Conquistadors relied on tribes for metal skills they had lost

Cortes’s forces relied on local skills to beat rulers like the Aztec Montezuma
Cortes’s forces relied on local skills to beat rulers like the Aztec Montezuma
HISTORICA GRAPHICA COLLECTION/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

The Spanish conquerors of the Americas were better armed than their foes but depended on local craftsmen to replenish their weaponry because they lacked metallurgical skills.

According to research, the invaders needed copper to manufacture artillery and guns, as well as for coins, kettles and pans but lacked the skills to work with the metal as Spain had not produced it for centuries, relying instead on imports from central Europe.

Documents sent back to Spain in the early 16th century described the availability of locally-produced copper and the colonists’ successful attempts to cast bronze artillery pieces.

The conquistadors bargained with locals to produce the armaments, according to a paper published in the Latin American Antiquity journal.

“We know from documents that the Europeans figured out