Aztec Perspective on the Conquest of Mexico // 16th cent. Florentine Codex // Primary Source

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Here we have extracts from the Florentine Codex, a fascinating but controversial text compiled by Bernadino de Sahagun in collaboration with his Nahuatl students.

Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla
Copyright © 1962, 1990 by Miguel Leon-Portilla
Expanded and Updated Edition © 1992 by Miguel Leon-Portilla
Reprinted with permission from Beacon Press, Boston

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User:Stefan Fadinger
Architect of the Capitol.
Xuan Che aztec sun stone
Anagoria Arian Zwegers Teotihuacan, Citadel, Temple of the Feathered Serpent
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[T_bone]

Why isn't this a movie? Instead we get Fast and Furious 10.

[AndersonNSilva-mwkl]

"Are you the king?"
"Yes, I am"
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!"

[hats]

Cortes: We have come as friends, and you have nothing to fear.
Narrator: They had not come as friends, and the Aztec had much to fear.

[rexmundi]

When people talk about the Spanish conquering the Aztecs they are missing the fact that all the tribes in the region united behind the Spanish, who were only there in small numbers, to bring them down. They hated the Aztecs for several reasons, not the least being continuously raided for human sacrifices.

[spyrofrost]

"We have come as friends, and you have nothing to fear."
The fat conductor laughed "You are wrong!"

[drewmillz]

I just read a book about the conquistadors. One funny twist of fate for the Spanish. One of the ships with cortezes gold, as it approached Spain, was attacked by a French military ship and the gold was taken back to France instead.

[cormacchesbrough]

Once again you have outdone yourself on this channel. Listening to the first contact and now this back to back is something that begs to be made into a screenplay. Thank you for this channel, it is a gift to anyone with any level of interest in history.

[malukingulo]

"mushrooms that spread confusion" aka shrooms

[Samael]

"There is nothing to fear."

Yeah, right.

[WAAAAAAGH]

"So uh...cool city you have here amig- HOLY SWEET BABY JESUS!" -Spaniard
"Awww thanks bud." - Aztec priest with beating heart in hand
"Jose, get the cannons."

[vicenzostella]

What makes this whole thing even more interesting is that the Aztec-Spanish War was simply a centuries-long inter-tribal conflict that the Spanish got roped into because of their greed and desire for conquest. On the other hand, the Mayan Conquest was more like a slow pattern of skirmishes that slowly assimilated them into the fold, so much so that many modern-day Mayans still live the way they used to (kinda).

[DANVIIL]

I've been a sttudent of this clash of civilizations since I was in college in the early 1970s and this is an excellent presentation. It does leave out the fact that Cortez had to fight off the Spanish who were sent from Hispaniola to shut down Cortez. Cortex defeated their leader and the soldiers joined Cortez. Prescott wrote the original book on ths history and it was used by the US soldiers during their invasion of Mexico City in the 1840s to find their way to the capital.

[jaimienile]

I am perfectly aware that everyone here understands this is a primary account made by pro-aztec parties. However, I feel obliged to point out that the "fiesta" where the spaniards felt a "sudden urge to kill" may have possibly been triggered by the fact that the aztecs were sacrificing human bodies and flesh to their statue as silently pointed out in 8:57 and when disgusted spanish forces tried to stop it and take the statue down, violence erupted. Otherwise, that was an amazing video with a world/class voicing narrator.

[johnkeck]

In the Spanish account, it's the Aztecs who succeed in killing Moctezuma from far away even though he was held by the Spanish. It's interesting that that detail is left unmentioned, but undisputed in the Aztec account here. But one thing the accounts definitely agree on is the Spanish lust for gold!

[hugosophy]

My life’s mission is to create a 100% historically accurate cinematographic/theatrical version of the first hand account of the conquest of Mexico. Idk why it has never been done. Such an amazing story encapsulating the full range of human emotions from fear to pain to ecstasy treachery, blind faith, tradition vs evolution, honor vs instinct and survival. Wow just remember if you see an amazing film about the conquest of Mexico in the next 10 years you will go back into the internet archive and see that it started here with a simple desire of a man named Hugo to see this amazing take truthfully told with amazing detail to do justice to both people

[bencopeland]

The conquest of Mexico is like mythology come to life. One of the most fantastic, unbelievable stories ever told and yet all a part of the historical record.

[thosoz]

One brutal tribe beaten by another. The story of the centuries.

[artisaprimus]

I've always had a passion for history. I always wondered how ancient people viewed their world. This presentation does a good job of painting a picture in my mind.

[WhaleStress]

I wasn’t expecting the UFO sighting towards the end.

[sixmake]

Aztecs: Nooo, you can't just conquer people, that's our thing!
Cortez: Haha gun goes boom boom