This has been one of the most difficult posts to write. There are no winners in war and the brutality of conquest is never elegant. As I began my research my mind was prepared for the atrocities I thought I knew. I was wrong. Perhaps I am guilty of judging the past too harshly using today’s humane standards of justice and equality. It happened 500 years ago but my findings disturbed me greatly.
Weapons
The
small armies of the Conquistadors were mostly made up of a motley crew from the
low ranks of Spanish society. Criminals
avoiding the gallows, peasant farmers, artisans and those of lower noble blood
filled the ranks in hope of obtaining the spoils of war in order to elevate
their station in life. The foot soldiers
commonly used a “Harquebus” which was a large musket of sorts. This is the weapon the natives feared since
it created the sound of thunder, but it use was limited because it needed to be
reloaded slowly and its wick also needed to be kept lit.
Armor
Spanish armor, mostly made in Toledo, was among the finest in the world.
Encased from head to foot in a steel shell, Spanish conquistadors were all but
invulnerable when facing native opponents.The helmet most commonly associated with the conquistadors was the morion, a heavy steel helm with a pronounced crest or comb on top and sweeping sides that came to points on either end. Some infantrymen preferred a salade, a full-faced helmet that looks a little like a steel ski mask. In its most basic form, it is a bullet-shaped helm with a large T in front for the eyes, nose and mouth. A cabasset helmet was much simpler: it is a large steel cap that covers the head from the ears up: stylish ones would have an elongated dome like the pointy end of an almond.
Most conquistadors wore a full set of armor which consisted of a heavy breastplate, arm and leg greaves, a metal skirt and protection for the neck and throat called a gorget. Even parts of the body such as elbows and shoulders, which require movement, were protected by a series of overlapping plates, meaning that there were very few vulnerable spots on a fully armored conquistador. A full suit of metal armor weighed about sixty pounds and the weight was well-distributed over the body, allowing it to be worn for long periods of time without causing much fatigue. It generally included even armored boots and gloves or gauntlets.
Later in the conquest, as
conquistadors realized that full suits of armor were overkill in the New World,
some of them switched to lighter chain mail, which was just as effective. Some
even abandoned metal armor entirely, wearing "escuapil", a sort of padded leather
or cloth armor adapted from the armor worn by Aztec warriors.
War Dogs
The dogs the Conquistadors brought with them were
Mastiff breeds who were hardly the lap variety or destined for the plate. These
attack dogs, often wearing their own armor, were the common European shock and
awe tactic of the period. The first documented New World use of these canine
swat teams occurred in 1495 when Bartholomew Columbus, Chris’s brother, used 20
mastiffs in a battle waged at Santa Maris el Antigua, Darien with his brother
employing the same approach a year later. These dogs were trained to
pursue, disembowel and dismember humans and to this purpose, enjoyed a human
diet in the Americas. The Spanish reveled in holding human hunts called “la Monteria infernal “ where much sport was made of
chasing and killing the local men, women and children.
Bercerruillo the
terror of Borinquen,
until he was fallen by 50 arrows, received a salary one and a half times that of
an archer from his owner Ponce de Leon.Leoncillo, Bercerruillo’s son, was Balboa’s warrior, earned over 500 gold pesos in booty during his many campaigns.
Bruto, De Soto’s champion, received 20 slaves as spoils before his career ended.
Scores of firsthand accounts tell us how the dogs attacked local Caciques [chiefs] both dead and alive. http://elvalleinformation.wordpress.com/spanish-war-dogs/
Torture
From
the pen of a Spanish eyewitness comes the cruel some tales of barbaric torture
and human cruelty. The author, Father
Bartolome de las Casas, whom I have mentioned already in earlier posts was a
contemporary of Christopher Columbus. He came to Hispaniola (modern island of
Hatia and Santo Domingo) in 1502. He
started out as a merchant under the law of encomienda…
As
legally defined in 1503, an encomienda (from encomendar, “to entrust”)
consisted of a grant by the crown to a conquistador, soldier, official or
others of a specified number of Indians living in a particular area. The receiver of the grant, the encomendero,
could exact tribute from the Indians in gold, in kind, or in labor and was
required to protect them and instruct them in the Catholic faith. The encomienda did not include a grant of
land, but in practice the encomenderos gained control of the Indian’s land and
failed to fulfill their obligations to the Indian population.
.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/186567/encomienda
…and became an Indian slave owner. Almost a decade later he happened a chance to meet a group of Dominican priest who questioned the conquistador’s authority over their Indian slaves. “Tell me, by what right do hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude? Are they not men?”
According
to his personal bio this statement was the catalyst he needed and gave up his
Indian slaves around 1515 and entered the priesthood. He felt morally bound to inform the Spanish
court what was being carried out in the name of Christ.
http://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3208-bartolome
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| Dismemberment |
 |
| Cutting off Hands |
 |
| Burning Alive and Smashing Infant's Head |
Other Acts of Violence;
·
Fed
Indian babies to dogs
·
Hunted
adults for sport
· ·
For
a pastime killed 10 to 20 at a time to test the sharpness of their swords
·
Poured
boiling soup
·
Beheaded
·
Raped
