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The Tlaxcalan Alliance: Cortés's Indigenous Army
Description
Before the Spanish ever reached Tenochtitlan, they nearly died in Tlaxcala. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the alliance that made the conquest possible—and the people who chose to join it. How did four mountain city-states, fiercely independent and surrounded by the Aztec Empire, become Cortés's most crucial allies? We trace the Tlaxcalans' long resistance against Moctezuma's trade blockade, the brutal battles on the border in 1519, and the political calculus that turned enemies into brothers-in-arms. Along the way, we meet Xicotencatl the Elder, the shrewd leader who saw opportunity in the strangers, and his son Xicotencatl the Younger, who fought them to the death before surrendering. We also confront the uncomfortable truth about the alliance's aftermath—the survivors who marched on Tenochtitlan, the privileges they won, and the colonial compromises they made. If you've ever wondered how a few hundred Spaniards conquered an empire, this episode is the missing piece: they didn't do it alone. They did it with an army of Indigenous allies who had their own reasons to fight.