My growing interest in the Spanish conquest of Mexico has naturally bled over into my hobbies. There are several manufacturers who make 25mm figures for this era. The huey tlatoani (Great Speaker) on the banner above is made by Tin Soldier. The Castilian officer on the left is from Redoubt Miniature's Rennaissance range. Most of the figures on these pages are from these two manufacturers. Other companies whose figures are shown here include Ral Partha, Naismith, Mirliton and Frontier Miniatures. I did all the painting myself, and no, I am no longer in the figure painting business.

More Aztecs from Tin Soldier. The spear toting peasant in the background is from Ral Partha. The Ral Partha figures tend to be a little smaller, but then, not all folk are exactly the same weight. Painting the Aztecs has been quite a change of pace for me with all of their bright colors and featherwork.

Most of the Spanish soldiers in the Conquest were, more accurately, Castilians. An unusual number, including Cortés himself, were from the province of Extramadura. The conquistadores did not form a national jaugernaut that rolled over native populations, as is popularly believed. There was a great deal of Spanish back-stabbing and internal strife. Cortés' expedition was almost snuffed out before it started by the jealousy of His Most Catholic Majesty's Governor in Cuba. Cortés had to sneak his fleet out of Cuba and smuggle supplies to his ships off shore. Later, Cortés had to rush back to the Mexican coast and defeat more Spaniards under Pánfilo de Narváez in a pitched battle. It was at this point that the Aztecs violently, but not without provocation, turned on the Spaniards in the capital, Tenochtitlan. By the time Cortés got them out of the city, two-thirds of the Spaniards were dead.

Aztec society was organized around war and trade. Success in warfare was one (if not the only) way to advance one's social standing. Though this may sound restrictive, think of the contemporary European peasant with no means of improving his lot. Exceptional Aztec warriors could aspire to join one of the military orders. The most common seem to have been the Eagle Knights and the Jaguar Knights. Most figure manufacturers (who deal in such things) also produce an "Arrow Knight." I have found very few references to this group in my readings. Though the knightly orders are certainly the most obvious of Aztec warriors, apparently all Aztec men were indoctrinated into the arts of war. Not all Meso-Americans were Aztecs. The character dressed as a dog in the photo above right represents an Otomi mercenary. The Otomi were subject to the Tlaxcalans, the tribe that provided the the Spaniards with the most help in defeating the more numerous Aztecs (but only after losing to the Spaniards in a hard fought, three day battle).

The Spanish chroniclers make it quite clear that the Aztecs were not a push over. The sling stones and arrows of the native missile troops were highly feared as the stones could easily stun an armored man. The Spaniards were not without their own firepower, however. There were a number of crossbow men and arquibusiers among the Castilian invaders, as well as 14 or more small cannon which Cortés had drug across the mountains by native laborers. Indeed, in the later stages of the Conquest, the Spaniards built twelve brigantines to pound the island capital of the Aztecs. Each vessal was armed with at least one cannon. The Spaniards used the ships to make raids into canal laced Tenochtitlan and used them as floating bridges to cross the breaks in the causeways created by the Aztecs as defensive measures.

Along with crossbows, cannons and ships, the Spaniards brought animals to fight against the Aztecs. To the Aztecs, the horse was one of the most awsome attributes of the Spaniards' power. They held these creatures in such regard that there are records of captured horses being sacrificed to the Aztec gods. To modern sensabilities, one of the most atrocious acts of the Spaniards was the use of war dogs against the natives. For many years after the Conquest, the native population was kept in check by force and torture. Bound Indians were ripped to pieces by dogs as punishment for any number of crimes against the Spanish overlords. As tempting as it may be to take the moral high ground against these acts, it must be remembered that the Aztec civilization was not what one could call squeamish. How many prisoners had their hearts ripped out for Huitzilopochtli?

The Native American cultures really had no chance of surviving the European onslaught. Not because of any cultural, technological or intellectual advantages that the Europeans brought with them. The real demise of Native American civilization was due to simple biology. It is estimated that 60% to 90% of the indiginous population living in the Americas at the time of Columbus' voyages died of foreign diseases.