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The Siege of Tenochtitlan: How the Aztec Capital Fell
Season 4 Episode 161
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the final siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521, a brutal 75-day campaign that ended the Aztec Empire. They walk thro…
4 weeks, 2 days ago
The Mexica Flower Wars: Ritual Combat or Conquest
Season 4 Episode 160
Before the Spanish arrived, the Mexica (Aztecs) fought a very different kind of war: the xochiyaoyotl, or Flower War. In this episode, Lucas and Luna…
4 weeks, 2 days ago
The Encomienda's Grip: How Spanish Lords Ruled Indigenous Lives
Season 4 Episode 159
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the encomienda system actually functioned on the ground in early colonial Mesoamerica. They move beyond t…
1 month ago
The Panuco Expedition: Cortés's Shipwrecked Men
Season 4 Episode 158
In the fall of 1522, a Spanish ship carrying troops and supplies for Hernán Cortés was wrecked off the coast of the Huasteca region, near modern-day …
1 month ago
The Lost Fleet of Cortés: Shipwreck and Survival
Season 4 Episode 157
In 1519, Hernán Cortés scuttled his own ships at Veracruz to prevent desertion. But one vessel never made it to the rendezvous—a supply ship carrying…
1 month ago
The Trial of Cuauhtemoc: Cortés's Last Aztec Emperor
Season 4 Episode 156
In 1525, three years after the fall of Tenochtitlan, Hernán Cortés led an expedition to Honduras that ended in one of the most controversial episodes…
1 month ago
Malintzin: The Interpreter Who Shaped the Conquest
Season 4 Episode 155
This episode explores the life and legacy of Malintzin, the Nahua woman who served as Hernán Cortés's interpreter, advisor, and intermediary during t…
1 month ago
The Caciques Who Fought Back: Indigenous Resistance in the Caribbean
Season 4 Episode 154
Before the Aztecs and Incas, the Spanish conquest began in the Caribbean, where Taíno caciques like Hatuey, Caonabo, and Anacaona led fierce resistan…
1 month ago
The Tarascan Empire: Bronze Age Rivals to the Aztecs
Season 4 Episode 153
The Tarascan Empire, known to its people as the Purépecha, was the only Mesoamerican state that successfully resisted Aztec expansion. Centered aroun…
1 month ago
The Nahua Lords Who Ran Mexico for Spain
Season 4 Episode 152
When Cortés conquered Tenochtitlan, he didn't just replace Aztec rule with Spanish rule — he relied on an existing network of indigenous nobles, the …
1 month ago