Hernán Cortés's Advantages Over Native Americans in Mexico

Cortés landed at Veracruz, not the Yucatán Peninsula. His advantages over Mesoamerican peoples included:

• Superior Weaponry: Guns and steel armor vs. bows/arrows.
• Horses: First introduced to the Americas; greater mobility.
• Native Alliances: Allied with groups opposed to the Aztec Empire.
• Disease: Smallpox, measles devastated indigenous populations.