"Native Americans had only stone and wooden weapons and no animals that could be ridden. Those military advantages repeatedly enabled troops of a few dozen mounted Spaniards to defeat Indian armies numbering in the thousands"

This quote by Jared Diamond is describing the military benefits that the Spanish had more than the Native Americans during the colonization of the Americas. The Native Americans had only stone and wooden weapons, and no animals that might be ridden, while the Spanish had horses and metal weapons. This gave the Spanish a big military advantage, permitting them to defeat Indian armies that were much bigger in number. This was a major factor in the Spanish colonization of the Americas, as the Spanish were able to easily beat the Native Americans in battle. The Spanish were able to use their military benefits to dominate and colonize the Americas, while the Native Americans were not able to safeguard themselves against the Spanish.