The Conquistadors: Exploration, Greed, and Destruction — Fexingo History

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the crucial role of Xochimilco and its network of chinampas and canals in the fall of Tenochtitlan. They discuss how the Mexica capital's dependence on freshwater from the springs of Xochimilco became a strategic vulnerability, and how Cortés's brigantines, built with the help of Tlaxcalan allies, cut off those lifelines. The conversation weaves through the geography of Lake Texcoco, the engineering of the chinampas, the siege tactics of the Spanish, and the resilience of the Xochimilca people, who were caught between Mexica domination and Spanish conquest. They also touch on the d...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the astonishing value of quetzal feathers in Mesoamerica—a currency of beauty and power that shaped Aztec tribute networks and fueled Spanish greed. Discover how the resplendent quetzal bird, with its iridescent green tail feathers, was hunted and protected, how Aztec emperors demanded tribute of feathers from distant provinces, and how craftsmen called amanteca turned them into dazzling headdresses and shields. After the conquest, Spanish settlers ripped featherwork from its cultural roots, melting down gold and trampling feather art, yet some pieces survived in European cabinets of curiosity. Lucas traces the feather tr...

In 1504, Ferdinand and Isabella decreed that the Crown would take one fifth of all treasure from the New World. This episode traces the quinto real from its origins in the Reconquista to its role in funding the Spanish Empire — and in shaping the conquest itself. We meet the officials who enforced it, from the Casa de Contratación in Seville to the assayers in Mexico City, and see how the quinto became a point of negotiation, conflict, and even corruption. Through the eyes of Bernal Díaz del Castillo and the Florentine Codex, we look at how the Spanish obse...

In 1521, Hernán Cortés faced a seemingly impossible task: conquering Tenochtitlan, an island city defended by a vast lake. His solution was audacious—build a fleet of thirteen shallow-draft brigantines, not in the water, but on the shores of Lake Texcoco, under the noses of the Aztec capital. This episode of The Conquistadors explores the engineering marvel and strategic gamble of these vessels, from the prefabricated parts carried over the mountains by thousands of Tlaxcalan porters to the skilled Spanish shipwright Martín López who oversaw their assembly. We examine how the brigantines transformed the siege, cutting off Te...

In 1521, Hernán Cortés and a vast Indigenous army laid siege to Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. For 93 days, the city endured starvation, smallpox, and relentless assault. This episode digs into the final act of the conquest: the cutting of the causeways, the battle for Tlatelolco, the fall of Cuauhtémoc, and the brutal street-by-street fighting that left Tenochtitlan in ruins. We explore how the siege was won not just by steel and gunpowder, but by the sheer numbers of Tlaxcalan and other Indigenous allies, and how the city's own geography—its canals, its chinampas, its causeways—became its death t...

In this episode of The Conquistadors, Lucas and Luna explore the hidden world of prostitution in early colonial Mexico. After the fall of Tenochtitlan, Spanish authorities established licensed brothels in Mexico City and other urban centers, aiming to control the sexual behavior of both Spanish settlers and Indigenous women. Drawing on the records of the Real Audiencia and the writings of chroniclers like Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, the episode traces how these institutions intersected with the encomienda system, casta hierarchies, and the spread of syphilis. It also examines the lives of women who w...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Lienzo de Tlaxcala, a sixteenth-century pictorial manuscript created by the Tlaxcalan allies of Hernán Cortés. Unlike Spanish accounts, this document offers a rare indigenous perspective on the conquest of Mexico, depicting battles, alliances, and the crucial role of Tlaxcalan warriors. The hosts discuss how the Lienzo was commissioned, its unique artistic style blending Mesoamerican and European conventions, and its political purpose: to argue for Tlaxcalan privileges and rewards from the Spanish crown. They also examine specific scenes, from the alliance with Cortés to the siege of Tenochtitlan, and con...

In 1520, a single infected African slave arrived in Veracruz and unwittingly unleashed a catastrophe that would kill more Aztecs than any Spanish sword. In this episode, we trace the path of smallpox through the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, its devastating impact on the Aztec people, and its role in the fall of their empire. We explore the Nahuatl concept of 'huey cocoliztli' (the great pestilence), the testimony of survivors like those in the Florentine Codex, and the devastating loss of life that altered the course of history. We also discuss the biological, social, and political aftershocks of the disease, and...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Chichimeca War, a long and brutal conflict that shaped Mexico's northern frontier. They discuss the specific groups—Zacatecos, Guachichiles, and Guamare—and the challenges the Spanish faced in the arid, mountainous terrain. The episode covers the role of the silver mines at Zacatecas, the strategic use of presidios, and the controversial policies of Martín Enríquez and the Marqués de Villamanrique. They also examine the devastating impact on the Chichimeca peoples and the eventual shift to a policy of 'peace by purchase' under Viceroy Luis de Velasco. This untold story r...

In this episode, we examine the final chapter of the Aztec Empire through the trial of its last emperor, Cuauhtemoc. After the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521, Cuauhtemoc was captured, tortured, and later executed during Hernán Cortés's disastrous expedition to Honduras in 1525. We explore the evidence from the Florentine Codex and other sixteenth-century sources, the accusations of conspiracy and treason, the brutal methods of Spanish justice, and the symbolic weight of Cuauhtemoc's death. We also discuss how his legacy has been reclaimed by modern Mexico as a national hero, and what his story reveals about the brutal realities of...

While the Aztec and Maya conquests dominate the story, the Spanish fought a violent 40-year conflict against nomadic archers in the north that nearly broke their empire. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Chichimeca War (1550–1590), a guerrilla war fought across the silver-rich Bajío region. We meet the Chichimeca peoples—the Zacatecos, Guachichiles, and Guamare—who used hit-and-run tactics, fire arrows, and poison-tipped shafts to resist the Spanish advance. Along the way, we uncover the brutal counterinsurgency policies of Viceroy Martín Enríquez, the costly presidio system, and the surprising shift to a 'peace by purchase' strategy...

In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the overlooked role of the Ixtlapalapan causeway in the Spanish siege of Tenochtitlan. While the Tacuba causeway dominates the narrative of the Noche Triste and the final assault, the southern causeway at Ixtlapalapan was equally crucial. We trace its strategic importance from the initial Spanish entry in 1519 to the brutal fighting in 1521, examining how Cortés, with thousands of Tlaxcalan and other indigenous allies, used it to cut off supplies, launch attacks, and eventually break the city's defenses. Along the way, we meet figures like Ixtlapalapan's ruler Cuitláhuac, wh...

Before the Spanish ever reached Tenochtitlan, they nearly died in Tlaxcala. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the alliance that made the conquest possible—and the people who chose to join it. How did four mountain city-states, fiercely independent and surrounded by the Aztec Empire, become Cortés's most crucial allies? We trace the Tlaxcalans' long resistance against Moctezuma's trade blockade, the brutal battles on the border in 1519, and the political calculus that turned enemies into brothers-in-arms. Along the way, we meet Xicotencatl the Elder, the shrewd leader who saw opportunity in the strangers, and his son Xic...

In 1519, months before the fall of Tenochtitlan, Cortés and his allies carried out a massacre at the great religious center of Cholula. Was it a preemptive strike against an ambush, or an unprovoked slaughter? In this episode, Lucas and Luna untangle the conflicting accounts—from Cortés's self-serving letters to the visceral testimony of Bernal Díaz del Castillo and the often-overlooked perspective of the Tlaxcalteca and Cholulteca sources. They explore the political calculus behind the attack, the role of La Malinche in uncovering the alleged plot, and the lasting legacy of an event that historians still argue over...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the lives of two Indigenous women whose choices shaped the conquest of Mexico: La Malinche, the Nahua interpreter and strategist who navigated between worlds, and Doña Isabel, the daughter of Moctezuma who became a symbol of the new colonial order. We trace how La Malinche's linguistic skills and political acumen made her invaluable to Cortés, and how her legacy has been twisted into the myth of the traitor. We also follow Doña Isabel's journey from Aztec princess to encomendera and pillar of the Spanish aristocracy, examining the complex ways the...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the fascinating history of the Purépecha Empire, also known as the Tarascan Empire, which was the Aztec Empire's only real rival in Mesoamerica. Discover how this powerful state, centered around the city of Tzintzuntzan, managed to resist Aztec expansion and maintain its independence, thanks to its formidable military, skilled bronze-working, and strategic diplomacy. Learn about the legendary ruler cazonci Tangáxuan II, who faced the Spanish conquistadors led by Cristóbal de Olid and later Nuño de Guzmán, and the tragic end that befell him. The episode also touches on th...

In 1520, a single infected African slave named Francisco de Eguía stepped ashore in Veracruz and changed the world. Within months, smallpox — which the Nahua called cocoliztli — swept through Mesoamerica, killing up to half of the population in Tenochtitlan and beyond. It killed the emperor Cuitláhuac, decimated the Aztec leadership, and paved the way for Cortés's final siege. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the disease arrived, why it was so devastating, and how it shaped the fate of empires — including the legend of Moctezuma's prophecy and the role of the Florentine Codex in preserving Nahua acc...

In this episode of Fexingo History, we explore the mysterious death of Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, the Aztec emperor during the Spanish conquest. Was he stoned by his own people, as Spanish accounts claim, or strangled by the conquistadors, as Indigenous sources suggest? We examine the conflicting narratives from Bernal Díaz del Castillo, the Florentine Codex, and other Indigenous accounts, and consider the political context that made his death so convenient for Cortés. We also discuss Moctezuma's role as a hostage, the shifting power dynamics in Tenochtitlan, and how his death became a turning point in the conquest. Join Lu...

In 1519, Hernán Cortés and his army—along with thousands of Tlaxcalan allies—marched into the sacred city of Cholula, home to the great pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. What happened next is one of the most debated episodes of the conquest: a preemptive massacre, a brutal act of terror, or a misunderstood moment of political violence? This episode unpacks the evidence from Spanish accounts, including Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Cortés's own letters, against the Nahua perspective preserved in the Florentine Codex and the Lienzo de Tlaxcala. We explore the shifting alliances among the Cholulteca, the Mexica, and the...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna revisit the legendary Noche Triste — the night in 1520 when Hernán Cortés and his men fled Tenochtitlan under a hail of stones and arrows. But this time, they focus on the Tacuba Causeway, the narrow stone road that became the stage for one of the most disastrous retreats in military history. Drawing on the Florentine Codex and Bernal Díaz del Castillo's account, they trace the route, the panic, the gold-laden soldiers who drowned, and the crucial role of the Tlaxcalteca allies who fought alongside the Spanish. They also explore the aftermath: the b...