The History of Horses in the Americas
Although horses originated and evolved in North America, they migrated through the Bering land bridge and became extinct for a time in North America. Because of this, by the time Native Americans arrived in the Americas, there were no horses. Arguably the most important domesticated animal in Afro-Eurasia, horses played a vital part in warfare, hunting, and communication in Afro-Eurasian civilizations. So, for centuries, Native Americans found other ways to hunt animals based on the environments in which they lived. For instance, Plains Indians would hunt and chase a herd of buffalo in the Great Plains off a cliff, or Indians of the Emberá Chocó groups used the toxins of poison dart frogs in the jungles to capture and kill game animals.
The reintroduction of horses to the Americas was a dramatic and bloody experience. One of the most famous Europeans who arrived in the Americas, excluding Leif Ericson, was Christopher Columbus who, of course, brought horses with him. The Spanish continued using horses in the Americas and in their warfare against Native Americans. In 1519, Conquistador Hernando Cortez brought an army of about only 500 men, and despite being outnumbered, managed to conquer the Aztec Empire. Many people point at the technological advantage that the Spanish had against the Aztec when speculating about the reasons why the Aztec Empire was defeated by such a small number of people. However, horses were also a big contributor to their success. Horses were an important part of Afro-Eurasian militaries that had been perfected over centuries of war. Horses were also very maneuverable and were armored, creating a powerful weapon that the Aztecs had never seen before. Because of this, the Aztecs had a difficult time fighting despite their numerical advantage, eventually losing to the Spanish.
A similar story can be found in the case of the conquest of the Incan Empire in modern day Peru. Francisco Pizarro, with an army of only 168 soldiers, managed to conquer the entire Incan Empire. In the battle of Cajamarca, this small army faced off against the Incan army of 80,000 men. The Spanish horses charged into the Incan army, capturing the Incan king Atahuallpa and killing 7,000 men. They ransomed the Incan king, but killed him anyway and conquered the Incan Empire for Spain.
Knowing about these important military advantages that their animals gave them, the Spanish restricted access of horses to Native Americans. Horses were not involved in trades or bartering, and to acquire the Spanish horses, the Pueblo people seized them by force. Popé’s rebellion saw the Pueblo people revolt against the Spanish for maltreatment and restrictions on their religion. They annexed Sante Fe, the northernmost settlement in the Spanish colony of New Spain (modern day Mexico) and stole the Spanish horses. Though Popé’s rebellion was initially successful, managing to seize many churches and reinstate Native religion, it was later crushed. However, despite the defeat of the native rebellion, the horses that were captured would be traded to neighboring tribes. This would lead to the introduction and usage of horses by many of the Great Plains Indians and beyond. Horses became an integral part of post-colonial Plains Indian cultures and were used for hunting, artistic inspiration, and warfare, among other things. The more efficient hunting and trading led to a larger accumulation of wealth within Plains Indians groups, which even became collectively known as the “Horse Nation” for how essential horses became to their ways of life. Despite the bloody and tragic reasons for the adoption of horses into Native American tribes and cultures horses would become important to Native Americans for practical and military purposes.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/news/horses-plains-indians-native-americans
http://assets.press.princeton.edu/birds/mattison/dart/dart.pdf
