1520's - Spanish artillery (28mm Diorama)

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.

 

 

Lombard. Art by Adam Hook.

Bombard.

Culverin.

Falconet.