The native people helped the Spanish conquistadors conquer the Americas, with around 40,000 native warriors taking part in battles alongside Pedro de Alvarado, Jorge de Alvarado, and Hernando Cortes. The natives assisted the conquistadors in defeating their own people, despite not liking that the Spanish claimed they conquered the land without native help. Cortes strategically conquered new cities and then used them as launching points to scare the local populations into submission for his next attacks.