to TenochtitlanThe Aztecs and mental illnessWere all Mexica great astronomers?How did they light their homes?Did the Aztecs hug?The Aztecs and the seaWhat about giants in Aztec mythology?The colour bands on Tezcatlipoca’s faceSacrifice of a Colhua princessAxolotls in Mexica(n)/Aztec mythologyWhat’s the meaning of this statue?Xochipilli and XochiquetzalCommon features of Aztec/Mesoamerican religionWhat was the hairstyle of (seasoned) Aztec warriors?How did commoners address the emperor?Resources on Mexica writingOther examples of Aztec templesIs this tattoo an Aztec eagle?Did the Aztecs convert conquered peoples?What’s painted red on the face of Tenoch?Why no bears in Aztec mythology?Red paint on Aztec stone sculpturesGod figures made of corn stalk pasteComing-of-age ritualsCan you identify this poster?What does Temaxcalapa mean?What evidence is there of human sacrifice?Did the Aztecs have a term for religion?How did the Aztecs get their stones for building?Did the Aztecs use metal spears?What does this Nahuatl saying mean?How did the Aztecs use stars?What happened to the nobility?What did the Aztecs call the Spanish?How did Aztec culture influence their housing?Why did Alvarado massacre the Aztecs?What surgery did the Aztecs practice?What did royal women wear?Were all gods male and female?The feast for XilonenCould you get divorced?What would Cuauhtémoc have looked like?Is Tlaltecuhtli on this ring?Keeping the Aztec army supplied and treating woundsThe Aztecs and dwarfsCan you identify this object?Was Xochiquetzal a female Aztec warrior?Is this the urn with Ahuitzotl’s ashes?Dogs as guides for soulsWar chantsThe clothing of Aztec priests and royalsWhat’s going on in this image from the Florentine Codex?Which feast was dedicated to Chalchiuhtlicue?Royal court musiciansHow did they make colourful costumes?Did the Aztecs use a ‘Mixtec Sabre’?The symbolism of the four directionsWere women stargazers?Turquoise mosaic discMesoamerican tradeWhat happened to the rest of the sacrificed person’s body?Who exactly were the Chichimec people?Is there a name for the Aztec speech glyph?Did the Aztecs paint their canoes?The symbol for turquoiseHow do we know Tenochtitlan had a zoo?Did the Spanish eliminate Aztec song and dance?The tongue hanging out in Aztec artThe 13 heavens and 9 underworldsWhat exactly was a ‘calpulli’?Aztec children’s clothesGood source books on Mexica musicWhere are the codices today?Deerskin strap masks‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’How much gold did the Conquistadores get?Can you translate this poem?The origin of ‘pulque’The eagle and the snake...Many partners or one?Volcano mythsMapsWere war banners sacred or utilitarian?Did war shield symbols represent cities?Symbol for war‘A typical battle’TonantzinThe monkey’s earringDouble-headed serpentWho was Prime Minister at the Conquest?The ‘crying boy’ whistling jugThe wind god’s fanThe symbol for goldAztec gardensMysterious rectangular motifAztec/Mexica clothingCuauhtémoc’s emblemThe ruler’s white dressFood storesThe name Moctezuma todayWho are these 2 gods?Aztec shieldsHow should I start teaching a topic on the Aztecs?How did the Aztecs make molcajetes?Aztec God of Good Health?Why wear headdresses?How big was the Aztec Calendar (Stone)?An image of Citlalicue?Aztec pyramidsPictures of what the Aztecs ateTezcatlipoca or Tezcatilpoca?Sacred birds, flowers and Day LordsAztec symbol for protectorTraditional Náhuatl greetingsChild-friendly sources on the ConquestWere the Aztecs barbaric?What does (my) name Cuitlahuac mean?Ce Acatl Topiltzin QuetzalcoatlWomen and the ConquestMoctezuma’s deathAztec earringsThe Aztec ArmyWhat about Tlatelolco?