EPISODE 22 The Conquest Of Mexico (Part 3): Tenochtitlan Syndrome

“And when we saw all those cities and villages built in the water, and other great towns on dry land, and that straight and level causeway leading to Mexico, we were astounded. These great towns and cues and buildings rising from the water, all made of stone, seemed like an enchanted vision from the tale of Amadis. Indeed, some of our soldiers asked whether it was not all a dream. It is not surprising therefore that I should write in this vein. It was all so wonderful that I do not know how to describe the first glimpse of things never heard of, seen or dreamed of before… But today all that I then saw is overthrown and destroyed; nothing is left standing.” — Bernal Diaz

“Have confidence, Montezuma. Fear nothing. We love you greatly.” — Hernan Cortes

“What is the use of all these words? Either we take him or we knife him.” — Juan Velazquez de Leon

“They ran in among the dancers, forcing their way to the place where the drums were played. They attacked the man who was drumming and cut off his arms… Some attempted to run away, but their intestines dragged as they ran; they seemed to tangle their feet in their own entrails… So great was the bloodshed that blood ran through the courtyard like water in a heavy rain.”

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 third episode:

• The massacre at Cholula
• The drunken man’s vision
• The splendor of Tenochtitlan 
• Kidnapping an emperor 
• Burning people at the stake in front of the Great Pyramid 
• Why the Stockholm Syndrome should be renamed Tenochtitlan Syndrome
• A battle between Spaniards and Spaniards
• Alvarado’s bloody choices
• La Noche Triste: the end of the Spaniards?