The Spanish Empire is well known for their Conquistadors and their expeditions to the Americas. The use of horses was critical to both of these.
Conquering the Aztecs
The horse played an especially integral role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Incans. The horse was a novel creature to the Aztecs, who had never before seen such a beast (Seaman, 2013). These native tribes viewed horses as mystical, powerful, and even spiritual beasts. The novelty of these creatures was not only awe-inspiring, but also quite fear-provoking. Spanish conquistadors, including Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizzaro, used this to their military advantage during their conquests of the native empires. Cortes used the awe-factor of Spanish horses, weapons, ships, and military strategy to intimidate the Aztecs into defeat (Seaman, 2013).
The Aztec Empire fell to Cortes and his men on August 13, 1521.
Conquering the Incas
Pizzaro attempted to use the same strategy against the Incas. However, the horses did little to shock or awe the Incas, but they were an indispensable asset in battle for the Spaniards. In 1532, a vastly outnumbered group of Spanish soldiers, 62 of which were on horseback, launched a surprise attack against the Inca Empire. Their target was Inca emperor Atahuallpa, who was held aloft by his subjects as the battle ensued. As the Spaniards killed Atahullpa’s subjects, more replaced them, and the emperor remained safely above the fighting. At last the Spaniards succeeded in capturing Atahuallpa by using their horses to knock him to the ground (American Museum of Natural History, n.d.).
The illustrations displayed on this Inca-style cup depict a Spanish conquistador riding a horse. When Spanish occupation first began, the Spaniards prevented the Incas from riding horses in order to keep the power of the horse to themselves (American Museum of Natural History, n.d.).
References
American Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). First Encounters. Horse. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from
http://www.amnh.org
Coxhead, M. D. (1909). Romance of History, Mexico. New York, New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company
Publishers.
Seaman, R. (2013). Horses, Impact of. In Conflict in the early Americas: An encyclopedia of the Spanish Empire's
Aztec, Incan, and Mayan Conquests (pp. 166-167). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.
http://www.amnh.org
Coxhead, M. D. (1909). Romance of History, Mexico. New York, New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company
Publishers.
Seaman, R. (2013). Horses, Impact of. In Conflict in the early Americas: An encyclopedia of the Spanish Empire's
Aztec, Incan, and Mayan Conquests (pp. 166-167). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.