The Comanche Attack that Terrified the Spanish

this video is brought to you by magellan tv stick around later for my personal documentary recommendation morning light reaches the mission and shouting comes from beyond the palisade the missionaries stagger from their quarters all 62 of their horses have been stolen a few miles upstream stands a spanish stronghold commanded by diego ortiz paria ortiz dispatches 15 soldiers to hunt whichever native american band perpetrated this and they ride out into the searing northern stretches of a world claimed by the spanish crown over two centuries ago conquistadors traversed jungle and mountain in brilliant armor staked an old world flag into the american continents the inhabitants of serpentine monuments and scattered villages were massacred by the spanish and millions more lost to plague as the conquerors mind cavernous earth for gold and silver but the spanish pushed north has stagnated fractured into remote and arid settlements and forts and missions on land inhabited by powerful indigenous nations who every day grow wealthier in spanish horses and european weapons the 15 soldiers scanning for the tracks of horse thieves now see hundreds of indigenous warriors the lords of the southern plains comanche the 15 ride back to the fort in haste the mission in the fort had been constructed at the request of the lepan apache who expressed a desire to become christian yet few of their people have ever visited the mission and their diplomacy with the spanish appears now to have been merely a bulwark against their relentless enemies the comanche the friars of the mission nevertheless refuse to abandon their holy house trusting no harm shall come to them two weeks later mass is interrupted by shrieking war cries 2000 comanche and their allies overtake the planes enraged faces painted black and red arms raised high with muskets and bows and lances they breached the palisade spanish reinforcements arrive from the stronghold in their decimated with only a few dozen soldiers left ortiz cloisters within the walls of the fort for days until smoke fades from the skyline and then he rides to the ruins the altar is draped with the headless corpse of a clergyman dripping onto shattered statues all around and scalpless and naked friars are strewn amongst the embers staring out from eye sockets gouged clean these are hard lands rattlesnake brush scattered over red plateaus and scorched planes the comanche came from the north decades ago following dense bison herds they established strong ties with french traitors for guns and they honor an alliance with the local tonkawas and other peoples against the lepan apaches the comanche are semi-nomadic bison hunters and warriors whose domain consists of autonomous bands in which individuals display status by gifting wealth and providing for other members they number over fifteen thousand and worship the supreme sun god in mother earth warfare torture and fear are their chosen tools for survival [Music] the comanche attack on the mission has indeed rattled the outposts of new spain as do their subsequent killings of apache near the fort bodies are found in bleeding disfigured arrangement ortiz petitioned surrounding settlements to send reinforcements for a counter-attack but none dares to offer up its own garrison the comanche gallop across the plains like specters of the step nomads who once ruled the old world mounted warriors of unparalleled precision and acrobatic mastery but over a year removed from the attack on the mission officials in mexico city raised a costly army of 600 men spanish regulars militiamen apache and indigenous mexicans gather at the ruins of the old mission and marched behind ortiz to punish the comanche and their allies the convoy treks north and arriving in wooded country they discover a remote village of tonka was no comanche in sight ortiz orders an ambush anyway they kill over 50 villagers and capture 150 men women and children to be transported back to san antonio many to suffer forced conversion and servitude the victorious forces continue north until 70 indigenous warriors ambushed them from the woods the spanish counter-attack chased them into the woods and find themselves on a sinking sandbank before a massive village an alliance of wichita comanche and other nations hive-like huts and pointed teepees flanked by a river in a stockade behind a moat civilians take refuge in the center hundreds of warriors clamber to the breastworks with muskets and bows ortiz orders an assault but his forces are repulsed their cannon fire elicits mocking laughter from the indigenous camp then comanche riders take the field at full gallop warriors contort and incredibly hang to one side of their horses to avoid spanish fire all while launching bullets and arrows into spanish ranks ortiz is struck in the arm as his enemies surround him combat lasts for hours and sees 20 of ortiz's men desert while nearly 40 are killed or wounded ortiz leaves the wagons and cannons and leads his men in a nighttime escape comanche reprisals will come on the fringes of spanish new mexico and texas are dusty towns and distant ranches whenever the moon looms large the comanches strike raids are systematic horses are stolen homes burned men are killed along with children and babies and women are violated then killed or taken captive in this manner the comanche will drive enemies and old indigenous allies from their swelling range in the coming years incessantly raiding their stables so as to leave the smallpox stricken natives and even spanish settlers impoverished and therefore reliant on trade with the comanche to obtain horses and guns one wichita chief writes the comanche happened to be our neighbors but shed our blood and steal our horses daily we are deprived of everything and have neither hatchets nor picks nor powder nor bullets to defend from our enemies although the days of spanish missions and forts on comanche land are over the war is not in the final decades of the 18th century juan batista de lanza lead spanish missions against the comanche ambushes raiding parties and kills a powerful chief and then years of reciprocal bloodshed end with long-standing peace treaties between the two powers treaties the spanish dare not violate the ascendant and fierce comanche have exiled their enemies and now prosper upon the southern plains tracking buffalo from their tp villages the spanish empire has come to recognize the power of a comanche nation whose deft diplomacy mercantile network and mastery of the horse has trampled the old conquistador spirit spain's imperial claim to the americas has meanwhile tattered and frayed for a revolutionary storm is rising against the thrones of the west and it has also kindled the steady westward ambitions of settlers called americans incredible warrior societies have existed in every corner of the world in the documentary masai the last dance of the warriors from magellan tv takes you to tanzania for a glimpse at the still numerous maasai people in their ancient warrior traditions it's part of magellan's tribal odyssey series and does a wonderful job showcasing the storied maasai rituals and beliefs as we follow a band of young warriors on their journey to become elders to go watch the documentary for free just click the link in the description and you'll actually get an exclusive free month of membership from magellan tv with access to magellan's catalog of three thousand history documentaries and they're adding new documentaries in history crime and science every week so click that link and you can start streaming these through your tv mobile device laptop or other streaming device right away

Channel: History Dose

Views: 743,441

Keywords: spanish empire, spain, aztec, mayan, indian, first peoples, native americans, tonkawa, comanche, indigenous, tribe, war, warfare, lance, bow, musket, rifle, old west, pioneer, wild, conquistador, small pox, horsemanship, diego ortiz parrilla, Juan Bautista de Anza, spear, buffalo, southern plains, history, texas, mexico, battle of the twin villages, Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá, missionaries, raid, lipan apache, moon

Id: X3a3lJwpI24

Length: 9min 11sec (551 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 08 2022