logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
53m 34s

384. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Adventu...

Goalhanger
About this episode

The meeting of the controversial Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and the formidable Emperor Montezuma in 1519 was one of the great hinge moments of world history, and the beginning of the end for the mightiest of the New World empires: the realm of the Aztecs. 


The build-up to this extraordinary encounter is at once a thrilling adventure story and a tragic tale of violence, brutality and loss. It’s a story of temples and sacrifices, exploration and imperialism, with cataclysmic consequences for human history.


Join Tom and Dominic in the first episode of this sensational saga, as they follow the young Cortés across the Atlantic to the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba, where the search for gold comes at a terrible price …


*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*


*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Producer: Theo Young-Smith

Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Yesterday
The Trojan War, with Mary Beard
Did the Trojan War - the ten year, cosmic clash between the Greeks and the Trojans, featuring the Olympian gods, kings and heroes - actually happen? Is there any evidence for the existence of the Trojan Horse? And, why is it the war the foundational myth of both ancient Greece an ... Show More
10m 7s
Oct 8
607. Nelson’s Lover: The Scandalous Lady Hamilton
Who was Emma Hamilton, Horatio Nelson’s strikingly beautiful, and famously fashionable mistress? How did she raise herself up from dire poverty, to become a model, actress, dancer, and even an international celebrity? And, why was theirs one of the most famous love affairs of all ... Show More
1h 13m
Oct 5
606. Enoch Powell: Rivers of Blood
Who was Enoch Powell, the deeply controversial British conservative politician? Why is he the father of Brexit, and possibly even Reform? And, how did he come to make his inflammatory ‘Rivers of Blood speech’, in 1968? Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss Enoch Powell - one of th ... Show More
1h 16m
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
2. Machu Picchu: The Rise of the Inca Empire
Part 2/4. At their most powerful, the Inca had the largest empire in the world. Lasting just one century from the mid-15th century, it stretched across the South American continent from the Amazon to the Pacific. The Inca developed ingenious ways to grow food in some of the world ... Show More
39 m
Apr 2024
The Aztecs
Since the arrival of the Aztecs in central Mexico from the early 1300s, history has been fascinated by them. They’re widely reputed to be a savage people who left behind obsidian knives, skull racks, and disturbing remnants of human sacrifice. But in reality, the Aztecs were far ... Show More
1 h
Sep 2023
The Mexican-American War
In 1848, after almost two years of fighting, the US annexation of former Mexican territory was signed into a treaty. Mexico lost a third of its territory, land which would later yield metals and stretch the United States from coast to coast. To find out how the war broke out, and ... Show More
34m 54s
Apr 2024
143. Isabella of Castile: The Spanish Inquisition, the Conquest of Granada, and Columbus
For centuries Spain had been an outlier in Europe due to its religious diversity; Christians, Jews, and Muslims all existed reasonably peacefully across the Iberian peninsula. Under Isabelle of Castile that all changed. She began the Spanish Inquisition and brought to the fore a ... Show More
54m 37s
Aug 2022
Welcome to American History Hit
Join Don Wildman twice a week for your hit of American history, as he explores the past to help us understand the United States of today. We’ll hear how codebreakers uncovered secret Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway, visit Chief Powhatan as he prepares for war with the Bri ... Show More
3m 12s
Aug 2023
The Pueblo Revolt
On August 10 1680, the Pueblo people began the most successful uprising against colonial power in North America. For 11 days, Spanish colonisers were driven out, taken prisoner or killed, their horses were stolen and Christian churches were burnt to the ground. They did not manag ... Show More
35m 32s
Aug 2021
The Aztec: From Empire to AI
August 1521: Spain’s victory over the Aztec launches colonization of Mexico, but Aztec culture will survive for centuries through preservation and practice. Aztec codices—16th-century Rosetta Stones that preserved Aztec language and deeds—laid a foundation that scholars are build ... Show More
33m 35s
Feb 2024
Persia Reborn: Rise of the Sasanians
The Sasanians are renowned as one of Rome's most feared enemies. Founded in third century Persia by an Iranian noble called Ardashir, their dynasty oversaw the growth of a mighty empire that brought down the Parthians and survived into the early Middle Ages. But how did one famil ... Show More
50m 37s
Apr 2023
Rise of the Assyrians
At its pinnacle, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, a feat few could compare with in 660BCE. With Assyria's conquests documented by contemporary Greek historians, and even in the Hebrew Bible, nearly two millennia of studies have reve ... Show More
41m 13s
Nov 2022
Alexander the Great: Man and Myth
Alexander the Great is one of the most famous figures from history. Legends and fantastical versions of his life were told almost immediately upon his death, often merging fact with fiction. Through his interaction, both good and bad, with so many different empires and societies, ... Show More
46m 18s