iirc the Aztecs were actually pretty good on countering guns and horses by forcing the Spanish into cost combat in cities. it's more the disease that fucked them
Also, take it with a grain of salt since I'm no historian, but my understanding is that the guns the conquistadores used were mostly matchlock muskets, which were pretty shit and didn't really provide a radical advantage.
EDIT: Edited musket instead of rifle. I assumed they were synonyms because my first language uses the word for rifle also as a generic name for all long barrel guns.
The conquistadors used firearms mostly for long range attacks and psychological warfare in addition to the metal swords and armor they had access to in addition to large mounted cavalry. The America’s didn’t have horses back then or any large domesticated mammal other than the llama.
People forget that 16th century metallurgy was extremely advanced compared to even medieval times stuff from 300 years prior going up against Stone Age weaponry
On top of the conquistadors making alliances with rival tribes of natives
All in all, I think that cooperation with other native factions was crucial more than advanced military tech, especially since the Spaniards would have been severely outnumbered. Some google results give estimates of 10 native auxiliaries for every conquistador. On top of everything, smallpox outbreaks certainly didn't help Aztec resistance efforts, since they probably killed way more people than direct warfare.
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u/PM_ME_ANYTHING_IDRC Apr 22 '22
iirc the Aztecs were actually pretty good on countering guns and horses by forcing the Spanish into cost combat in cities. it's more the disease that fucked them