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The Quetzalcoatl Myth and Cortés: How a Legend Shaped Conquest
Season 2 Episode 61
In this episode of The Conquistadors, Lucas and Luna explore the infamous legend that the Aztecs mistook Hernán Cortés for the god Quetzalcoatl. They…
2 weeks, 6 days ago
The Noche Triste: Cortés's Great Escape from Tenochtitlan
Season 2 Episode 60
On the night of June 30, 1520, Hernán Cortés and his men fled Tenochtitlan under a hail of Aztec arrows, losing hundreds of soldiers and vast amounts…
3 weeks ago
The Conquistadors: Spanish Steel vs Obsidian Blades
Season 2 Episode 59
In Episode 59, Lucas and Luna explore the technological asymmetry that defined the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica. They examine the Toledo steel swo…
3 weeks ago
The Cholula Massacre: Cortés's Bloody Gambit in 1519
Season 2 Episode 58
In October 1519, Hernán Cortés and his army slaughtered thousands of unarmed nobles and civilians in the sacred city of Cholula. But was it a preempt…
3 weeks, 1 day ago
The Aztec Flower Wars: Ritual Combat or Conquest Strategy
Season 2 Episode 57
In this episode of The Conquistadors, Lucas and Luna explore the xochiyaoyotl — the Aztec Flower Wars. Were they ritualized combat to capture prisone…
3 weeks, 1 day ago
The Siege of Mexico-Tenochtitlan: Cortés's Final Campaign
Season 2 Episode 56
In 1521, Hernán Cortés and his Indigenous allies laid siege to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. This episode focuses on the eighty-day blockade and…
3 weeks, 2 days ago
The Women of the Conquest: Malinche, Tecuichpo, and Doña Isabel
Season 2 Episode 55
Episode 55 of The Conquistadors turns to the often-overlooked women who shaped the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Lucas and Luna explore the lives of th…
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Cempoala: The Totonac City That Betrayed the Aztecs
Season 2 Episode 54
Long before Cortés marched on Tenochtitlan, he made a crucial stop in the Totonac city of Cempoala. This episode explores how the luxurious, flower-f…
3 weeks, 3 days ago
The Requerimiento: A Legal Cover for Conquest
Season 2 Episode 53
The Requerimiento was a legal document read to Indigenous peoples before conquest, demanding submission to the Spanish crown and Church under threat …
3 weeks, 3 days ago
The Indigenous Allies Who Built Spanish America
Season 2 Episode 52
Beyond the familiar story of Cortés and the Tlaxcalans, the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica relied on tens of thousands of indigenous allies from doz…
3 weeks, 4 days ago