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@gerardocovarrubias1127

3 жыл бұрын

metatron remember when you made a videos of martial arts question from shaolin and wing chun both are good for self defence and fighting and both are nether easy or hard to learn

@El-Silver

3 жыл бұрын

iam sitll waiting of early renissance army like that of charles V vs roman army (to make a continuation of your roman army vs series)

@El-Silver

3 жыл бұрын

if not it would be interesting to make a roman army vs byzantine army (later romans) under belisarius or later 10th to 11th century byzantine empire under nikephoros phokas , John I or basil II.

@andrewbatist6355

3 жыл бұрын

thanks for this episode Metatron. ive been waiting for this

@mayalackman7581

3 жыл бұрын

I just signed up for the great courses plus through your link. I'm super excited. This is the first time that I have ever signed up for something based on a KZread sponsorship. Other than a clunky layout on cell phone I am already very satisfied with my decision to sign up based on your sponsorship.

Well, you know the old saying. The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. The Aztecs just took it literally and to a whole new level.

@skjaldulfr

3 жыл бұрын

Oh, that's a good one! I'm going to use it.

@SamuelHallEngland

3 жыл бұрын

XD

@elmospasco5558

3 жыл бұрын

@Mateus I know. Savage right?

@charlottewalnut3118

3 жыл бұрын

In the Spanish figured out this one the quickest way to destroy an empire is by sneezing on them

@ls200076

3 жыл бұрын

@Guacamole Nigga Penis OORAH

So Cortés managed to do it all by having maxed charisma xD

@Mister_Tac0

3 жыл бұрын

Speech 100

@dariusalexandru9536

3 жыл бұрын

Speech is not so useless after all

@pez4

3 жыл бұрын

Max level translator + Speech skill is OP :O

@JosePineda-cy6om

3 жыл бұрын

And a series of 3 or 4 dice rolls getting him +20, enough to destroy the Tacos (pun intended - i know the spelling of the D&D's property is different) of his enemies. No, really, he was taking near suicidal chances at almost every step! Cortes was a big gambler who wasn't afraid of taking huge risks and placing big bets - they paid off handsomely everytime.

@masonmorgan6753

3 жыл бұрын

yeah pretty much but small-pox and whooping-cough did all of the work

Cortés' speech: If you join us we wont sacrifce nor eat you. Tribes: WE ARE IN!

@mausolus8466

2 жыл бұрын

Cortes: "We will instead burn you alive at slighthest suspition of renouncing our god!" Also, it wasn't sacrifices and canibalism that those tribes were abhored of (they practised that as well, and in most mesoamerican cultures, being sacrificed meant securing yourself a better place in the afterlife), but the fact they were sacrificed to foreign gods.

@nikiardo

2 жыл бұрын

@@mausolus8466 If you are talking about the spanish inquisition I have to tell you that burning someone at the stake was not common. In fact out of all the inquisitions that have existed throughout history the spanish is the one with the lowest kill count since less than 4% of the people who were accused actually ended up being burned.

@mausolus8466

2 жыл бұрын

@@nikiardo Well, honestly, I was talking more about church(es) in general and their "ability" to coexist with different philosophies and ways of thinking. Crusades, inquisitions, witch hunts etc.

@voxpopuli7910

2 жыл бұрын

@@mausolus8466 literally the church couldn't touch natives, some laws I think, the queen of spain said it was a crime to kill or slave the natives.

@mausolus8466

2 жыл бұрын

@@voxpopuli7910 Yes, queen Isabella was trying to prevent those atrocities, shame her attempts were by large ingnored (she had simillar distaste for Corrida de toros tradition, and again, to no avail). Also yes, you couldn't enslave or kill a native without legal problems, but only AFTER that native was baptised. Heathen natives had similar rights to medieval outlaws. In fact, Christopher Colombus had a quite a problem with his priests and often had to rush and quickly sell natives as slaves before they could be baptised (as selling christian as slave was capital crime de jure). So, after all this, I'm still adamant in my belief that siding with conquistadors against Aztecs meant for those tribes siding with greater evil against lesser one - a choice that would come to haunt them in future

Spanish: We want to go back to Spain. Cortez: *hosts gender reveal party on the three ships

@tempestvenator9809

3 жыл бұрын

OOF! California can't catch a break! Save the trees they say, don't do controlled burning they say.

@viracocha6093

3 жыл бұрын

@Commissar Anon native americans generally did controlled burning for this reason

@nich6299

3 жыл бұрын

@@tempestvenator9809 Are you referring to horticulture or...

@forickgrimaldus8301

3 жыл бұрын

It is a girl Juan

@roman.g_1641

3 жыл бұрын

Men: Does orange mean boy or girl?

Nobody in Tenochtitlan expected Tlaxcalans bearing Spanish swords.

@dylanrizo5796

3 жыл бұрын

Por eso tlaxcala no existe

@manueltun7935

3 жыл бұрын

No me la creo

@theghosthero6173

3 жыл бұрын

Also little known fact is that they were a republic and not a kingdom

@kyomademon453

3 жыл бұрын

@@theghosthero6173 "republic", eeeh doesn't really apply to american states

@theghosthero6173

3 жыл бұрын

@@kyomademon453 neither does empire to the Aztec, as they were a "Triple alliance" of three city states, Texcoco, Tenochtitlan and Tlacopan. It's the eternal issue of using eurocentric terms to describe other continent. Point is the Tlaxcala gouvernement system was closer to that of a republic then a kingdom.

It's quite strange to me, that everyone knows about aztecs (more or less), but literally almost no one talks about tarascans (purepecha) - and they even are shown on map in that video (1:27) in western Mexico and had kingdom, second by size in all North America at that time, after aztecs. Why they deserve to be mentioned at least? Well, they are only mesoamerican state, that managed to go from neolith to bronze age (they had made copper and bronze weapons, like battle axes), and were most advanced in metallurgy on continent. Possibly it was so, because thay had maritime contacts with south american pre-inca cultures, who went to bronze a little bit earlier. And they kicked aztec asses for ages, being their main enemy. Maybe most people haven't heard of them, because... they had no major conflict with spanish (at least if compare to eastern neighbors). And were incorporated in Spanish kingdom peacefully as vassal state (more or so, there were one uprising, but it ended in peace by negoniations with catholic clergy), their nobility even was considered equal with spanish aristocracy. And they still exists today, in Michoacan.

@SomosNosotrosarg

3 жыл бұрын

I will research about them. Thabks good sir for giving me some info I didnt know about my continent. Do you have any book recomendations? Their history sounds really interesting.

@slinky6481

3 жыл бұрын

You're spot on there. I'm an Anthropology graduate with a Latin American Studies minor, and my Anthropology professor spent many decades working with migrant workers from Michoacán as part of an ongoing ethnographic study. Although he retired a couple of years after I graduated, he still speaks a fair bit of Purepecha, as you've mentioned. A fascinating culture taught to us by a fascinating and brilliant man - I'm lucky to have had such an opportunity as that. I'd highly recommend anyone interested to read some of the original accounts from the early contact period. Wild stuff!

@dplata4894

3 жыл бұрын

I'm from Michoacán, my great-grandmother was a purépecha and I'm so glad to hear foreigners are so interested in them both in their prehispanic past and in the present. Cheers.

@kyomademon453

3 жыл бұрын

All natives nobles were on par with european nobility, many moved to spain and received an annual salary

@G00N3YC4NG

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for sharing, from the bottom of my heart.

I've read a little bit of Bernal Diaz del Castilo, the guy who took part in the conquest with Cortez. According to him, the natives (some coastal mayan state, near Kampeche, I think), were not really afraid of those "amazing" weapons the Spanish had. 1. no mention of the arquebus of the crossbow making too much impact 2. no mention of the horse inspiring fear 3. the steel armour didn't give the Spanish such a big edge either. Actually Bernal Diaz mentions that the Spanish started themselves to imitate the padded armour of the natives, because it provided better protection against the obsidian blades. but the one thing that the natives WERE afraid of were the Spanish steel swords. at least that's what Bernal Diaz says in the first part of the book. Haven't read the whole book, so don't know if the Mexicans reacted differently than the Mayans.

@paithancampbell7289

9 ай бұрын

You need to read the whole book. There are at least two instances where the horses scare the natives.

@bluedreamkush2392

9 ай бұрын

@@paithancampbell7289If it’s only two instances then it’s probably extremely insignificant to even imply they were all collectively afraid. There’s always going to be a few exceptions for everyone. Being afraid of steel swords is more believable because steel swords were vastly superior to obsidian weaponry.

@joshrivers5191

9 ай бұрын

​@@bluedreamkush23922 instances in book you havent read. Several instances in other books written about it. You: They only feared their blades. You must have been a great student.

@bluedreamkush2392

9 ай бұрын

@@joshrivers5191 sure buddy lol

@joshrivers5191

9 ай бұрын

@@bluedreamkush2392 is that not essentially what you said?.... I mean you haven't even finished the book lol. Might want to get on that.

Cortes passed all the speech checks . Remember to max out your charisma when you’re playing the South America RPG

@gussmann6580

2 жыл бұрын

North America

@liberalbias4462

2 жыл бұрын

@@gussmann6580 latina america

@emmalvrz360

2 жыл бұрын

Its north america

@emmalvrz360

2 жыл бұрын

Damn all of you need to learn basic geography cmon

@liberalbias4462

2 жыл бұрын

@@emmalvrz360 not me

Metatron: "The Aztecs were the most powerful civilization..." Inca Empire: *inhales* Metatron: "...in North-America" Inca Empire: "Almost got angry there, not gonna lie."

@mr.spider6859

3 жыл бұрын

The Inca are underrated.

@SkippyTheSpiteful

3 жыл бұрын

Inca Empire: *Aight You Cool Again*

@Zrck33

3 жыл бұрын

I think aztecs were more powerful

@tylerrobbins8311

3 жыл бұрын

@@Zrck33 As an empire yes as a culture no. The Inca became an empire because of their cultural influence. The Aztec just conquered because they had the best military before the colonial era. If they fought the Aztec would probably win the war.

@383jpark

3 жыл бұрын

Corteaz conquered the Aztecs with a core group of 600 men--swelling to 2500-3000 during the retaking of Technotitlan. The illiterate Pizarro took out the sprawling Inca state with 180 men. Not sure how the commentators define "power", but ass-kicking abilities should certainly be a component of the definition.

Only reason why aztec lost is because they didnt spam their op monks... newbie mistakes

@muhamadsayyidabidin3906

3 жыл бұрын

They did, but apparently their magic had no effect on Sparniard lol.

@lucho9911

3 жыл бұрын

@@muhamadsayyidabidin3906 goddam spanish inquisition tech !

@camilguzman6488

3 жыл бұрын

Scouts have resistance against monks

@Monke-fj2qz

3 жыл бұрын

@@lucho9911 No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!!

@marcmarto333

3 жыл бұрын

The Spanish player went for fast castle into conqs and the Aztec overboomed. Classic greedy move.

Thanks for this beautiful exposition on the history of our country.

Excellent video. This is the most truthful version so far.

There is other reason why Aztecs lost to conquistadors. Different battle tactics. On battlefield Aztecs tried to capture their enemies, so that they have enough slaves to sacrifice. Warrior prestige was gained, by number of enemies warriors captured. So any attempt of aztec warrior to help another aztec warrior in need was often seen as prisoner stealing. Aztec fought as individuals. Conquistadors fought as collective and they did not tried to capture enemy, but they simply killed enemies.

@milosjanos5058

3 жыл бұрын

@@robroux5059that part about ranson is not quite true. In medieval europe, unless you were of noble birth, nobody was loosing time to capture you. What I wrote about Aztecs tactics is from article in magazine called Historical Revue. Articles are wrote by professional historians. On other hand, I am not denying that Aztecs tactics have evolved.

@robroux5059

3 жыл бұрын

@@milosjanos5058 Matthew Restall is not a HISTORIAN? You do realize that in medevil era there were Companies and peasant lordships. So even if you captured a soldier of non noble birth, he could still be ransomed to his Company or to his Lord. It's the Medevil Era not the Napeolonic Era. The Japanese in Feudal Japan did not capture their enemies? So the Vikings didn't capture their enemies and held them ransom? The tactic of oblitering your enemy really comes from the Mongols and Golden Horde era, which caught the Europeans by Surprise and as you can see they are viewed as Barbarias. Holding hostages exists for all armies of all ethnicities , even today. The Aztecs did not fight only to capture , they fought actual battles to kill, the Tlaxcalans even state this.

@milosjanos5058

3 жыл бұрын

@@robroux5059 I don t know who Matthew Restall is, but I don t doubt he is historian. But he is not only one in the world ;-) I m not saing that there were no prisoners taken during medieval times, but generaly people of common origin were more likely killed than ransomed. In Japan samurai gain glory and fame (again generaly) by having other samurai head. And in case of capture noble samurai s commited seppuku in order to keep their honor intact.

@jonc2914

3 жыл бұрын

Stone weapons versus steel and gun powder. No chance in hell regardless.

@robroux5059

3 жыл бұрын

@@jonc2914 None of the Iberians had any military training but like 3-5, Alvarado,Cortes and the 'black' conquistador. The rest were potters and painters. Do you know what the reload rate in 1530 was for Muskets? Do you know that gunpowder in 1500s need to be in Dry conditions? Have you ever shot any of these muskets?

Spanish: *sneeze* Aztecs: Dude.... Uncool.

@J0hnHenrySNEEDen

3 жыл бұрын

*drops dead*

@pillager6190

3 жыл бұрын

Ah yes, Good Old, unintentional bio-warfare with the assist!!

@blazingphantom2813

3 жыл бұрын

There goes the neighborhood

@joshuafult84

3 жыл бұрын

@Luiz Bad comparison Natives almost went extinct Americans didn't

@jimboonie9885

3 жыл бұрын

@Luiz *400,000

Really enjoyed the story time. Looking forward to seeing more like this..

Very interesting! I had no idea there was this much information about the Aztecs. Thanks alot :)

I'm Spanish and I just want to clarify one question. Yes, the invasion of the "conquistadores" was brutal. And yes, the Aztec culture was brutal too ... but there's an indisputable fact: any traveler visiting Mexico City today can hear many pre-Columbian languages ​​and dialects. The city is inhabited by people of European origin ... and by millions and millions of Native Americans. Meanwhile, in the United States and Canada, it's practically impossible to see Native Americans...unless you visit a reservation. I don't know if it was because we did it wrong, or we did it right, but that's the reality today.

@RapidFire175

3 жыл бұрын

America is the better nation, America did it right

@El-Silver

3 жыл бұрын

well it was to different mentalities the anglo view saw them as savages subhumans and it was their god given rigth to habit the lands while the spanish god given rigth as superior was to "civilize" them and thus they made them their serfs killing them make no sense since they did all the labor in the fields and the mines.

@ChristianAuditore14

3 жыл бұрын

@@El-Silver its because the us natives gave up too late

@zimbabwe-wz5iw

3 жыл бұрын

Its mainly because of the different types of natives in the two regions. In what is now the US there were mainly nomadic peoples and in mexico there were sedentary city state peoples. Its easier to subjugate a sedentary people than nomadic people, even the spanish and mexicans tried to conquer the nomadic people of the southwestern USA, but due to the Spanish and mexican model of colonization they couldn't. When you conquer a people who are city state oriented you just need to take over with administration, religion and military. Nomadic people are very hard to do any of that because they move around.

@hellboy7424

3 жыл бұрын

@@El-Silver That "the natives did all the work" is repeated a lot, but historical reality shows otherwise. The Spanish also worked. Furthermore, the master builders and artisans were not natives. The natives had never seen Renaissance architecture and urban planning. Following the example of Classical Rome, they were granted full Spanish citizenship and mixed marriages were everyday. Remember that we are talking about the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Do you want me to explain the life of a mixed marriage between, for example, a Lakota woman and a white man in North America at the beginning of the 20th century? I repeat: early 20th century.

According to Bernal Díaz “Conquest of Mexico” the first (veteran Cortéz army) was such: Normal Cortez soldiers: 508; Master-pilots and mariners: 109; Horses and mules: 16; Crossbowmen: 32; Blunderbusses: 13; Cannons, bronze: 10; Falconets: 4. The technology didn´t play any great role - greatest part was dirty hand to hand fighting and only horses were of significant tactical value, as the fire weapons had the powder spent after few skirmishes/battles and so the crosbows played much greater role then in Europe of the same type. Also plate armor was not much used, as it was hot and a bit cumbersome. So Spaniards, possibly with the exception of riders, used more local "gambesons". Also head armor was necessity as locals used slingshots more often than bows.

@alanmichelsandoval8768

3 жыл бұрын

Ichcahuipilli, aztec equivalent to gambesons

@morriganmhor5078

3 жыл бұрын

@@alanmichelsandoval8768 Thank you, Bernal Díaz doesn´t use this word.

@ignaciofb83

3 жыл бұрын

Finally, someone mention these data! People always think that they carried M16s and anti tank artillery!

@BennyBlawnk

2 жыл бұрын

Ur right. The Spanish didn't have a significant weaponry advantage lol I mean even the sling shots the Aztecs had could pierce a hole right though the Spanish metal body armor lol

@morriganmhor5078

2 жыл бұрын

@@BennyBlawnk Try to understand written text, entity.

You are an amazing historian, concise and on topic. I seriously get so bored just listening to other people but I just couldn't pause the video even with my ADD. Earned your sub.

Love how you structure the video. You are a great writer and speaker!

Some points: Cortes defeat the expedition who send Diego Velasquez comanded by Panfilo De Narvaez in the battle of Cempoala Narvaez lost an eye in that battle a lot of men join Cortes but most of them die in the noche triste and almost the rest fled back to Cuba after the battle of Otumba. Bernal Diaz say that in the battle of Tlaxcalla they almost lost. Also Bernal say that the Tlaxcallan think that the spaniards were allies with the mexica and thats with they fight so hard. In that same battle he describes the moment when a Tlaxcallan with a two handed montante like macahuitl partially cut the neck of a horse (the head hang by the flesh). Now some curiosities: The Mexica (aztecs ) use the spaniard swords as partisan spears. The spaniards use a extra long native spears and make them copper/bronze heads to use as pikes against Narvaez Cavalry, a veteran soldier from the Italian wars teach them to use. In the last stages of the war the natives allies where re-trained some of them re-equiped with european weapons.

@Shcreamingreen

3 жыл бұрын

Other point: The technological advantage of the Spaniards is a myth unfortunate for both the conquistadors and the Aztecs. Cortes had 16 horses, 30 crossbows and 12 muskets. These weapons didn't even work as a good scarecrow, were laughably ineffective against countless enemies, unreliable in that climate and had a very short-termed psychological effect, just as the cannons. Plate armour was quickly substituted with lighter native equvalents made of cotton. Horses were impressive until the Aztecs killed one, which happened quite early at the beginning. One must understand that what really decided the battle was a coincidence of the empire's internal tensions, decadent mindset of the native population and Cortes' tactical genius accompanied by some luck. The role of Malinche is also to be considered, she was the best that happened to him and without her help he would never have succeeded. I highly recommend "Conquest of Mexico" by Hugh Thomas, the best and most professional anglophonic treaty on this subject.

@bdymarek

3 жыл бұрын

There were some more errors - Malinche was never Cortes wife, she wasn't even his lover during the conquest. The Mexica (Aztecs) didn't really think the Spaniars were gods. That's a myth that was created after the conquest but unfortunately is still popular. Some more inaccuracies but overall, it's great we have more people interested in this great story.

@bdymarek

3 жыл бұрын

@francisco elgueta I read books. I suggest "Fifth Sun" by Camilla Townsend, a recent one. Martin Cortes, their son, was born in 1523, two years after the conquest.

@deiongoldsmith515

3 жыл бұрын

@@Shcreamingreen honestly id say that it was the Aztecs (Mexica) inability to adapt to the situation on the Aztecs part led to their fall the Aztecs only fought to wound rather than total war the preferred to sacrifice their enemies bernal Diaz mentioned that in his bibliography Mesoamerica warfare in general wasn't based on total war like in Europe, Asia and Africa but hernan had charisma, luck and a superior tactical ability. Also that book recommendation I'll check it out but if you haven't already check out anything by Camila Townsend ( fifth sun and malintzins choices) and Leon portillas broken Spears which it's the Aztecs perspective on the conquest!

@deiongoldsmith515

3 жыл бұрын

@@bdymarek ayyee I'm about to read this one in one of my classes!

It’s fantastic how you give this type of information. Even our own Mexican History books are full of lies and oversimplifications about this topic, so hearing this it’s extremely refreshing. Awesome job.

@metatronyt

3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad to hear!

@bluedreamkush2392

9 ай бұрын

What? Really? I would think Mexico would show more in depth of pre Colombian native history in their schools. Interesting.

@rubengomezmartinez5969

7 ай бұрын

​@@bluedreamkush2392 they put a lot of undeserved blame on the Spanish

@bluedreamkush2392

7 ай бұрын

@@rubengomezmartinez5969 I looked more into the history and I wouldn’t say it’s “undeserved” by any means.

@rubengomezmartinez5969

7 ай бұрын

@@bluedreamkush2392 yes sure, Cortes wasn't pleasant in the way he conquered the Aztecs, no conqueror is, but in Mexico they blame it on all Spanish, even though Cortes did it as a private enterprise and didn't have the approve of the king of Spain, the president of Mexico has come as far as to say all of Mexico's problems today are because of the Spanish in general, in Venezuela maduro said the Spanish are the most violent and worse race, that's what I mean by undeserved blame

Great video!!! pronunciation on point , nice content and lots of information!! loved it!

Thank you for uploading

I'm Spanish and your pronunciation is amazing, good job on that

@Kyle-gw6qp

3 жыл бұрын

He's a linguist

@omargerardolopez3294

2 жыл бұрын

He's italian

@firebrand9578

2 жыл бұрын

He’s an Italian linguist

@coletrain546

2 жыл бұрын

@@firebrand9578 I thought he was Spanish, but im not surprised that he's Italian

@mogambo2445

2 жыл бұрын

He pronounces better aztec names than the spanish ones, i dont understand why so many english speakers have problems with the "z" spanish sound, its just like your "th". But good job in Pedro de Alvarado.

The Spanish and their allied natives had some serious balls...

@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714

3 жыл бұрын

People in those days where braver. Just ask today how many are willing to go to war for glory? very few would say yes, but in the past most would say yes.

@sadchad348

3 жыл бұрын

Not a bad thing in my opinion I see no problem in people valuing their lives more

@ivetterodriguez1994

3 жыл бұрын

@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 Would you go to war for glory? Sounds more stupid and conceited than brave, but sure.

@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714

3 жыл бұрын

@@ivetterodriguez1994 "Would you go to war for glory?" Not the way you are thinking. If a people are too eager to fight you will get a WW1 scenario with the pointless death of millions and the destruction of your peoples government and empire and emporor. Even when there is a good reason to fight men of my family will draw straws and half will stay home. Personaly I would gladly stay home with my wife and have as many children as possible and rase them as best I can rather than going to fight a war in a distant land, but if I draw the short straw I will fight such is my duty.

@malalalalala2985

3 жыл бұрын

Nah he was just gold hungry

i love your video so much, in fact you made me discouvered iron moutain armory and i am waiting for my first garisha samurai set to be send ! you are amazing ! thank you !

i appreciate you so much metatron, keep on teaching brother.

A few points: you ignore the Quetzalcoatl myth which was a big reason why Montezuma was unsure of how to deal with the Spanish. The female interpreter is known as Malinche, she deserves mentioning. The Aztecs are more than a memory, their language, Nahuatl, is still spoken in Mexico today.

@Eviligniter

3 жыл бұрын

That's also because some of the most opressed be the Aztecs were Nahuas too, like the Tlaxcalans.

@whathell6t

3 жыл бұрын

@Frans Buijis Actually! Quetzalcoatl prophecy is unreliable because the Aztec barely added the thousand-year-known deity to their pantheon.

@TrenElZombie

3 жыл бұрын

The aztecs we're the minority and the most opressed tribe of all, it was just until their search of the promised land that they started to grow xD They just follow the game of the others, so meh

@j.s.alvarez9158

3 жыл бұрын

Aztecs o mexicas were evil oppressors who like other peoples in the area spoke náhuatl yet that's not an aztec legacy, but a Toltec one. The Toltec Empire propagated it's culture even before the arrival of the aztecs

@ShinigamiInuyasha777

3 жыл бұрын

@@TrenElZombie Well, beat a dog until it bleeds and will learn to love the smell of blood

12:47 "This guy must be completely nuts we are going to eat you" LOLOL Cracks me up everytime

Great video, informative and educational. Love this channel.

Great video. The best I've seen from you. Intelligent history. More, please.

You present history in such an interesting and entertaining fashion that I watched the full video without stopping, brilliant as always for years!

This video was thoroughly captivating. Your pacing is fantastic; your choice of background music is perfect and the information is expertly articulated. I´ve owed you a compliment for a while now. Never stop educating, if you know what´s good for us. PS: I would love to see some more videos on this topic, like of those battles you mentioned!

I loved it, thank you for telling this story.

great video!!!! extremely knowledgeable n informative!! luv it!

YEEES! FINALLY! One of my favorite part of history told by you! 😄💙

yayyy! so good babes! :D loved it so much!

Outstanding historical presentation-cogent.

Hello there! As a Mexican I approve this video 👍🏽 just one little thing, teules only means gods, awesome video!

Bet the Aztec will never expect THE SPANISH INQUISITION

@ComfyDents

3 жыл бұрын

Ah, I see you're a man of culture. :D

@georgepatton93

3 жыл бұрын

@Roboute Guilliman the emperor protects

@jorgeguanche5327

3 жыл бұрын

@@georgepatton93 im sure you never expect the GERMAN inquisition!!!!!...stop that sh it..

@kyomademon453

3 жыл бұрын

@@skyepa9694 guns were hardly present at the time of the conquest of tenoctitlan, mostly crossbows and other late medieval weapons

@puffer_frog

3 жыл бұрын

But the spanish will never expect... AYAYAYAYAYYAAAAYYYYY *Buff Aztec demigods poses*

I loved your video and I didn't know how the it went with the The Aztec Empire VS The Spanish Conquistadors. Also I have Wondrium aka The Great Courses Plus and I love it.

Alvarado: "You can't have human sacrifices if everybody's already dead!"

@TehFlush

3 жыл бұрын

based

@thepuffin4050

3 жыл бұрын

Infinite IQ

@ih8google

2 жыл бұрын

Me, a person named Alvarado: checks out.

@Huma270490

2 жыл бұрын

The ultimate sacrifice.

@donramon9723

2 жыл бұрын

Alvarado was a bloody psychopath. Ironically, met his doom as he was routed in the early battle of The Mixton war. Many Latin Americans have the name "Alvarado" in thier ancestry somewhere, anf can trace to the him or his brothers, so you are not alone.

Love the video! Aztec and Spanish history is really a blind spot for me, never had a strong interest but this was really interesting! Would love to see more indepth videos on the subject

@pelinalwhitestrake1176

3 жыл бұрын

Same bro same

Burned his own ships so his men cant go home, guess that's where Arthas got the idea 😝

@Jeff-rm9vw

3 жыл бұрын

@Il Bugiardo dell'Umbria k, i know we have different understandings. But We're still humans. Just get along with each other. No, I'm not an Atheist

@Kolchak_Enjoyer

3 жыл бұрын

@Mohamed Mo Aztec is gay

@MajoraZ

3 жыл бұрын

That's a myth added in later accounts, the original accounts of the Cortes expedition established he scuttled them, not burned them, and even that is disputed by colonial era Spanish court documents where it was noted that it was really Cortes's various captains who made the call, and they actually had them dismantled to prevent the wood from rotting and nails from rusting, not actually scuttled.

@scintillam_dei

3 жыл бұрын

@Mohamed Mo What genocide? Spaniards are the minority of Spanish speakers. Compare that to English speakers in the US, which is not Native Americans who are few and far between. Tariq worshipped the cross because a cube is a cross folded up. LOL! You also bow to the cross, infidel. :-) Islam is of the devil, but so is Roman Catholicism, counterfeit "Christianity."

@scintillam_dei

3 жыл бұрын

@Mohamed Mo "Just look at what the Spanish did to Tenochtitlan." Yeah. :-) My people wiped out the cannibals and human sacrificers. Cry me a river. cube-worshipper. :-) PS Have you ever visited Matamoros, México? :-)

Great explanation. Up for you.

I'm do happy I found your channel

As someone living for the last 18 years in Mexico City, I can tell you that the ancient civilization is not an “echo”, but still very alive in Mexican food, customs, local Spanish language and political structure. Of course, all has changed in the surface, but not so much has changed under it, and today’s Mexico is a wonderful sincretic culture, mixing the ancient culture with the Spanish and -today-, US and global culture.

@JohnDoe-pt7ru

Жыл бұрын

lol light skinned wealthy Mexicans living in the capital stick their noses up at the "backwards, dirty hicks" who live in the mountains and rural areas of Mexico yet want to claim connection to the history.

@lalaboards

Жыл бұрын

Fascinating .... yes lots of history there ,

@GratDuForloradeArgumentet

Жыл бұрын

What Mexican food? All the Mexican culture of today is spanish

@luis.m.yrisson

Жыл бұрын

@@GratDuForloradeArgumentet Lol no. Modern mexican food, as an example, is basically the same mesoamerican food of old, but with beef/pork/chicken/bread added into the mix. The mexican dialect of spanish is full of native words added. The way we speak is very reminiscent of the way indigenous people speak, but in spanish (I am talking about the tone, the way of greeting, the way to address elders, etc, "details"). The things we consider "bad manners" or "good manners" are the same in the indigenous cultures. Spanish people come here and feel a great cultural divide. The adoption of the spanish language obscured all this, but its there.

@GratDuForloradeArgumentet

Жыл бұрын

@@luis.m.yrisson nah it's just spanish everything, even the colors, hats and things like that. Mexicans don't have any culture of their own the savage premexicans ate friggin maize grits.. and people

Hello Metatron! the spanish technological "advantage" hypothesis is very questionable. If you read various historical documents of the time you will realize that the conquistadores had to adapt to the landscape they found themselves in. For example, cortes aquired native cotton armour because it was more effective in that region than metal armour because of the weather. Muskets werent as important as populary thought, crossbows and native allies with bows being more useful considering the kind of enemies they fought against and once again, the weather. Metal helmets of late medieval type and mail coifs were considered essential (read the list of equipment of Panfilo De Narvaez expedition). In both Cortes and Narvaez equipment lists there were only a few sets of full plate armour, which were probably not even used entirely because of the hot and humid weather in the Americas.

@geechyguy3441

6 ай бұрын

The armor may have been a disadvantage because of the weather and terrain, but in a pitched battle I guarantee the armor was a pretty crucial factor to them not being killed by arrow barrages

this is great, thanks!

Outstanding!

One cool fact. Other than the helmets being provided, each soldier had to buy/provide his own armor. Some had heavy gambesons and others had chainmail. The richer ones could buy some metal plate and the richest, like Hernan, could buy full plate from head to toe. Once over in Mexico, they realized that the Aztecs and some other groups of peoples wore a local variant of, basically, gambesons that was basically one solid thick vest, from neck to mid thigh. It was hardened by soaking it for awhile in a mixture of water and I think some chemical from a type of tree; boiling the tree in small chips into the water then adding the thick cotton. Then drying in the sun, it became a pretty stiff but still flexible protection against the obsidian weapons that some tribes could field when the Aztecs tried to attack them. The conquistadors, seeing that the Aztecs armor was good enough against their club and most other weapons, several of them switched from mail to the local armor for the lighter weight.

@Nuevomexicano

2 жыл бұрын

It was also cooler in the harsh northern Mexican sun and humid central Mexican climate than the chain mail

@geechyguy3441

6 ай бұрын

Yes but in a pitched battle their armor must have given them an advantage considering the weapons of the Aztecs could really do nothing to a full set of armor unless they held him down and slit his throat.

Please do the Inca Empire vs the Conquistadors. That one is a very interesting story too.

Your a great professor. I can listen to you all day.

Great videos you make. Thanks!

Ciao Metratron buongiorno, mi interessa molto questo argomento, spero di vedere presto un video con dettagli di alcune delle battaglie, saluti dal Giappone.

Anyone else feel like they've learned more about history from metatrons content than they did at high school

@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714

3 жыл бұрын

My history teacher was good altho I failed to convince him of my view of history the one he gave was also quite good. He actually got us interesting artifacts not so easily found IRL and impossible to find online. Such as the first official publication of our persidents presidents portret.

@bobbinweirdbarbashanduncle159

3 жыл бұрын

Hello

@bobbinweirdbarbashanduncle159

3 жыл бұрын

@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 howdy

@scintillam_dei

3 жыл бұрын

Because schools are indoctrination centers, not meant to make you better, but to mislead you while preparing you to fit some function in corrupt society.

@emmitstewart1921

3 жыл бұрын

Actually, my high school didn't mention the Spanish conquest. There was maybe a whole page about it in my seventh grade American History. Most of what I knew was from Samuel Shellabarger's historical novel, The Captain From Castile and the movie made from it. Historical novels are not really a good way to study history. There was also a sort of documentary hosted by Lorne Green some time in the eighties, But I took it with a grain of salt when the voice track said "Montezuma prayed to his gods" and the screen showed a man in Aztec costume burning incense in front of a statue. By then I was aware that " praying to his gods" meant hauling a crowd of prisoners to the pyramid, cutting open their chests and ripping out their still beating hearts. Then the dead bodies were tossed down the pyramid where they were butchered and cooked for supper. Too many versions of the Spanish Conquest present the Aztecs as innocent primitives. They were pretty sophisticated and vicious people and almost everyone in Mexico was happy to see them go.

Amazing video. I always enjoy them.

Great video, Raf !

Please make more videos on this content and Spain’s rise to an empire! Thank you

@john-vz2gm

7 ай бұрын

This rise came at the expense of many indigenous lives dying from diseases and battles waged on the indigenous population while suffering from these diseases.

I wonder if the Eagle Warriors and Jaguar Warriors had interservice rivalry ? Eagle Warriors " Jaguars eat colored wax sticks and aren't bright " . Jaguar Warriors " Eagles aren't as tough tough as us , their basic training is easier and shorter " . LOL .

@nedisahonkey

3 жыл бұрын

Iirc they did. And your comment making it sound like the army and marines made me chuckle.

@NautilusSSN571

2 жыл бұрын

"They're still better than the air force tho" -random eagle warrior circa 1500

Awesome video!

Thank you for all your efforts in pronounce every single Spanish word, you did a great job

Metatron is totally the kind of dude that end's up getting randomly stuck in the time machine with you, and with all his knowledge of history, saves your ass when its the part of the story where you come across the locals. Only problem he'd probably wanna stay back like Gerald Butler in Timeline.

@scintillam_dei

3 жыл бұрын

Butler taught me that Leonidas had a Scottish English accent. PS Nietszche ist tot. Gott ist gut.

literally just finished the “Fall of Civilizations podcast” on the aztecs, then i see you made a video on the subject a minute later. a happy coincidence.

@timmyturner327

3 жыл бұрын

ah, a fellow intellectual.

I enjoyed this.. like the way you talk... I subbed and liked so keep it up ..

good video, I hope you make more of this type

“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within” - Will Durant History repeats itself, and it shall repeat again

@TheDollhouseKiller

3 жыл бұрын

I hope it does not But with everything going on I'm nervous

@Kyle-gw6qp

3 жыл бұрын

Mongol invasion two, electric boogaloo

@scintillam_dei

3 жыл бұрын

@@Kyle-gw6qp To fend off the constant invasions by Mongols into my Spanish Empire in Medieval 2 Total War, I gave Libya to the Timurids for free so the Mongols would trespass onto Timurid soil, and that got the Asians to fight each other. Hahaha! But the damn endless Crusades against muh Spain ended me eventually. I can't fight everyone in the world and win. Only God can do that.

Imagine if the Aztecs and the Spanish actually fought each other. That would be crazy.

@udjujdjddd5052

2 жыл бұрын

CRUSADER KINGS 2: SUNSET INVASION

@Yehshlynn

Жыл бұрын

They did fight each other.

@pastorofmuppets4552

Жыл бұрын

@@Yehshlynn whoosh

@Yehshlynn

11 ай бұрын

@@pastorofmuppets4552 yeah the mexicans are mix between Aztec blood and Spaniard blood and a lot of Mexicans are mix with native blood and Spaniard blood..

@johnbracciole-jh3nu

10 ай бұрын

Espana much fuerte

Great video Raph! i think the Spanish empire vs the Inca empire would be a great video too!

Great video!!!!

I've always have enjoyed your content, and this aztec and spanish video it's not the exception, specially as a Mexican, thank you Metatrón

The story of the conquest of Mexico is so epic in so many aspects that deserve an HBO or Netflix series like Games of Thrones or Rome or the Historical Islamic fiction Series Ertogrul Resurrection... Great video, very educational, keep it up and keep them coming.

@StobnickiPiotr

2 жыл бұрын

It would be SJW ahistorical bullshit.

@liberalsocialist9723

2 жыл бұрын

@@StobnickiPiotr Why you say that? Because the conquistadors were Christians who enslaved and pillaged?

@StobnickiPiotr

2 жыл бұрын

@@liberalsocialist9723 Because they were white. BTW Aztec also enslaved and pillaged.

@liberalsocialist9723

2 жыл бұрын

@@StobnickiPiotr So you want to only see shows and movies with white saviors? BTW US voted as the most dangerous nation on earth.

@StobnickiPiotr

2 жыл бұрын

@@liberalsocialist9723 Not biased movies. I don't want to watch anti-european propaganda all the times. In fact, Europeans ended the slavery throughout the world, unlike any other civilization in history.

I've been sucker for this subject for years and really enjoyed your approach. It was very down to earth and well accurate on explaining how Cortes managed to defeat the aztecs using which was more a allied-native army of tens of thusands, leaded by near a couple of thousand spaniards working as special units. Another thing I must thank you is that this video made me think about if really there was a chance of the spaniards taking control of the Aztec Empire without totally destroying it (before the Sad Night). Only flaw was the use of some wrong pictures while describing the aztecs, most of mayans, while the most flagrant being at @07:07 which shows Ur instead of Tenochtitlan, which is interesting itself as we can appreciate the similarities on early stages of civilizations. Btw the aztec language was "nahuatl" whose modern variation is still spoken by thousands of people.

Would love to hear more about this.

It's so exciting to hear you talk about my country and its history. Personally, I will always like Europe a bit more thanks to chivalry and castles, but the pre Hispanic cultures are also quite interesting Buen trabajo, Metatron

@El-Silver

3 жыл бұрын

as a peruvian iam baised to the inca when talking about pre columbian civs.

@mr.spider6859

3 жыл бұрын

@@El-Silver Same, plus I think they get too little attention in other countries.

@scintillam_dei

3 жыл бұрын

@@El-Silver As a Honduran Spaniard, I RELISH being born in Mesoamérica between the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas, the most glorious of Native Americans. Quiero aprender náhuatl, maya, quechua y lakota. Vean mis mapas de Age of Empires que son realísticos. EVROPA kzread.info/dash/bejne/hoB6krB9pabRlLw.html&ab_channel=SCINTILLAMDEI PACIFIC OCEAN (que incluye Yucatán y Tenochtitlán) kzread.info/dash/bejne/pmqio86zg6aYltY.html&ab_channel=SCINTILLAMDEI THE FAR EAST (incluyendo Luzón) kzread.info/dash/bejne/daGh2KaRpKaZirg.html&ab_channel=SCINTILLAMDEI THE WORLD (Con la bella Sudamérica) kzread.info/dash/bejne/qGp5tc6ngszKZ5M.html&ab_channel=SCINTILLAMDEI EURASIA kzread.info/dash/bejne/eKeXp9CMdbG6fdI.html&ab_channel=SCINTILLAMDEI THE ANCIENT WORLD (for the original Age of Empires) kzread.info/dash/bejne/k42tmpKomtbUmpM.html&ab_channel=SCINTILLAMDEI

@oopsydaizi3s824

2 жыл бұрын

Chivalry was bullshit. Women were commodities to be bargained for just like everything else

@Wolfiereveles

11 ай бұрын

​@@El-Silver with good reason. As a half-mexican from Mexico City I may be fascinated by Aztec history but I still have to acknowledge that as an empire they were probably among the worst villains in history. They literally give fictional "evil empires" like Sauron's Mordor or the Galactic Empire a run for their money. Inca and Maya come out looking a lot better tbh.

It’s interesting how me being Mexican being educated by an Italian about my own people lol I love it 😂 history deadass has no borders

@capricioushighblood4055

2 жыл бұрын

It actually has a lot of borders if you think about it.

This is the best video you ever have made. (-:

@metatronyt

3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you think so thanks!

Good lecture!

I really love the look of Tenochtitlan. It was a highly engineered masterpiece of a city for that time. That system of levees, bridges and canals is really impressive. Would be a cool inspiration for a fantasy city.

Great video! I enjoy the way you story tell. Very easy to follow

Hi. Great video. I know you read the sources and you just can’t pack everything in one short video. But, a few interesting details (some of which, other listeners are already mentioning). Cortés was incredibly lucky that when he arrived, he bumped into two Spaniards that survived a shipwreck there and had gone native. One of them went so native that he rejected the Spaniards and, later, helped fight against them (he became a local warlord). The other one lived as a slave, and he was happy to be rescued. And he spoke Spanish and Mayan. If this guy hadn’t been there, Cortes’ eloquence would have been of little help to ingratiate himself with the Yucatán Mayans. The second strike of luck was meeting a young Mexica (Aztec) lady who had been sold as a slave to those Mayans (her father died, her mother remarried, her stepdad didn’t want her around, and they sold her into slavery). And she spoke Nahuatl (Aztec), she spoke Mayan, and she had no lost love for the people who sold her, or the people who bought her. At first Cortés had the Spanish interpreter translate from Spanish into Mayan, and this girl, whom they named doña Marina, translate from Mayan into Nahuatl. But she was very bright and learned Spanish quickly, so that she could interpret directly without the other guy. She actually became Cortes’ girlfriend (he was married in Cuba), and had a son with him. Wherever they went, she was the person who interacted with the locals; she was the newcomers visible face, their voice. The locals called Cortes “Malinche”, which meant the husband of Marina. She is the one they knew best. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of Marina in all what happened. She advised the Spaniards, warned them of potential treachery... She eventually had her mother and her stepfather at her mercy, and could have had them killed by the Spaniards, but she forgave them and didn’t have them harmed. It’s quite a story. The whole conquest could be understood as the vengeance of a very intelligent girl who had been badly wronged. Other interesting facts: Cortes didn’t really burn his ships, just scuttled them. The story went into legend as burning them, perhaps because it was a popular story told about the general who started the Muslim invasion of hispania seven centuries earlier. I don’t think the superior technology was the deciding factor. They had fifteen horses? And each time a horse died, it could not be replaced. They were cut off from the Spaniards in Cuba, had no supplies. Their gunpowder was limited, just had some arquebuses, which had a psychological effect more than anything (they are very imprecise; you need lots of them to fire volleys onto the enemy). Crossbows were easier to keep supplied with bolts. Their spears and swords, and their shields and armor were probably what was most effective in those battles. After Cortes incorporated the men from Panfilo de Narváez, when he returned to technoctitlan, he did enter the city, where his men were being besieged. In the Noche Triste, he tried to get them out of the city during the night, but they were discovered and they were massacred, while trying to walk the long causeways that connected the city in the middle of a lake with the shores of the lake. They lost lots of men, their equipment, horses, etc. Apparently, many were trying to take with them all the gold they had been hoarding, and drowned carried to the bottom of the lake by the dead weight. Afterwards, they were helped by the tlaxcaltecas. If these had wanted, they could have finished Cortes’ men right there. But they didn’t. When Cortes came back to Technoctitlan, the Spaniards might have been a 10 or a 15% of the attacking force. And he wasn’t trying to destroy the city. The Spaniards were in awe of the city, and Cortes wanted to conquer it as a trophy to take to Charles V to ingratiate him directly, and avoid punishment for disobeying Diego de Velazquez in Cuba. However, the Mexica put on a ferocious fight, and they had to take the city block by block. The defenders threw projectiles from the rooftops, and the attackers turn to rubble building after building, as they tried to secure each conquered city block. In the end, they ended up destroying the city entirely in the process of conquering it. Even they themselves lamented it’s destruction, felt no one would believe the stories of how that city was when they saw it for the first time. The Spaniards spearheaded the attacks, fighting on the causeways, and from vessels they built to reach the city directly through the lake, but once they took it, the tlaxcaltecas took revenge on the Aztecs for all the years they suffered oppression at their hands (they had never been conquered, but they were surrounded by the Aztec empire). Bernal Diaz del Castillo was horrified watching the Tlaxcaltecas kill everyone in their path, and that’s to say a lot, because the Spaniards were used to doing some killing. Another interesting fact is that we know the individual who brought smallpox into the continent. This whole story didn’t take generations, it happened, what was it, two or three years? It was one of the men who came with Pánfilo de Narvaez to seize Cortes, who was incubating the disease when he landed. This one individual unwittingly unleashed a Pandemic that in some areas killed 90% of the population. The disease travelled south by land, and reached the Inca empire long before the Pizarros ever set foot in Perú. Bernal Diaz del Castillo is a great source for all of this. He was a regular foot soldier, but he was there at every major event. And writing from back then, his biases do not attempt to whitewash the things we, now in the XXI century find reprehensible. His bias was trying to show that he was involved in the conquest (usually, desperadoes, second sons, bastard sons, made up the first wave of conquistadores, but once they conquered anything, they were removed from power and replaced by people from high birth sent from Spain once it was perfectly safe). Bernal felt the original group had been dispossessed and pushed aside by these high born people, and was asking for recognition and some form of retribution. But he tells us without making excuses how they massacred the people at Cholula when they were warned that after the banquet in their honor, the Cholulans planned to murder them in their sleep; they used terror to disuade anyone in the future from doing that, and were as savage as they could in carrying it out. Bernal’s greatest criticism of Cortes was that he showed a lot of favoritism and gave the prettiest Indian captive girls to his friends (you can guess what they did with such girls). Bernal was not being candid. He was just writing from back then. And to him those things we find reprehensible were perfectly normal.

@HlootooThunderhammer

10 ай бұрын

Needs to be formatted better, but thanks for the info dump!

Excellente video. Subbed.

I love the decor of your home👌 it looks amazing meta

Thank you for posting this video! As a Mexican, I find it so sad and interesting at the same time. I'm conflicted because it's tragic what happened to our native cultures, but without the conquest I wouldn't exist

@samuelnathan312

3 жыл бұрын

That's sort of true for most people on this earth. It is just a matter how far back in time you look.

@-Swizz-

3 жыл бұрын

That's not really a good argument, that's like saying without my mother being raped I wouldn't be here, so it's ok. I would change your mode of argumentation if I were you.

@onsetaugust

3 жыл бұрын

@@-Swizz- *your mother the child sacrificing cannibal?

@-Swizz-

3 жыл бұрын

@@onsetaugust Was that supposed to be a rebuttal? I'm not even indigenous, Also you realize the Spanish also killed children right?

@onsetaugust

3 жыл бұрын

@@-Swizz- by removing the heart through the stomach?

We think it would great for Metatron to prepare a series of videos that examine Hernan Cortes and his Conquistadores from the time they first enter Tlascala (as per Bernal Diaz) on Sept. 23,1519 and made their alliance with the people there against Montezuma II who had been ruling the Aztec empire since 1502.

very interesting you should do more like this

Quality content

Imagine how different history would have been if Pedro de Alvarado didn't massacre a bunch of Aztecs.

@ferchulanderful

2 жыл бұрын

Los conquistadores no eran buenas personas, pero eran guerreros excepcionales, eso que pides es imposible xD, sangre fría, bolas y ganas de oro no les faltaban a esos locos.

@engelsteinberg593

2 жыл бұрын

@@ferchulanderful Si, como si se pudiera tolerar el sacrificio humano.

@arturobriones2644

2 жыл бұрын

@@ferchulanderful Ajá.

@ferchulanderful

2 жыл бұрын

@@engelsteinberg593 eso es indiferente, por ejemplo en el imperio inca trataron a los españoles relativamente bien, pero aún así les destruyeron xd, la primera ola de conquistadores eran guerreros pura cepa, por eso hay muchos que confunden su actuar como voluntad de la corona española, en primer lugar nadie se esperaba las conquistas de cortés y pizarro tan fácil y tampoco eran maestros de biología para saber las masacres que causarían la viruela, etc. , fue simplemente mucho destino y casualidad :v

Slight correction: Cortes didn't arrive back to Tenochtitlan after the Noche Triste, he arrived after Alvarado's massacre and found an infuriated city. The Noche Triste happened after he was in the city, when the recently appointed emperor ordered the attack on the Spanish.

@andrewmartinez7559

Жыл бұрын

Stfu source?

@magtovi

Жыл бұрын

@@andrewmartinez7559 Huh? It's textbook knowledge. Pick up any history textbook on the topic and it's part of the events of the Spanish conquest: Way before this, when Cortés set sail to Mexico from Cuba he actually left in a hurry (and in bad terms with the local Spanish governor) for what was supposed to be only an exploration expedition, but once there, when he learned about the Aztec Empire and its riches, he instead turned it into a military operation in name of the Spanish Crown. When this information reached Cuba's governor he dispatched a small force under the command of Pánfilo de Narváez with specific orders to apprehend Cortés. While Cortés was already staying at Tenochtitlan, news of this arrived and he went back to the coast to meet with Narváez and deal with this issue himself. During this time he left the ruthless and bloodthirsty captain Pedro de Alvarado in charge of things in Tenochtitlan. After meeting , defeating and convincing Pánfilo de Narváez to join his cause Cortés headed back to Tenochtitlan, but while he was away, Pedro de Alvarado had witnessed an important huge religious ceremony in the city's main temple complex, where a huge crowd gathered including all the Aztec nobles and elite class and he ordered a massacre. Cortés found an enraged city and after scolding Alvarado he tried to appease the Aztecs, but it was too late. They were held under siege in the palace compound they were staying at, they tried to sneak out in the middle of a rainy night, but were spotted and after the alarm was raised they were chased out of the city with heavy losses (and it is said all the gold, treasure and loot they tried to carry was lost in the depths of the lake). It is said that when reaching the mainland Cortés sat under a tree and wept, that's why it's called La Noche Triste ("The Night of Sorrows" or literally "The Sad Night").

@yandrak4621

7 ай бұрын

It's also important to notice that it was the own Aztecs who killed the former emperor when he tried to convince then not to kill the Spaniards. Moctezuma and Cortes were very good friends, and even after the Conquest, Cortes made sure that Moctezuma's family got a noble title of the upmost prestige in Spanish society.

Nice video!

Great video

I liked the video overall. There are some bits that sounded like "Cortés telling the story and making it look like things went way way easier than they really were".

@heretic-668

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, Cortez got unbelievably lucky several times, starting with Malintzin and the Portuguese sailor so they could even talk with the locals, and then following up with the couple of times where he almost lost everything, and then capped with the devestating effects of the plague. That being said, the Triple Alliance was fundamentally unstable as all tributary empires are, and the introduction of an unknown outside power in the form of Cortez destabilized the entire power structure of the region.

Their religion is fascinating. They believed if they sinned they had to kill themselves via sacrifice to regain the favor of god.

@Handlebarrz

2 жыл бұрын

Death before dishonor

@omarnoyola497

2 жыл бұрын

They really did this : they captured Rival Warriors to sacrifice to the sun , they believe if that sun dint received enough blood that sun would not rise again .I an native to Mesoamerica.

@lochmock9305

2 жыл бұрын

@@omarnoyola497 Do you speak the language as well?

@lalchhandama3805

2 жыл бұрын

@@lochmock9305 *GOOD QUESTION*

@panzervpanther828

2 жыл бұрын

@@lochmock9305 Do you mean if he spoke the language the aztecs used to speak? (Náhuatl)?

Nice choice of music! Favorite dungeon in FFXIV. That threw me off for a second, like did I not close the game application? lol Great video of course!

Hope for more videos

The similarities between Hernan Cortez, Gaius Julius Caesar and their successful conquests (Mexico & Gallic, respectively) are very interesting.

@luis.m.yrisson

Жыл бұрын

My personal theory is that Cortes read Julius Caesar's "De bello gallico" and had dreamed his whole life to pull off the same strategy.

@CaesarConsuloProVita

Жыл бұрын

@@luis.m.yrisson Well…he did and did so well….

Great video Metatron, though you had a little mistake, the Noche triste wasn't when Alvarado angered the masses, it was when the Spaniards lost their first and only battle against Moctezuma's succesor Cuitlauac, and it's supposed to be called that because Cortes weeped under a tree in the night following that battle. As side notes: Moctezuma was stoned to death by his own people after the events of Alvarado`s shenanigans and succesed by Cuitlauac, who was an incredibly talented general and the one who gave the spanish their only loss, Cuitlauac died of chickenpox and was succesed by Cuauhtemoc, and this last guy was the one that ultimately surrendered to Cortes after the siege and whose most famous event was that he was tortured by the spanish by getting his feet burnt. Cheers mate.

@goodaimshield1115

3 жыл бұрын

It was not a battle. It is when Spaniards fled the city. That's it.

As alwyas great video. Nice to see how freigners study our history and I might say far better than our own history books. And always learning something I didn't knew that Cortes was a lawyer.