Watch and take notes on this 5-minute clip from the 2006 Spanish film Alatriste, depicting Spanish tercio (“pike and shot”) formations against French forces during the Battle of Rocroi in 1643, during the Thirty Years’ War. Rocroi was fought in the Ardennes region of northern France.
Questions to consider:
What equipment are the soldiers using?
What tactics does each side employ?
How do forces communicate on the battlefield?
How does this depiction differ from paintings made of the battle? For example …
In the late 1600s by Savuer Le Conte
Or in 1834 by Francois Joseph Heim
Links to Explore:
Use (or Mis-Use) of the Trebuchet by Cortez at Tenochtitlan, 1521 (present-day Mexico City)
Jamestown Fort 1607 (Virginia)
Anglo-Powhatan Wars, 1610s-1640s (Virginia)
Pequot War, 1636-1637 (Connecticut)
Overview of Iroquois Wars (“Beaver Wars”) 1640-1701 (Great Lakes Region / Eastern Canada)
Pueblo Revolt 1680, a firsthand account from the Spanish (present-day New Mexico)
Narrative of Mary Rowlandson, a New England Puritan captive during King Philips’ War 1675 (Lancaster, MA)