October 7: Inca weapons vs Spanish weapons

 This week we talked about the difference between the Indigenous weapons and Spanish weapons. I found the idea that the Inca weapons weren't technically inferior to the Spanish weaponry to be very interesting. The fact that the Inca weapons were simply suited for their fighting style actually makes a lot of sense. The Inca didn’t have access to horses and fought head on, because of this they could use short heave objects, like a club, that needed a lot of force to use. If you tried to use something like that while riding a horse it would be much harder to use and much less effective. I couldn’t even imagine trying to swing a heavy club while trying to keep my balance on a horse. I would probably fall off as soon as I tried. Also, the fact that the Inca weaponry can not be considered inferior to the Spanish took me by surprise. I thought that the Spanish were successful during the conquest because they used weapons with better killing ability. I was pretty shocked to find out that the Incas weapons were just as, if not more, capable of killing their enemies and it was actually the Spanish armor that gave them the most edge against this. 


Comments

  1. Brooke KolarOctober 8, 2021 at 11:51 AM

    Hi, Victoria! I also found it interesting that the Inca's weapons were technically not inferior to the Spaniards. When I was taught about the Incan conquest, all of the factors for why they fell were the internal conflict, disease, and inferior weapons. It is very nice to know that the Inca had tools that were good but suited for a different kind of fighting.

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  2. Joseph GreendykOctober 8, 2021 at 11:52 AM

    Hi Victoria! I liked your point about using a club from a horse. Trying to swing a heavy club and stay mounted on a horse would take some serious skills! It definitely would not be the optimal way to win a fight. I totally agree that the Inca weapons were just as lethal for combat with other natives. It probably wouldn't take a very hard hit to injure or kill someone who had no metal protection like the Spanish, which the natives did not have.

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  3. Professor StarkOctober 12, 2021 at 2:14 PM

    Thank you, Victoria, for the post. I like the discussion of why Inca weaponry was effective for the way they fought. Good point about the difficulty of using heavy crushing weaponry (that required both hands) while riding a horse. Just because the Inca and Spanish used different weaponry doesn't make one superior to the other.

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