The last major use of trebuchets (catapult-like weapons) happened when Hernán Cortés attacked the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán in 1521. Cortés did not bring trebuchets from Europe but had been persuaded to build them mid-siege by an eager soldier who supposedly had experience with them. The stones “launched” from the weapons fell harmlessly straight down. Cortés ordered the ineffective weapons destroyed.