 Coastal "reducciones", while convenient for Spanish administration, were vulnerable to pirate attacks; in the case of Tixchel, pirate attacks and contagious European diseases led to the eradication of the "reducción" town and the extinction of the Chontal Maya of Campeche.Among the Maya, ambush was a favoured tactic.The 16th-century Spanish conquistadors were armed with broadswords, rapiers, crossbows, matchlocks and light artillery.