Tenochtitlan: The Lost Aztec Capital

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[rhynosouris]

I am impressed with how easily he's rattled off these Aztec words. They are a mouth full. He must have practiced

[kayden]

Never date an Aztec priest,

They'll steal your heart

[Kaizelot]

Your pronunciation of my ancestor´s gods, cities, and places is almost as good as how the history of my people was presented here, not as saints and not as demons, just, as many other cultures its pros and cons, thank you, and greetings from Guadalajara, Mexico.

[IGotBoergs]

What I find most interesting is how many similarities there are between civilizations which developed completely independently from eachother

[kikivoorburg]

I’ve seen people say that since tenochtitlan was not the “Venice of the new world”, but that Venice was the “Tenochtitlan of the old world” simply because Tenochtitlan was so much larger and more impressive than Venice.

Regardless of comparisons to very different places, it’s honestly extremely sad that Tenochtitlan is no longer around. It would have absolutely been a sight to behold.

[ritatiffany]

This might be the first Youtube ad I haven't skipped ...

[lucianoarrieta]

One of the things I like the most of all this videos, both here in Geographics and Biographics, is that at the end there is always a reflexion that puts things into perspective and tells us that life in all its complexities is never white and black and even places like Tenochtitlan with their dark side could be a place of beauty and splendour well worth remembering.

[bonk]

You left out the Small Pox that Cortez brought to the city. When he returned with his re-enforcements half the city was already dead and the other dying.

[katelynpratt]

Thoroughly interesting and informative as always Simon!

[theconqueringram]

The fall of Tenochtitlan must've seemed like the beginning of the apocalypse to the Aztecs/Mexica.

[rachel_sj]

I visited Aztalan in Wisconsin with my family this weekend and the history of Mississippian culture is fascinating. You should do an episode on Cahokia and surrounding settlements!

[alanadan]

A Eagle perched on a cactus with a serpent in its mouth, that’s where they’d build their city. That’s where Mexico gets its iconic flag from. The Mexica (me-Shi-ca)

[into_the_void]

I realise now that age of empires 2 is what really got me into history...

[ignitionfrn]

2:00 - Chapter 1 - Birth of an empire
5:15 - Chapter 2 - The shining city
8:25 - Chapter 3 - A day in the life
11:50 - Chapter 4 - The blood of the world
14:50 - Chapter 5 - The reign of death
18:10 - Chapter 6 - The city destroyed

[orangegalen]

It's often glossed over that Cortés' reinforcements, the "former Aztec subjects", were people that, surprise surprise, were afraid and tired of the Aztec's constant warfare and need for sacrifices. It's almost like there were people that DIDN'T like a warring empire that often took their people as captives to be sacrificed being their neighbor... strange.

[billbaker]

“A city with a dark side”. That’s an eloquent way of putting it.

[eseguerito]

Excellent video, as always of course. One little thing for the future, though. Mexica is pronounced “me-SHI-ka”. Nahuatl words spelled with an X often are pronounced like H or SH.

[FrankumII]

“What the Gods demand, you must do!” - Oh wait, they demand me? Uh, I left my sacrificial sandals in my hut. I’ll be right back.

[JoseSanchez-myus]

A wonderful presentation that truly represents a more real vision of the Mexica (Aztec) empire. It's a clear view of what was in Tenochtitlan and the empire as a whole. I came to learn most, if not all, of this growing up as my father was the family historian and took every opportunity to educate his children on their heritage which did not come from Europe exclusively. He saw all of this as a point of historical fact to instill pride of a long history for his children and that history did not in fact begin with the "pilgrims" and the inevitable establishment of what is now the United States. He made sure to also show how bloody and brutal were the sacrificial propensities of the religious rites in place at that time. However, I have never heard Nahuatl (the language of Meso America) spoken with an English accent before. Still, thank you for this presentation!

[coldmexican]

I think one fact no one really mentions is that for the Aztec blood was more valuable than anything else. For modern people, the rituals and blood spilling that the Aztec committed was completely savage. Not many people today can get their head around it but thats because our concept of death and life are different. Blood was probably the equivalent of gold for modern people and it was important since its what gives life. It runs through our veins so for them it was the most valuable thing and well, they weren't wrong. As for death, they believed that death was actually the beginning of something new and not the complete end so for them, dying wasn't such a big deal and it wasn't that feared either as it was for the common catholic Spaniard.