as on trying to immobilize and
capture them so that they might
ODWHUEHULWXDOO\VDFUL¿FHGx Not surprisingly, the Aztecs were
not loved by their subjects, and
they maintained their hold on
power through fear and military
might. The Aztec army was large
and well organized. The elite
soldiers were members of warrior
fraternities who had repeatedly
proven themselves in battle.x Their main hand-to-hand weapon
was a wooden club, lined on both
sides with razor-sharp pieces
of obsidian. The knights also
carried small wooden shields, and
their armor consisted of wooden
helmets and quilted cotton body
armor. Their helmets and armor
were often coated in bright
feathers or animal skins.x These elite warriors were supplemented by ranks of less proven
soldiers, similarly armed but without the elaborate adornment, and
by large levies of less trained troops: archers with bows and arrows,
slingers who threw stones with great accuracy, and men equipped
with the atlatl, or dart thrower.The Spaniards
x Between 1506 and 1518, some 200 Spanish ships traversed the
Atlantic. They initially settled on the islands of the Caribbean and
were headquartered in Cuba but, 20 years after Columbus, had still
not ventured in force onto the mainland.
Among the most feared of the
Aztec warriors were the Jaguar
Knights and the Eagle Knights,
both of whom went into battle
dressed in elaborate costumes
resembling their animal
namesakes.© Maunus/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.5.