How Interpreters Helped Topple the Aztec Empire

Travel to old Mexico. Uncover the linguistics behind the legend of La Malinche and the conquest of Montezuma's Aztecs!
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This video tells the history of the translators involved in major early events of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. See how Classical Nahuatl, Chontal Maya, Spanish and Montezuma's flowery Aztec poetry all contributed to political decisions that led to the fall of the Aztecs.
~ CREDITS, SOURCES & LOTS OF NOTES ~
Art, narration and animation by Josh from NativLang.
Some of the music, too (ending, light piano in the middle, Thoth's Pill bits).
Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com):
Our Story Begins, Path of the Goblin King v2
Music by Jason Shaw (audionautix.com):
Opus One, Sneaky Snooper, Quiet
Lots of notes plus credits for all outside images, fonts and sfx:
docs.google.com/document/d/1B...

[@KendrixTermina]

It's amusing how peoples everywhere throughout history refer to their neighbors as "those who talk weird"

[@martinmendl1399]

In Czech for example, the Germans are refered to as “Němci”, from the world “němý” wich means “mute”. So we basically call them “mute people”

[@KendrixTermina]

@@martinmendl1399 That's kind of our own fault for taking so long to come up with a name for our country tho, so every neighbor made up their own different-sounding name for us. Afaik they pretty much just called it "the empire" in the middle ages. And then we ended up something that roughly means "Peasantspeak Land". meanwhile half the asian countries have pretty poetic sounding meanings like "sunrise land" or "high and beautiful"

[@Katerina-kqkq]

@@martinmendl1399 same thing in Russian, Germans are немцы, the country is Германия, German/foreign(archaic) things are немецкий.

[@skywriter4308]

Also like the word 'barbarian', which originated in Greek as a term for people whose speech sounds like "bar bar bar!"

[@MyFatherLooksLikeAPallasCat]

Arabs also referred to non-Arabs as Ajam, which means mute I believe

[@user-cr3pn7rk2v]

The guy who turned into a Maya was a badass

[@55876058]

Great Siam Have you ever seen the movie "Road to El Dorado"? It is basically those guys, just change the ending.

[@RyanAmparo-tl]

From Wikipedia When the newly freed friar attempted to convince Guerrero to join him, Gonzalo Guerrero responded: "Brother Aguilar; I am married and have three children, and they look on me as a cacique (lord) here, and captain in time of war. My face is tattooed and my ears are pierced. What would the Spaniards say about me if they saw me like this? Go and God's blessing be with you, for you have seen how handsome these children of mine are. Please give me some of those beads you have brought to give to them and I will tell them that my brothers have sent them from my own country."

[@ReneGAlvarez]

We have a big statue of Gonzalo Guerrero and his family here in the Yucatan peninsula. His children are considered the first Mixed race (Meztizo) people in México and we kinda remember him fondly. www.theyucatantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Gonzalo-Guerrero-Statue.jpg

[@freakystyle1996]

Eventually all Europeans turned into natives. It is the awesome magic of this continent :)

[@patricia7018c]

Avatar!....

[@NativLang]

I spent hours reading through and thinking about your comments this morning. This is some of the best discussion I've seen. You are proving you're an amazing KZbin community.

[@jonsmith5626]

Do you know of any good books or videos about Aztec/Mayan culture, history and linguistics(in english)? Love your videos and I hope to see you guys do a lot more on different areas of the world! :D

[@Haaklong]

Here's an interesting (and completely unrelated to linguistics) fact: The descendants of Montezuma became European nobility and now live in Europe. In fact the Castilian (and later Hispanic) crown recognised a lot of American-Aboriginal aristocrats as European nobility after conquest, and often kept them in positions of power.

[@blakehattaway7762]

NativLang Please do a video about traditional Mongolian script (bichig).

[@afz902k]

Well done in every respect! I like how unbiased this is

[@integlangs]

NativLang Thank you for correcting the title. It means a lot.

[@tibiademon9157]

There's a reason Tlaxcala has a tortilla in its glyph, tlaxcalli literally means tortilla in nahuatl.

[@podemosurss8316]

Yes, Tlaxcala means "land of the people who eat tortilla" or something like that.

[@Joridiy]

@@podemosurss8316 Not at all. «Tlaxcalli» means tortilla while «Tlaxcallan» means "place of the tortilla".

[@cardenasr.2898]

Liked for pronouncing Mexica correctly and noting that aztec and mexica are not the same. You are a pro.

[@brandondavidson4085]

4:15 Oh my gosh! I can't believe that's such a universal thing in languages and cultures. The Greeks called all non-Greek languages "Barbarian" and the Aztecs called all non-Aztec languages "Foreign".

[@blankblank1284]

Yeah, its quite common from people who tend to isolate themselves.

[@TheMCzorro]

There's a similar thing in Slavic languages (I'll use Russian as an example). Originally, the word "немец" ("nemets", derived from "немой" - "nemoy" which stands for "mute" implying that they weren't speaking any language that Slavic people could understand) was used to describe all foreigners. As Germans were apparently more active in the area than any other nation, the name stayed as an ethnonym for them in Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Bulgarian and probably some other languages

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

Japanese used the term “Nanban” which means “foreigner” (not barbarian as this term is Greaco-Latin)

[@SirRichard94]

As a Mexican, I loved this video. Its great to see our history explored from a linguists view.

[@MK-ex4pb]

Ricardo Rodriguez would you stop sending your garbage up north? And why is it ok for you to have a wall with Guatemala but we can't have a wall with you?

[@nickmoser7785]

Ricardo Rodriguez yeah I I don't know how good you know about your nation's history but my question is how much did the native language influence on how Mexican speak today. I do know there are some distinguishments between Spanish and Latin America and Spanish in Spain but that's mostly because the Spanish and Latin America predate the Modern Way Spanish is spoken in Spain which was with a lisp to not piss off the king of Spain who had a bad lisp

[@shortXXkidXX]

Michael King obviously you’ve never been to Mexico because there isn’t one. They do have check points though.

[@kevinandreszaletaandrade4461]

@@nickmoser7785 there's pretty much no difference apart of vocabulary and what you just said. We have our own vocabulary (not very different and as every dialect do), influenced by English and by the precolonization languages but 99% of us know their synonyms used in standard Spanish. To summerize, it's just like American English and British English

[@negarrak]

.. what garbage? Dude, Trumps tricks you to think that Mexicans are all the wrong things he says. But not, dude, your mind has been hijacked by real sociopaths that doesn't gives a shit for you. And you will keep kissing Trumps ass and cursing my people, when the rich men of the US are taking universal healthcare from you, force your sons to fight and died in foreign countries, while they are fulfilling their pockets. No sir, the immigration rate dropped. Mexicans and other LATAM were through a huge economic recession, and thousands of people were suddenly without possibilities to feed themselves. That was in the 90's and the effect last until the first decade of the 2000's.

[@atouloupas]

Fun fact: The words tomato, chocolate and chili come from the Nahuatl language!

[@tibiademon9157]

and avocado

[@tibiademon9157]

and coyote!

[@Novusod]

Avocado also means "testicles" in Nahuatl.

[@tibiademon9157]

Novusod no it doesn't, it's a euphemism for testicles

[@Novusod]

Fabrizio Illuminati It similar to how "nuts" is both a food and slang for testicles in English.

[@dagitab6867]

The word cacique was also brought by the Spanish to the Philippines to refer to the ruling class there -- or the people they had to cooperate with in order to successfully colonize the islands.

[@ToastbackWhale]

I really don't know why but I love learning about the Native cultures, from North America to MesoAmerica. I want more!

[@John77Doe]

月食 I want less. 😑

[@corduroy99]

Hopefully they will do many MANY MORE. I also want more.

[@user-wl4sr4tl7f]

John Doe, Why?

[@ToastbackWhale]

Well aren't you just an uppity douchebag.

[@adrianjimenez6388]

月食 It be pretty cool if he keeps cover other Native groups. It would be really interesting.

[@AveLudusMagnus]

Your pronunciation of the nahuatl terms is great!

[@CarlosN2]

I confirm that.

[@NativLang]

Whew! I studied some good grammars to prepare, so I thank them.

[@jagsoul9363]

+NativLang great job on pronunciation I.jave to agrre ...I.seen other videos and it's just aweful....like.they arent even trying ....but I do speak nahuatl.....grear job man

[@michelleg7]

The narrator speaks Nahuatl fluently

[@sion8]

I have always wondered how the Spaniards learned Mesoamerican languages. I mean they had no way of reading it and all they could do is listen to it, this also brought up how _la Malinche_ learned Spanish you've been the closest to explain that to me and I'm grateful.

[@arenasnefi]

I found a book that mentioned a record in central Mexico where black and mixed black/indigenous slaves spoke nahuatl besides Spanish. That was in the early 1600's in Ixtlahuaca, modern Mexico State. I have also heard that the famous poet Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz wrote a few poems in nahuatl, which she learned from the indigenous workers at her family's hacienda.

[@sion8]

Nefi Arenas Salazar​​​​​​ I'm more interested in the process of language acquisition by people before the advent of a curriculum dedicated to teaching a specific language and/or languages. However, that seem very interesting. I mean peoples that want to speak to each other without knowing a common language usually turn to creating a pidgin, but _la Malinche_ and the Spaniard friar seemed to have learned those uncommon languages fully (Spanish for _la Malinche_ and the Spaniard learning a form of Mayan).

[@arenasnefi]

That's what I'm saying. Imagine a person in Africa is kidnapped and taken on a boat to the new world. He barely speaks a few phrases in Spanish that his new masters taught him, and then he lives in a place surrounded by people who speak nahuatl and nobody speaks his native African language. He would have learned nahuatl and Spanish out of necessity, not through a learning curriculum.

[@sion8]

Nefi Arenas Salazar​ Well, does the book detail how they learn it? If not, than is exactly what I mean, but I'm not dismissing it, necessity does make people want to learn as much as they can out of their own environment. What interests me is such a process as to me is rather difficult special for adults and more incredibly is that it was just via verbal instructions and patience by both parties (or lack of in the case of slaves as I'm sure they wanted them deprived of humanity, keeps them malleable).

[@varana]

It's hard to learn a new language for adults if you're trying to reach a near-native level. Learning it at a level good enough for most conversations, however, is quite possible even without formal instruction, just by being around it, constantly.

[@rodrigomares848]

Excellent! I'm a bioanthropologist from Mexico City so, although my strong suit is primatology, I've had plenty of courses and easy access to all things Mesoamerican. It's an incredibly well done job: well researched and informed; little-to-no bias (something that even amongst Mexican researchers is hard to accomplish); truly respectful in terms of clarifying differences that some may regard as superfluous or unnecessary; and your pronunciation in Spanish is beautiful and I reckon your Nahuatl is really good too. Looking forwards to learning more on Yuto-Nahuan languages (maybe about the different Nahuatl dialects? I've studied a wee of Classic, modern day Cuetzallan and mostly Central, but I'm still in diapers haha), and if you could throw in a video on bats'il k'op (Tzeltal, another Maya language) it'll be greatly appreciated. Best regards!

[@Cubannerd]

Is there any good book you can recommend about this time period in Mexico? I'm very curious. It can be in Spanish too.

[@Mr_H3nry]

@@Cubannerd look for Bernal Díaz del Castillo's book. It is exactly what you're looking for.

[@Hypie582]

are you mestizo?

[@rodrigomares848]

@@Cubannerd I am terribly sorry! I don't usually get replies to my comments on KZbin and I reckon I totally dismissed the notification on yours months ago! If it is still of any use, yes, I can recommend the following: ·Oudijk, Michel & Restall, Mathew (2008) La conquista indígena de Mesoamérica. El caso de Don Gonzalo Mazatzin Moctezuma. Cholula, México: Secretaría de Cultura del Estado de Puebla - Universidad de las Américas Puebla - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. And the one Hugo Rangel said: Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva España by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a conquistador who died in 1581. You can din a free electronic version of that here: www.saavedrafajardo.org/Archivos/diazhistoria.pdf Also, there is another book about the conquest. It does not detail this language thing, but it does approach the process in a "global" manner. It is quite interesting. ·Semo, Enrique (2019) La Conquista. Catástrofe de los pueblos originarios. Tomo 2: La invasion del Anáhuac, Gran Septentrión y Sur-Sureste. Ciudad de México: Siglo XXI Editores. Those are off the top of my head, I'll let you know if I think of any others. Cheers!

[@rodrigomares848]

@@Hypie582 Yes, I am :)

[@eduardoopinho]

Cacique is a common word we use here in Brasil to refer to indigenous chiefs. It's actually pretty cool to know where it comes from

[@CarlosN2]

Amazing coverage of that stage of my country's history, you cover many things any Mexican wouldn't expect from a foreigner, and you do it superbly! Keep up the good job.

[@darthmortus5702]

In Mexican education are the Spanish or the natives shown as the good guys? Or is it more balanced?

[@lucario204920]

I would say is more balaced... kinda. I say it completly depends on what part you are studing. Of course the spaniards are the bad guys around the independence but in the Conquista it varies. Thee books, the teacher, your own point of view, it changes constantly. But I think generally, before taking control over the Aztecs, the spanish are the bad guys and after they are kinda good guys but then they are the most hated.... goes to show you how much history depends on the eye of the beholder...

[@CarlosN2]

Darth Mortus Long story short: Text books try to sound as least unbiassed as possible but the teacher I had in elementary school emphasized the disadvantage of the Aztecs after the chapter of the book in which she had emphasized the beauty of their culture and art. Kinda makes you want some justice for the Aztecs. Even though in high school we learn they were not as innocent as we love to think. In fact, as part of a cultural phenomenon in Mexico City and the surrounding region some Mexican teenagers identify themselves as Mexica descendants even if they might not look mestizo or even amerindian at all.

[@darthmortus5702]

***** I suppose the main question is, are people more proud of their Spanish heritage or their Aztec one. Depending on that they will either lean to one side or the other. Though it is good the books are more balanced in their approach. If you ask me both sides were pretty polarizing. Both were vicious imperialists (with a dash of human sacrifice in the Aztec case) with the exception that the Aztec dominated other city states and tribes while the Spanish ended up dominating everyone in and out of Mezoamerica. But both sides had culture and beauty too, the unique Mesoamerican culture on one side and all the cultural heritage of the Western world on the other,.

[@PedritoElMaldito]

Darth Mortus given that a lot of Mexicans dislike Spaniards I'd go with us being more proud of our Azteca history

[@Luboman411]

Cool! That plague you describe in less than a second is the real reason behind the defeat of the Aztecs and Spanish dominion over Mexico. Without it, it would've been almost impossible to take the city, even with a massive army and a 100 translators. The plague swept through Tenochtitlan in the early months of 1521 during which the Spanish were gathering their strength in Tlaxcala. This plague was estimated to have killed or sickened close to 20% of the population of the tightly-packed city, a large number of them healthy warriors and young women. It also led to a huge amount of anxiety, fear and despondency, as the city dwellers, their health providers and religious leaders had never seen such disease(s) before, freaking them out in the process. Psychologically shell-shocked from this epic disaster, it was hard for the Aztecs to then mount an organized, strong defense of their city. So the city fell quickly. These epidemics and plagues continued to sweep through central Mexico for another 100 years or so, collapsing the pre-Columbian population of around 20 million by almost 90% in some regions. This is why the small band of Spanish were able to take over so easily--Old World diseases did 99% of the work in the conquest.

[@alexandro_lux]

Ymasdediritotor Y lo tuyo es un eurocentrismo barato.

[@alecity4877]

@Luboman411 @drelinaren @Alejandro_Lux todos están un tanto equivocados, el que menos Luboman pero ciertamente es un error pensar que la plaga hizo 99% del trabajo, pues los nativos del sur y éste del imperio azteca se unieron a los españoles para tumbar a los mexicas, los españoles eran menos de 5000 en verdad, mientras sus aliados nativos cerca de 50000 (no todos guerreros formados), y los españoles ayudaban a los nativos no mexicas a resistir la enfermedad, más no lo hicieron efectivamente pues pensaban era una local e intentaron replicar los metodos medicos locales, no haciendolo del todo bien debido a que no entendían del todo las lenguas nativas y no eran doctores sino militares.

[@jonransdell]

The plague also resulted in famine because a lot of the Aztec agricultural class died!

[@user-no1nj9ji1d]

Yeah, yeah. Deseases, need to shit, jews, aliens... Everetging but not European strength and prowess and mastering of war. What new fairy tale will you tell us?

[@tiaashtyn7560]

The impact of these epidemics on our ancestral societies is reason enough for us to be the first in line to get vaccines. I don’t understand how our people today can so easily forget the significance of vaccines to our people. Our ancestors would’ve had a different outcome had they had the scientific advantage of vaccines. Though they cannot be blindly given to every single person, when we take them with consideration for those who cannot & those who remain vulnerable even with vaccines, we’re able to protect our society as a whole. Protecting our people matters, it’s so important for us to take care of one another given everything our ancestors have gone through.

[@Mateo-oq7ui]

Fun fact, Malinche had a son with Cortés after taking Tenochtitlan, who then entered a knightly order back in Europe. Also, Malinche helped Cortés training the Tlaxcallans to fight with swords, mostly because most of the time the Tlaxcallans and other Nahua kingdoms tried to leave as many enemies alive on the battlefield as they could (wich was hard because their obsidian clubs were brutal) to carry them for sacrifice at their cities. She was quite the badass. And it doesn't really make sense to call her a traitor to either the Mayans or the Aztecs, first because the Mayans took her as a slave and sold ther to the Spaniards, and second because she never lived in Aztec territory to begin with, but in another Nahua-speaking kingdom near the Mayan lands.

[@Mateo-oq7ui]

Mendl's Patisserie I'm an Argentine and no, if all the Mesoamerican peoples had been massacred, Mexico and Central America would be overwhelmingly white like the US and Canada. The Tlaxcallans and the Mayans, for example, were not massacred. The Tlaxcallans themselves were accepted once they converted to Catholicism, and the Mayans... Well... Have luck finding a Guatelaman who is not at least 80% Mayan. Also, saying that 30 million people were murdered in the conquest of the Americas is just ridiculous. Sure, a ridiculous amount of people died, but the overwhelming majority of those deaths was caused by smallpox and other sicknesses that the Spanish didn't intentionally introduce. The whole "blankets with smallpox" thing was not used until the Americans came in. It is true that many native peoples in Latin America were either nearly or completely wiped out (like the Yaquis in Mexico, the Tehuelches in Argentina, the Pastusos in Colombia and the Charruas in Uruguay), and that racial discrimination is an issue, like it is in every single group of people in the world, but most of the exterminations (including the ones that I mentioned) happened during or after the independence (backed, of course, by the UK) of those nations, as their governments had to "clear up space" for a hoped European immigration. However, the Spanish Empire (while it had its own fuckton of issues) was suprisingly inclusive when it came to (mostly of noble birth) natives. Hell, a direct descendant of Moctezuma himself was a general in the Spanish army, fighting against Napoleon in Europe and helping the Americans in their independence war. Not to mention the Pastuso people, wich was nearly entirely wiped out by Bolivar's men during the Colombian independence war, after their chief refused to surrender to the independentists.

[@yagobrotons5892]

Mendl's Patisserie as our Argentina friend sais , we ,( i am spanish ) didnt kill your people , as many of them were our allies , and we libre with them and they had sons with us

[@varana]

A lot of this image as "traitor" comes a) from hindsight, and b) from some notion of "Natives versus Spaniards" that was not as prevalent back then. What Malintzin did, was helping to overthrow an oppressive and militaristic empire, with a (really very small) group of foreigners who managed to get a coalition against the Aztecs going. After all, while the leaders were clearly the Spanish, the large majority of those fighting still were indigenous peoples. That the Mesoamerican peoples were as diverse as e.g. European nations, and fought against each other and had their political alliances and hostilities, often gets overlooked. This was not "all native people against the Europeans", this was an episode of the constant infighting between the indigenous peoples of (today) Mexico, and one side in that struggle managed to get the Spanish on their side, and won. What happened afterwards, was not at all clear to those taking part in those events. But modern Mexico (at least the official one) has a very strong bias towards the Aztecs, and from their perspective, of course Malintzin was the enemy. That those same Aztecs conquered and slaughtered other peoples whose descendants also live in the country, is often conveniently ignored. Plus, the squabbles and wars between the indigenous peoples pale in comparison to what happened in colonial times, so they get lumped together and presented as a more or less homogenous group in hindsight.

[@vidividivicious]

Mexican here also. I find stupid that we think that Malinche "betrayed" us by helping the Spaniards. A lot of people in mexico still sees themselves like indigenous people from mesoamerica and that spanish (whites) are the enemies. We need to start to understand that we as modern mexicans are a result from the mix that happened after the Conquista. We are no longer those people that lived in the valley and made human sacrifices. But I totally agree with you in the race thing. There is still that disctiction between whites and meztizos and indigenous people. But I would not say that the upper class is mostly from pure spanish descent. There is a bunch of german, lebanese and jewish genes in there also.

[@fallowfieldoutwest]

Jajaja Ender, Yago y Mateo, si era para mí, ¿por qué no me lo escribieron en español? Me parece que todos ustedes tienen razón en lo que me objetan, no me expresé bien, no me refería a los españoles como bestias que exterminaron todo a su paso, como bien dice Mateo, de haber sido así en latinoamerica todos seríamos blancos. También es probablemente una exageración el decir que fueron 30 millones de muertos y que al caer los mexicas cayó toda américa, todo eso es una sobreestimación, jajaja que oso que no me percaté de nada de esto al escribirlo. Me retracto. Pero, ¿qué opinan de lo que dije sobre el malinchismo? Mateo, ¿en Argentina hay algo así? Yago, ¿en España "indio" es un insulto como aquí? Creo que estaba medio acelerado al escribirlo, porque recordé toda la discriminación en México hacia los indígenas, y el hecho de que estamos muy lejos de poder incluirlos en nuestra sociedad mestiza y malinchista. Aún creo que la malinche traicionó a américa, pero más importante que eso es el no traicionar a nuestros hermanos indígenas ahora. Por cierto, no tenía idea de lo de Bolívar, me lo habían vendido como una figura legendaria y santa. Que mal.

[@MasterGeekMX]

There is a TV series Called "Hernán" about the conquest of Mexico, and the series uses real yokot'an mayan and aztec nahuatl. It think i'ts on amazon prime.

[@YukiteruAmano92]

That "Chontal" vs "Yokot'an" thing has a parallel in the AngloSaxon history of Britain. The modern English word "Welsh" (describing the people of Wales) has its roots in the AngloSaxon word "waelisc" (pronounced "Wah-lish") meaning foreigner or stranger tongue. On the flipside, the Welsh word for "Welsh" is "Cymraeg" (pronounced "Cum-raig" with the "y" being like the "oo" in "book" and the "rae" said like the English word "rye") which means comrade or countryman tongue. "They are foreigners" versus "We are countrymen".

[@NativLang]

That... is cool. Is there a term for this phenomenon? "Exonym" or is there a better one?

[@YukiteruAmano92]

"Exonym" or "Xenonym" are both functional terms, I would say.

[@darknomad5600]

Well on the subject of names, what did the Bulgars call themselves?

[@andrewhall7176]

And the Latin "Germani" comes from a variety of Continental Celtic and means "neighbours".

[@D.S.handle]

This channel is getting better with every video. Every aspect of videos does from animation to narrative.

[@Iaro67]

Awesome research and work. Thank you so much for sharing this! This brings me back to elementary school

[@MrAlvarogame]

Oh God, I cannot wait for the next video! You are awesome, ¡sigue así!

[@binarydivided]

By far my favourite channel on KZbin and an inspiration for my life.

[@violettasauveterre5100]

Can't wait for your next video on Mexico's language. Your videos are awsome.

[@simon133000]

As a latinametican, great! I love your videos and this is awesome. Please in the future talk about southamerican languages like quechua, aymara or mapüzungun.

[@yolotad7546]

I agree!

[@NativLang]

I've got suggestions for Guaraní, too. All very deserving of attention.

[@mew11two]

I love the Quechua language!

[@0originalchocolate0]

i would be the happiest person if you ever do a video about that language; it would be great seriously

[@nariko47]

Simón133000 [CivHybridGames] Marichiweu !!

[@kyle-silver]

I think this is going to be one of my favorite series on your channel

[@athenaa23]

Can't wait for the next video! Thanks so much for making these for all of us language nerds!!

[@hanawana]

Your videos are amazing. Thank you so much. The amount of time and effort you put into your uploads is astounding. ✨

[@thinkfact]

Absolutely phenomenal video! This is one of my favorite areas of history and it's awesome to get a little bit more of insight on particular aspects of this conflict I didn't know. Thank you for making it and I look forward to future videos over the language you mentioned!

[@angeliparraguirre7329]

There is a lot more turmoil and politics behind the scenes in this time period that make the story of resistance from Native Americans and the European conquistadors more layered than people tell in schools.

[@marionlara428]

"Plagues, guns, and steel" Nope, one off. "Guns, *germs*, and steel?" Yeah, that one.

[@ClearlyPixelated]

Fantastic language history lesson! There was a lot going on there. I can't wait for the next installment.

[@matfejpatrusin4550]

Exceptionally high quality content again. I am amazed by this channel. Seriously, great job!!

[@sergiosarmiento4233]

I learned more about my people from this video than from my parents... it's kinda sad XD

[@craycraywolf6726]

It's really sad how these really complex and interesting stories can fade away so easily...learning about them, along with cultures, are my favorite things about history!

[@shambhav9534]

So you're sad you have no risk of getting beaten up till you and your parents start crying and drown you in your childhood for rain? Be happy! Nobody's going to bake you alive due to the "sad" thing.

[@MultiSciGeek]

This is so epic they should make a TV series out of it. Can't wait for the next episode

[@samuelmosley948]

I am already subscribed to this channel and it is so awesome that my professor would link this video as part of my homework. These are high quality videos always. Keep it up awesome!

[@martineslava8642]

I love this channel! I was just writing a poem in a style of Beowulf but of the Aztec people and the Conquistadors. This serves as inspiration! I look forward to the other videos on the Meso-American languages.

[@Blublod]

Have any of you ever wondered why Hollywood has never taken on the challenge of making an epic film about the conquest of Mexico? The closest anyone has ever come in a quality production which isn't exactly about this subject, but a related one, is Mel Gibson's movie which deals with the Maya, "Apocalypto". Can't figure out why no one has taken a shot at it. It seems to me like an opportunity for a blockbuster. Hell, I think this story beats Cleopatra and Ben Hur put together...

[@aguapreciosa4127]

Rick Wyk and even Apocalypto is super unaccurate

[@Catmomila]

Hollywood would mess up the idea with their eurocentrism and all the clichés. But something about this part of History in popular media would definitely be good.

[@jalex23]

Yes. In fact there is a "do not give them ideas" and point out "apocalypto" as the evidence that Hollywood should stay away from our culture. This thing should be handled with care, basically you would be making money out of opening a wound from a still ongoing conflict. It is better that gringos should keep their hands away, it is for the best. Now... there is a recent attempt, from Spain, ongoing series Isabel. We are really pissed off that they couldn't even cast a native to play the Motecuhzoma role.

[@MacStatic]

There isn't enough accurate information to accomplish such an endeavor. Although Hollywood isn't known for their accuracy. They love 'based on a true story' productions being 10% true and 90% fiction. But I would rather be inclined to say that schools should include more than just a month of indigenous american education. It's a shame that we learn so much about a continent we're not a part of and very little to nothing about the one we live on.

[@alexandro_lux]

Gibson should be crucified in a public square for the shit-job he did with that movie.

[@NancyRodriguez-ip5rj]

Malinali was an amazing woman! She was exceptionally intelligent and was never regarded as such. People often neglect to recognize that women at the time of the conquest, especially enslaved women like Malinali, had no rights. They were not allowed to think independently of the men who ruled over them. She was as much a victim as were the Mexicauhtl. Thank you for the video. I'm now a subscriber!!

[@GY-bd9bo]

the conquistadores probably valued her immensely. she was instrumental to their success.

[@llewballantine6678]

Really looking forward to this next video

[@danukil7703]

Your artwork for your videos are always amazing! I especially love how Malinalli was drawn, she is very cute, especially with that smirk :)

[@ricardovazquez3050]

As a Mexican, I find this to be fascinating. Kudos!

[@Slashplite]

Your pronunciation is great!

[@desireebach6394]

This is one of the best videos about lenguages and history that i have ever seen.

[@adrianjimenez6388]

😮 Thank you for this video your only a few KZbinrs to cover and go into detail with you Language videos. Thank You!

[@TheZerovirus1000]

*subscribes in mexican*

[@GuillermoRodriguez-yd2zq]

Likes in peruvian

[@JPWack]

WOW! I just discovered your channel yesterday, and it's more addictive than tobacco and chocolate combined, great work! PS: mapudungun please!

[@Arcsinner]

Really good video. I am glad to have subscribed to your video. Also looking forward to any follow-up videos!

[@PhattyBolger]

That was an amazing video!

[@sword_lily]

Great video! every time I go to Mexico, I find it had and interesting how cities still have the Aztec name. You should do a video on how Spanish is varied throughout Latin America and in the US.

[@unemati_601]

So great! I study Spanish philology and a few days ago this was exactly the topic of my final exam! Well, as far as I can say everything seems to be correct... :P

[@ervinszujevs224]

I wonder how do you choose which topics to make the video about but appreciate whatever you have...cannot imagine how many hours you spend in research to make these videos... Keep it up!

[@JustinTyme4Dinner]

Awesome presentation. Well done.

[@luissoriano8850]

I'm a simple man, I see my country and my history and I give like

[@eloujtimereaver4504]

I love my own heritage, when I see others who value theirs, I also give like.

[@ismt9390]

We need a tv series about this!

[@rodcarre9057]

Excelente video! You are an impresionant Tlakka!

[@transloco]

I appreciate your hard work on these vids. You have an impressive grasp on the subject and a very effective way of conveying it. I wish more content like this were available. I just have a small complaint: those guys were interpreters, not translators! Now, I'm off to watch more of your vids. Please, keep them coming!

[@M210F]

Mexican and Mesoamerican is absolutely fascinating, and I recommend everyone look into it. I didn't know much about it, but I visited a friend in Mexico City a few weeks ago and got a chance to visit some of the city's incredible museums and historical ruins, and it's a learning experience I recommend to everyone. The sheer depth of culture and society for these people in incredible, and you can trace its influence on modern Mexico.

[@tinkywinky1238]

Reminder: Aguilar and Guerrero were not the only survivors of the shipwreck. They were the only 2 survivors the Mayans didn't ate.

[@abc80s74]

Great work keep it coming

[@jrnone2047]

Excellent job retelling of a complex subject.

[@Ramk0core]

Ah nice. You know, this is one of the first language videos focused on a native american language and it's history I've seen, at least in this style. Great job man.

[@NativLang]

Thank you!

[@davedark27]

as a Mexican I couldn't be more amazed and excited about you covering our native languages :D thank you so much and I can't wait for the next video

[@aolc.r.z9997]

Hello, i´m from Mexico, and I just want to tell you that i love your videos, i like to learn more languages and all your videos are so helpful, because i can learn some culture about them, and when i saw your videos about prehispanic mexico i just got really excited. I've learned more than what I am taught here. I love you make this videos, the world is better for people like you. Greeting from México. And thank you.

[@MrJdouble1998]

Your channel is awesome for anyone with an interest in Mexican history.

[@WilliametcCook]

1:53 "arrive from the yeast"

[@JS-wp4gs]

....so the diseases the ended up killing most of them off would be.....yeast infections then

[@darknomad5600]

Or with very bad bread. Lol. Half baked jokes.

[@angeliparraguirre7329]

🙄

[@Creepkido]

wheat a second....

[@m.k.7087]

arise from the yeast

[@SebastianLopez-nh1rr]

I'm Mexican, I feel flattered. I can also confirm the video to be very accurate.

[@rubenrubinos982]

Thank You for the language and history behind the supposed conquest.

[@nlbuescher]

Can't wait for the next one!

[@eomguel9017]

You won my subscription with this awesome video. Being Mexican and having studied Nahuatl, I can say that you've pronounced Spanish and Nahuatl words quite well. Congrats!

[@renelznicolas8659]

Some nahuatl words that have transcended into other languages: chocolate, tomato, coyote. Who can name more?

[@arenasnefi]

Ahm... I can think of tons of names for places around here in Mexico City! lol, the list is too long but I don't think they really count...

[@BernardoPatino]

René Nicolás ¿Chicle?

[@Famous_Athlete_Hashimoto]

Huarache, popote, escuincle, cacahuate, chicle, chancla, and many more Spanish words unique to Mexico that I can't think of right now

[@ghrtfhfgdfnfg]

+SilverbulletJT chicle means gum, right? if so, that's not unique to mexico

[@LyamOfficial]

gum was discovered after they found about the Chicle tree which produce the gum en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicle

[@kentuckykevinkern]

LOVE THESE VIDEOS!!!!

[@cjthibeau4843]

Wow, 400 years ago the Aztecs fell thats crazy. I know you've done a couple videos already covering Aztec and Maya, but I wouldn't be upset if you came back to it some day!

[@AnthonyBerkshire]

Just today I thought that I have to learn more about south America history and culture because I noticed that I almost know nothing about. So thanks a lot and greetings from Berlin Germany!

[@kaesarcggb]

Good that you want to learn more about south America! This is Mesoamerican history, though. Not to be confused with Latin America which is generally defined as going from Mexico (in North America/Mesoamerica) to Argentina (in South America).

[@tamalito111]

Technically mexico is in north america.

[@bernardoblanchetramirez6032]

Anthony ofWindsor well, in this video you learned nothing about South American culture

[@AnthonyBerkshire]

tamalito111 Bernardo BR I dont think that the Native Americans like Majas&Aztecs made the same cut between NorthAmerica&SouthAmerica like us today.

[@tamalito111]

It's still North America.

[@b.sylphaen]

I'm in love with your channel. I'd love to be your friend, person behind NativLang.

[@HyperSensitive88]

That was an awesome video! I'm really looking forward to the intermixing of languages video you just promised to do. I was a linguistics undergrad and even the greatest public university hardly talked about meso American languages. Sad, right? Its history and especially its linguistics is fascinating!

[@NativLang]

Totally agree. A professor of mine fell head over heels for Mayan late in his career and introduced me to Mesoamerican linguistics.

[@Tlalox]

You explained it very well. My respects.

[@autokratao]

NatviLang Great video as always! Could you do a video on the Ibero-romance languages at some point? Portuguese, Castilian, Leonese, Catalan, etc...?

[@NativLang]

I do need to make it back to Romance, and in a bigger way than just "where did ñ come from?"

[@dianawestrup7416]

There is a film called "Cabeza de Vaca" about Juan Alvar Cabeza de Vaca, explorer of Florida and some other regions. This weird picture gives an idea of the encounter of two different worlds. Interesting to watch.

[@JuanMendizabalRS]

Es muy interesante cómo explicas la historia de la conquista. ¡Me gustó mucho tu video! Pronuncias español muy bien, por cierto. :D

[@vontosmagicmurderbag2611]

I wrote a paper in college about the reasons the Spanish were able to conquer the Aztecs. The format I was supposed to use was to analyze how other historians had written about the subject and then briefly talk about the idea I supported the most (without doing any actual research myself). I ended up writing a lot about interpreters and alliances with other tribes. I appreciated this video and the notes document.

[@MasterGeekMX]

I'm mexican and a lot of details about cortés and the mayans or how he met malinalli are ignored in history class. Thanks for this great video. P.S: My college lemma is actually in nahuatl: In calli ixcahucopa; house open to time.

[@NativLang]

It's epic history, and super linguistic. I couldn't ignore it. Ooh, I like that motto. I would've expected ixcauhcopa - but I keep seeing both -uh and -hu for /w/ at the end of a syllable, even when it's always -uh at the end of a word. (Same thing with Moteuczoma and Motecuzoma.)

[@caimaccoinnich9594]

How do you get all this information Nativlang? Wow! Do you have a background in linguistics by any chance? How do you do the graphics?

[@NativLang]

You approve? :) By researching until I couldn't keep my eyes open - a doc in the info box explains more. As a hobby and passion, in college and out. Digital drawing/painting, image editing and 3D animation in Blender, GIMP and Manga Studio.

[@caimaccoinnich9594]

***** I really love the videos you make!! They're extremely cool. Good job!

[@absmooth69]

do you use a stylus ?

[@ppaaccoojrf]

Amazing video as always, for a topic that's not usually covered! I'm looking forward to the next video. I hope you get to explain how Pipil got as far south as Cuscatlan while being surrounded by Mayan speakers as opposed to Nahuatl speakers.

[@jjeherrera]

Great video! Very well informed!

[@Rudrugo]

do a video on Quechua too!

[@angeliparraguirre7329]

🇵🇪🇨🇴🇨🇱🇪🇨🇦🇷🇻🇪🇧🇴

[@MalaysianTropikfusion]

So is Malintzin viewed as a traitor in Mexico till this day?

[@isaaccastillo5080]

Zulhilmi Ghouse yes, she is seen as a traitor to Mexico and Mexican culture ( We have to point out that "Mexico" as a political entity didn't even exist in those days, so technically she is not a traitor, she just did what she was meant to do to survive)

[@alex_roivas333]

they also say (more as a joke though) that people from the state of Tlaxcala are traitors

[@JuanPablodelaTorre]

Actually, _"hijo de la Malinche" (son of Malinche)_ means traitor and is used as an insult. Also, _Malinchismo_ is a word recognized by the _Real Academia Española_ (the entity that normalizes how Spanish is written) and it means: _"Attitude of those who show closeness to what is foreigner and contempt for what is own"_. Here's the _"official"_ dictionary entry: dle.rae.es/?id=O2xoyyk

[@Famous_Athlete_Hashimoto]

Yes, and in fact the words "traidor" and "traicionero" are very taboo in places like Puebla and Veracruz which are highly associated with La Malinche. Because she had a child with Cortés, she also earned the nickname "La Chingada" which literally means "the fucked one". Because of this, Mexicans would often say that they are "hijos de la chingada" because of their mixed Mesoamerican and European ancestry. Very interesting stuff that even most Mexicans aren't aware of, I only know because I took a Latin American studies course in college

[@jalex23]

Yup, the general consensus is she is a traitor. Now the dispute is still open between intellectuals as Malinche had no country and was more of a mercenary, so a traitor to "locals" for "being an ally to foreigners". In general the feeling keeps going in that sense, if you prefer "foreigner" stuff to "local" stuff just for that sake you are a "malinch-ista" which has this "traitor" feeling attached to it.

[@logosh]

Wonderful video, that understand a core knowledge of our culture. I thank you, for creating this video.

[@ignotumperignotius630]

One of the most fantastic conquests ever, and an amazing linguistic root

[@Sephirajo]

Malinche's name is also slang for traitor >_

[@m.worthy]

Juxtapose _La Malinche_ with Colombia's *_La India Catalina_* 🇻🇪... Spain's Conquistadors absolutely knew how to create tools to execute & manifest their colonial objectives.

[@n0denz]

Would love to see a movie about Malinche. Also it seems weird and anachronistic to call her a traitor to her people. They were always fighting amongst themselves. The Spanish were just another player in that game who happened to possess greater technology.

[@madhatterforever1]

Great video!!!

[@sebamascolo4511]

Amazing video! Argentinian history student here. Your info is really accurate and up to date. You perfectly got through the LEYENDA ROSA and the LEYENDA NEGRA. If anyone wants one single book with a lot of information to check about this subject I recomend Leslie Bethel's first book of the Cambridge History of Latin America.

[@cheeze6850]

thank you for book recomendation!

[@dbartholemewfox]

I really liked your pronunciation in this episode (not that I'm an expert). But shouldn't the consonants with apostrophes following them be pronounced as ejective consonants? Also, I believe Yucatec has high tones, which I didn't notice in your pronunciation. This was a sick history lesson though!! source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucatec_Maya_language#Phonology

[@NativLang]

Nice! Yucatec is tonal, but Yokot'an is not. For example, t'àan in QR vs t'an in Tabasco. I gave ejective t' a shot based on the audio I've heard from modern speakers, but my Maya pronunciation is still a work in progress. Isolated words like "yokot'an" should pitch up on the last syllable for prosody, and that's missing from my examples.

[@dbartholemewfox]

Whoops, I don't know why I assumed Yokot'an was half-a-millennium-old Yucatec. Impressive research! Looking forward to the rest of this series :)

[@savage-americanimperialist4335]

Why would you ask a stupid question, considering you're not an expert? Idiot.

[@zestiep]

ok so.. for the aztec “tl” sound, you push air out of one side of your mouth. is there any significance or cultural stuff that rules over which side of the mouth you do this on? or is it just a choice? does anyone know?

[@varkr2066]

I have read that it is easiest for the speaker, they should do it that way. I know the strength varies a lot on the sound too.. but I am unsure about the cultural thing

[@MrBraveheart1191]

I’m Mexican, For the tl words from the Nahuatl language I have most times pushed the air to the left and sometimes to both sides at the same time. It is a funny question 😀

[@sharadchandakacherla8268]

man your doing great work. I had never heard Aztec or any mesoamerican in such detail.

[@CJWarlock]

Interesting! Thanks for the video. I'd write more but this story about the language was so good I don't know what to say. :)

[@cadr003]

Hey long time no see

[@NativLang]

Indeed...

[@mls160]

Anyone else seeing some interesting parallels between the Aztec and ancient Greece ?

[@JamesOfTheYear]

such a great video

[@theolofgren]

Very good video. You should do one about all the languages you speak. I'm sure you will find a connection between them that will make the video even better.