The Conquistadors From Spain And Southern Spain

Who were the conquistadors? Conquistadors were mainly from Spain, particularly from southern and southwestern Spain. Conquistadors typically came from families that were poor ranging to families of lower nobility. Those who were very high born did not feel the need to set off in search of adventure. Conquistadors had to have some money to begin with, to buy tools needed for their job like weapons, armor, and horses. A majority of conquistadors were trained soldiers who had fought for Spain in other wars. Although most of them were professional soldiers, they were not very organized. In the New World, they were like mercenaries, meaning they were concerned with making money at the expense of ethics. They were allowed to join any expedition they wanted and could leave whenever they wanted.

Sometimes they were privately financed from the King who wanted 20% of any valuables found. Other times the conquistadors themselves gave small funds for the trip. There were also inventors involved, who were wealthy men that would supply the expedition and expected a share of the goods if any were discovered.

It was critical that a conquistador had armor and weapons. Footmen had swords made of fine steel if they could afford them and heavy armor. Crossbowmen had crossbows that had to be kept in good condition to work properly. Horseman used lances and swords. As for guns, the most commonly used firearm at the time was a harquebus. Which was a heavy, slow to load rifle. Conquistadors started off wearing heavy armor, but in Mexico they switched to the lighter, padded protection the Mexicans used. The larger campaigns sometimes had artillerymen and