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The Man Who Burnt the Maya Books: Diego de Landa
Season 4 Episode 171
In 1562, in the town of Maní on the Yucatán Peninsula, Spanish Franciscan friar Diego de Landa ordered the destruction of thousands of Maya codices —…
3 weeks, 4 days ago
The Dogs of Conquest: How Spanish Mastiffs Terrorized Mesoamerica
Season 4 Episode 170
This episode examines the role of war dogs—specifically Spanish mastiffs and wolfhounds—in the conquest of Mesoamerica. Often overlooked in favor of …
3 weeks, 4 days ago
The Tlaxcalan Alliance: How Cortés Won Mexico
Season 4 Episode 169
We all know Cortés conquered the Aztecs with just a few hundred Spaniards — or did he? In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the single most decisi…
3 weeks, 5 days ago
La Malinche: Beyond the Myth of the Traitor
Season 4 Episode 168
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the life and legacy of Malintzin, also known as Malinche or Doña Marina, the Indigenous interpreter and advis…
3 weeks, 5 days ago
The Totonac of Cempoala: Cortés's First Major Indigenous Ally
Season 4 Episode 167
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the pivotal alliance between Hernán Cortés and the Totonac people of Cempoala, the first major indigenous gro…
3 weeks, 6 days ago
The Cholula Massacre: Cortés's Bloody Prelude to Tenochtitlan
Season 4 Episode 166
In October 1519, just months after landing in Mexico, Hernán Cortés and his Tlaxcalan allies slaughtered thousands of unarmed nobles in the sacred ci…
3 weeks, 6 days ago
The Siege of Tenochtitlan: How Cortés Beat 300,000
Season 4 Episode 165
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the final siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521—the brutal, year-long campaign that ended the Aztec Empire. Lucas u…
4 weeks ago
The Forgotten Fortress: Quauhquechollan's Alliance Against the Aztecs
Season 4 Episode 164
While the Tlaxcalans are famous as Cortés's primary indigenous allies, another crucial alliance was forged with the Quauhquecholteca of central Mexic…
4 weeks ago
The Cempoala Alliance: Cortés's First Indigenous Allies
Season 4 Episode 163
Before the Tlaxcalans, before Malintzin, Hernán Cortés made his first critical alliance with the Totonac people of Cempoala. In this episode, Lucas a…
4 weeks, 1 day ago
The Oñate Entrada: New Mexico 1598
Season 4 Episode 162
In 1598, Juan de Oñate led a Spanish expedition of 500 men, women, and children into the Pueblo world of New Mexico, aiming to establish a permanent …
4 weeks, 1 day ago