My 7th diorama in 28mm. It depicts
Spanish artillery in the early 1500's, perhaps during the conquest of
Mexico.
I did lots of conversions and sculpting
with ''green stuff'' to get the correct look for the conquistadores that
I had in mind. Bits from different brands such as: Perry Miniatures,
The Assault Group, Artizan Design, Steelfist Miniatures, Eureka
Miniatures and Warlord Games. I decided to use the artillery from Perry and Eureka Miniatures, since I liked them the most.
We know that Hernán Cortés's
expedition in 1519 had a total of 14 artillery pieces at the
beginning. The chronicles cite a variety of cannon during the
conquest, with emphasis on bronze cast guns, most of them low
caliber. There was a rapid technological development for gunpowder
weapons and artillery at the beginning of the 16th century, with
cannons becoming larger and heavier with each passing decade.
However, big pieces were
unwieldy and expensive to ship to America. Therefore, slightly
smaller, light guns were used instead. Older variants from the 15th
century were still being reused well into the 16th century. With
names such as bombards/lombards, pasabolantes, falconets and
culverins, scholars still debate their sizes and calibers.
The bombard was the oldest
type of artillery piece of those mentioned and could be made of iron
or bronze, and consisted of a carriage that could be of various types
(including the carriage with wheels, with greater mobility). The late
medieval cannon, such as the aformentioned bombard, was a
breech-loading piece. This meant that it was loaded at the rear with
a ready charge of gunpowder, filled in a kind of cylinder.
Cannonballs were rolled in as usual at the front. The cylinder was
then wedged with a block and hammer which would cause a tight
pressure. More modern, muzzle-loading types in bronze were also used,
such as the culverin.
Still, the standard ordnance
on most campaigns was a breech-loading cannon called a falconet.
Usually mounted on the topside rails of ships to repel boarders, they
were transported inland and remounted on new carriages or timber
scaffolds.
Cannons were generally
difficult to use in the tropical climate and unwieldy to transport
over the difficult terrain of the New World. But once the
conquistadors used the full force of their artillery against
tightly packed armies of Aztecs, Mayans or Incas, the results were
devastating. Loaded with scrap or grapeshot transformed them into
huge "shotguns" with terrible effect. The sound they
produced seldom failed to terrify indigenous peoples who associated
such weapons with the supernatural forces of thunder, lightning and
volcanic eruptions.
Worth remembering is that the
Spanish were usually outnumbered - only a few hundred, surrounded by
thousands of enemies. In that way, the technological advantage was
extremely important. Weapons and armor in steel, crossbows and
arquebuses, cannons, horses and wardogs.
Witness accounts written by
the likes of Bernal Diaz and others describe the challenges of
keeping a massed enemy at a distance. Guns could inflict horrifying
damage on vastly superior numbers, but they took a great deal of time
to prepare, load and fire. Crossbowmen were ideal for providing cover
for the gunners. While the artillery and arquebuses fired and
reloaded, the crossbowmen stepped in and shot their bolts, while
soldiers equipped with swords and shields protected against the rain
of projectiles or dealt with the occasional enemy who came too close
to the line.
The majority of the Spanish
conquistadores were equipped with swords and round shields called
"rodelas". Also the typical heart-shaped leather shields,
so-called "adargas", were popular and originally came from
the Moors of North Africa. Some of the individuals who participated
in the conquest of Central and South America were veterans of the
Italian Wars (1494-1559). But most were of low-nobility or ordinary
workers and artisans seeking to find success, honor and wealth.
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Lombard. Art by Adam Hook.
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| Bombard. |
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| Culverin. |
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| Falconet. |
