When the conquistadors fought the Aztecs, weapons thousands of years apart clashed against each other. The Spanish had the best European steel available, as well as an early form of musket, while the Aztecs fought with weapons made of wood, rock, and copper. (Hassig, 1992) The machuahuitl, a razor-sharp sword, the tematlatl, a sling sword, and the tlacochtli, a pointed obsidian spear, were all simplistic, but the Aztecs could cause considerable damage with these weapons. Conquistadors were equipped with steel swords and spears, and horses made cavalry extraordinarily effective in combat. Although it appears that this was a one-sided struggle, the conquistadors continually fought against these adversaries. During the conquest of Central America, Hernán Cortés hardly managed to subdue the local populations. The conquistadors were confronted with a culture that was in a constant state of war and had extremely lethal warriors. (Hassig, 1992) Steel armor and weapons, as well as guns, were not as decisive as history shows. The Aztecs were able to resist in battle and were far from the primitive tribe that the conquerors simply crushed. Spain emerged with a central identity in 1469. Up until that point, Spain was involved in a civil war. The fighting ceased with the marriage of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. (Bowen, 2007) Within a few decades, Columbus made his historic voyage with the support of Spain and arrived in what is now Central America. With a newly unified identity and the land's resources virtually untapped, Spain quickly began to colonize the continent. (Bowen, 2007) During the course of colonization, several groups of conquerors traveled to the Americas. Many conquistadors... middle of paper... worshipers were more sophisticated and had evolved from an entirely different type of fighting known to the Aztecs. The Aztecs basically lived off their military formation, which was much more extensive than most of the Spanish military formation. While Aztec combat focused on capturing prisoners, European military techniques were developed to kill and destroy the opponent. The Aztecs were a culture that attributed great importance to their army; they started wars simply out of the need to sacrifice victims. This culture was also in an almost continuous state of war with neighboring peoples. Just like the Spartans of Europe, every single male received military training. (Katz, 1958) This requirement helped make the Aztec army highly effective in battle. The Aztec culture helped create a fighting force that was among the best in the Americas at the time. (Cortes-Rincon, 2013)