Malintzin and Moctezuma: Power Plays in Conquest

“My advice is not to allow into your house someone who will put you out of it.” Cuitlahuac

“He added that we could look for no help or assistance except from God, for now we had no ships in which to return to Cuba. Therefore we must rely on our own good swords and stout hearts.” Bernal Diaz

“We knew that they had come determined to leave none of us alive except those who were to be sacrificed to their idols.” Bernal Diaz

In the 1500s, two highly militaristic peoples fueled by religious ideologies requiring bloodshed clashed with one another. This is the tale of what happened when a band of Spaniards run into the Mexica (Aztec) empire. By the time the dust will settle, out of the 25 million indigenous inhabitants of Mexico, little over a million will be left standing. 

In this second episode:

-The first battle ever featuring horses in Mexico

-Enormous, angry dogs wearing armor and trained to eat human flesh

-Malintzin and her choices

-From slavery to becoming one of the most important women in Mexico

-The tale of Quetzalcoatl

-“If the Spaniards want to eat you, let them”

-Apparently, the Spaniards don’t appreciate food sprinkled with a sauce of human blood

-Rescuing five sacrificial victims before returning them to be sacrificed

-Cortes deserved an Academy Award for best political theater

-The Fat Chief

-Cortes and his ships

-Moctezuma and his Blues Brothers excuses

-War and peace in Tlaxcala

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