[Q&A Podcast] Misunderstood Moments in History - Rise of the Aztecs

A podcast with our historical researcher, Sean Kiskel, to follow up on the Moments episode on the Rise of the Aztecs. We answer a ton of community questions related to the episode and also issue some error corrections. See below for more details.
Researcher
Sean Kiskel (/u/400-Rabbits on r/AskHistorians)
/ askhistorians
---Below is a list of reading recommendation--
Reading on an introduction to the Aztecs
"Handbook to Life in the Aztec World" by Manuel Aguilar-Moreno
Reading on important figures
"Tlacaelel Remembered" by Schroeder 2016
Reading on Aztec Law
tarlton.law.utexas.edu/aztec-a...
Reading on the Aztec Warfare
"Aztec Warfare" by Ross Hassig
cf. Isaac 1983 “Aztec Warfare: Goals and Battlefield Comportment” Ethnology 22(2) and Isaac 1983 “The Aztec 'Flowery War:’ A Geopolitical Explanation J Anthropological Research 39(4)
Reading on the Spanish Conquest
"Mexico and the Spanish Conquests" by Ross Hassig
Reading on the context of Aztec sacrifice
Brumfiel 1996 “Figurines and the Aztec State: Testing the Effectiveness of Ideological Domination” in Gender and Archaeology ed. Wright

[@InvictaHistory]

Thanks to all who submitted questions and to Sean Kiskel for taking the time to answer them! Check the description for recommended reading and below for timestamps. [0:00] - Introduction [3:20] - Episode Recap [5:03] - Error Corrections [14:18] - Q&A Section 1 - Aztec Origins [25:50] - Q&A Section 2 - Seeking a Home [26:10] - How Reliable is Aztec History? [34:53] - What’s up with the story of the flayed princess? [40:50] - Q&A Section 3 - Finding a Home [41:02] - How did the gods “talk” to the Aztecs? [44:25] - What was the role of a Tlatoani? [47:40] - Q&A Section 4 - Vassals of the Tepanecs [48:19] - Who were the other key players in the Valley of Mexico? [54:28] - Q&A Section 5 - Uprising [54:48] - What was the role of the other city-states in the Triple Alliance? [1:02:26] - Q&A Section 6 - The Aztec Empire [1:01:49] - What were some of the other major powers at the time? [1:13:06] - Q&A Section 7 - Reign of the Tlatoani [1:13:24] - Who is your favorite Aztec ruler? [1:18:16] - Who are some of the other important figures of the era? [1:22:34] - What remains of the Aztec empire today? [1:26:35] - Q&A Section 8 - General Questions [1:26:45] - Questions on Aztec Warfare [1:34:01] - Questions on Aztec Daily Life [1:39:54] - Questions on Aztec Trade [1:49:38] - Questions on Aztec Law [1:55:18] - How accurate was the movie Apocalypto by Mel Gibson? [ 1:59:25] - Aztec sacrifice and modern perceptions

[@Aztec621]

great video. Smal Aztecopedia

[@gabor7524]

Thanks for the time stamps. Still watching the whole video😀

[@prussianeagle1941]

Is there any way you can do a Q&A podcast on the Baltic peoples, (specifically the Old Prussians, how did they get there, their way of life, did they live in organized towns/villages, etc.) Also a podcast on the Prussian Empire or any European empires, such as the Russian and French ones? Thanks, and I've been looking for almost a year now on any info relating to the Old Prussians and their demise, (haven't had much luck), so if you can find info, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE upload a podcast about them! Thankyou

[@mariusmatei2946]

That last comment was Gold (what the "history" channel has become)!!!

[@thestudy4880]

Sanskrit: Maya = Illusion

[@jacintogardea52]

Beautiful and most informative video! I HAVE A QUESTION: Has anyone ever done a drawing of the main buildings of Tenochtitlan layered over present-day Mexico City?

[@Personaje-de-ficcion]

It's great to hear such an excellent explanation on the Aztecs and their rich culture, which often gets overlooked because of the more sensationalist aspects! Greetings from Texcoco!

[@MajoraZ]

Oh man, I'm really disappointed I missed out on this, my hard drive died the day this happened, and I didn't know it was going on. 400 rabbits's posts on Askhistorians and the sub in general is some of the best info online about Mesoamerican history, coming across his stuff is a huge part of what ignited what was an a light fascination with Mesoamerica into a full blown hobby of mine. A comment, though, on him pointing out how the Mexica myth for how the Purepecha/Tarascans came to be not making sense since linguistically/culturally they were entirely seperate: I've heard/read that the original ruling dyansty of some of the cities around Lake Patzcuaro that would become the core cities of the Purepecha empire had their ruling dyansities descend from a group called the Uacusecha, who actually DID have partial Chichimeca, potentially Nahua ancestry. Still wouldn't match up with the Mexica myth I don't think of course, but I think it's interesting to note!

[@amaradejo]

Thanks A LOT for this wonderful podcast. Julien, you did a great job as a moderator and also congrats on that pronounciation: other than the few corrections pointed out by Sean, you sounded super natural and accurate with the names in your Aztec videos. Also, thanks of course to Sean for his clarity and his likeable personality. I can perceive from both of you a great passion for the topics and that passion is infectious. The Aztec are definitely one of my favourite cultures to hear about. My research is based on peoples from the Andes, but I return to the Aztecs time and again. Currently I'm creating a Dungeons & Dragons campaign centered in Tenochtitlán and I've been exploring your amazing videos to learn more and more things.

[@alexanderkorol677]

How did the campaign go? I'm also using this video as inspiration for my own future campaigns as well.

[@amaradejo]

@@alexanderkorol677 It went well! :D It had a lot of intrigue and quests through Tenochtitlán and we're thinking of making a "season 2", so to speak. I want to know about your future campaign :)

[@alexanderkorol677]

@@amaradejo It's pretty complicated to explain everything.

[@swest6982]

I had a feeling 400 rabbit was involved with these recent videos! Glad to see this cooperation, it has resulted in some great content. I hope you continue to make videos on Mesoamerican history.

[@jollysalad5484]

Aztecs are my favorite. keep up the good work😀

[@LordSteeleCastleClashPsteele68]

Amazing video from beginning to end I loved every minute of it really glad you took the time to set this up would love more of these podcast type videos I had to turn on the bell your videos are simply amazing

[@fireearth9725]

Finally good information with more details on the aztecs, can you please do some research on the purepechas indians

[@choncha23]

@Diego87 The Purepecha might have been a bit more advanced because of the natural resources they were exposed to. And they probably did a lot of trading with Aztecs so it would of been bad for business.

[@qus.9617]

Very lucky to have such an informative video available online. Nice video!

[@cdralda]

Please make a video about the Aztec sacrifice and exaggeration, modern perception, and the clarifications made at the end of the podcast. That really deserves a video by itself. A lot of people won't get to the end of this podcast, so I think it's important for you to at least get those views out there.

[@richardvargus7443]

I hope you do timestamps these days.

[@iamnormal8648]

Yeah right, just focus on the negatives. There won't be credible sources to describe what went on in details.

[@jasonshumate6456]

Look up this discussion by Graham Hancock, he tells it like it is and you think its Brutal, until the Spanish show how far man could Warp Jesus's teachings. The Brutality men put upon another shouldn't be forgotten. Its still in us all.

[@jasonshumate6456]

Also "Lost Civilizations' is an incredible Channel, it covers the Aztecs, but the Mayans is covered & its incredible they fought the Spanish for 200 yrs & they had peak/collapsed 100's of years before the Spaniards and explains why.

[@Alkis05]

Great to have a podcast like this and cover a lot of historical subjects in one go. In my view, they don't seem to be that much more brutal or blood thirsty than the romans, just a different kind of brutal. Romans had their arenas, mass crucifixion of revoltees, Triumphs, decimation, brutal invasions, etc.. And sure, every expanding warmonger society relishes on getting fame as bad boyz to do the least amount of fighting necessary. None of that gets in the way of me appreciating all the engineering, art and institutions the romans created. Human history is not for the faint of heart. I absolutely loved these videos about aztec society and would love to see that about other pre colombian ones.

[@joseavila-mo7gt]

Yo this channel is so awesome. Especially because of this topic

[@Dragons_Armory]

Super interesting, I love the MesoAmerican series

[@mexicoenimagenes5086]

Guys, at 5:35 you are using a very famous mural painting by Diego Rivera. One of the most iconic mexican artist of the XX century, you should at least give him credit on the image. Besides that, I just wanna say how much I enjoy your channel and content, you guys are awesome at recreating ancient history, even just by words. Cheers from Mexico City, formerly known as Tenochtitlán...

[@Skargar]

Sean: The aztecs weren't really brutal. They just want others to think that of them. Also Sean: Flailing people wasn't really unusual, so the king was more surprised and angry than disgusted seeing his daughters skin used as a scarf.

[@theangryholmesian4556]

I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed.

[@jimbeam2299]

Lol that’s when the Aztec were a small tribal people, far before they actually became a power.

[@jmmh1313]

@@jimbeam2299 if the Aztecs haven't been as brutal as they were, the spanish "conquest" wouldn't have taken place at all. And why do i say it like "conquest" you may ask... Is a popular uprising, provoked and leaded by a foreigner, with no backing by his own king, and in fact prosecuted by justice, a conquest? As a spanish myself, i don't really think so. Cortés was literally a runaway that was fighting spanish authorities who wanted him back to the island of Cuba while literally the vast majority (some sources put the number around 99.5% |200k natives 1k spanish|) were natives. At a particular time, and during years, Cortes could trust the people and authorities from Tlaxcala way more than he could trust his own king, because you know, at least the tlaxcaltecas replied to him when he sent letters.

[@jimbeam2299]

@@jmmh1313 oh boy you must be touched in the head if you truly believe that. You Spaniards have this narrative that the Aztecs deserved genocide which is hilarious considering the Spanish were 10x more brutal, corrupt, and inhumane. Not to mention that the Aztecs had literally no knowledge of Christianity. The Spanish knew of Jesus Christ and his teaching yet still contradicted his preachings and engaged in genocide for profit/land. Smallpox is what did major damage to the Aztecs, not the Tlaxcala. And there’s nothing honorable about the Tlaxcala bringing about genocide of their own people.

[@ianrobson9601]

I`m a bit late to the party , can't believe I somehow managed to miss this very informative video. It's brilliant , thank you , Invicta , I love it

[@victormai5182]

These podcasts are the best videos you make

[@glasido7460]

Man you are great! Thank you for doing this. Also thank you Sean for sharing your knowledge!

[@glasido7460]

Adding to that I wanna reiterate Sean's opinion that it's really great of you to deliver some content on history when channels like history, nat-geo etc. have gone to shit

[@stephenrenwick8781]

A great podcast, many thanks to you both.

[@elliottjames671]

I flayed your daughter and wore her skin surprise!😆 Mexicans love a good prank.🤣🤣🤣👍🏼

[@sophieplumbob2900]

Aztec political marriage prank GONE WRONG

[@chuckaboyte6249]

That joke is pretty classic 😂😂😂

[@anasty_arisaka754]

Sophie Plumbob almost got graped

[@Alkis05]

Tizok: "I used to be an aztec emperor too, you know? Than I took an arrow to the knee..."

[@Eevcee]

Amazing podcast! I can’t believe I overlooked this video for sooo long even after watching your other videos. Something to reinforce the point about the exaggeration of the Aztec propaganda. Calling the entire society barbaric would be like calling the entirety of modern American society cruel for the imperialism that it still engages in around the world. Human sacrifice was the political-religious tool that was used by elites, much like drone strikes of schools and hospitals is a political-economic tool for the US today. It’s a type of dehumanization that people find too much say to buy into.

[@kuetlachtli619]

Great podcast/video. Not too many people highlight the advancements and greatness of the Mexica. People will complain about the sacraficed that the Spaniards recorded but how different is it from the Spanish inquisition and all other killings of Europeans against Native Americans, and abortions today. Again, great video.

[@briwwwww]

i went to sleep and woke up to this. subbed a couple hours later.

[@bluesraincancun9217]

Invicta, always great work.

[@elliottjames671]

What's that other builder name he mentions at around 59:55? Besides Nezahualcoyotal?

[@Ottmar555]

Tlacaelel.

[@elliottjames671]

@@Ottmar555Thanks!😀👍🏼

[@messedupdweeb]

In the future, I hope you also touch on the pre-colonial history of the Philippines and how they were connected to Mexico being both Spanish colonies. I feel a deep sadness that our culture was also virtually erased because the conquistadors.

[@anasty_arisaka754]

Most people don’t know that was the begging of the end of the sustainable world.

[@jmmh1313]

Where do you live again?

[@luqas99]

55:59 What is the name of the French manuscript, please tell me?

[@EltheMura]

this is so cool, we rarely get to hear about what was going on around there, it seems way more complex than the stone age nomads that I imagined live in the americas

[@rogeriopenna9014]

There WERE stone age nomads living in the Americas. And ALSO true civilizations.

[@sharonsmith1360]

Could you do a show on the migration of the Spaniards that stayed here after the conquest of Montezuma?

[@AhintofChan]

Arrows are actually quite useful for capturing because as long as they don't pierce anything immediately vital (heart, throat, brain, lungs) then there's a good chance of survival cause they hold the blood in and don't actually do a ton of damage compared to a bullet. Think its essentially getting stabbed only once by a thin spear. What it does do is injure you so it becomes harder if not impossible to fight after, thus essentially taking you out of the fight. Also side note in Europe capturing enemies was quite common on the battlefield as well as a way of bartering with the enemy and for ransoms or as slaves. Often especially with knights the goal for most soldiers was to capture when possible and make a small fortune/gain honor.

[@AidanMartin]

what was your favorite thing you discuss so far?

[@tatoandtiffanydaza3520]

Could you make a video of all the rulers of the Aztec empire you missed quite a bit of them. And one of the most important too when the Spanish came and started to kill them off.

[@jmmh1313]

Did you know that the family of Moctezuma were given titles after their capitulations and lived as lords in the Spanish empire for centuries, continuing the lineage to this days? Search isabel de Moctezuma, if you want to begin with.

[@lirios]

You should read Gary jenning's historical novel, an american author with a very wonderful set up of mexica's everyday life. Love that book. Saludos desde México, mucha buena vibra para tu canal.

[@ianrobson9601]

Please can you tell me the name of the book ?

[@theangryholmesian4556]

@@ianrobson9601 Aztec by Gary Jennings. But be warned. It is very violent and sexual so massive tw/cw for well everything.

[@ianrobson9601]

@@theangryholmesian4556 Thank you so very much, I love reading, especially when recommended. Just done a search and found out that there's an entire series of novels, even the second hand ones have held their price which is a very good indication in my opinion. Best get started then ! Again , thank you for taking the time to reply

[@showyourvidz]

I think it is important to acknowledge that societies that are ruled by kings are vulnerable to atrocities like Roman crucifixions, Carthaginian child sacrifices. the English habit of drawing & quartering recusants. Nice to know that the great wall of China used workers to fill up the wall.

[@magnusdareus]

Thank you for getting the pronuncuation of the nahuatl "tl" right. Most non-nahuatl speaking people (including scholars, Spanish-speaking Mexicans and literally every English speaker I've heard except you guys) get it wrong.

[@matthewmann8969]

Yup The Aztecs made a lot of enemies with Non Aztec Amerindians

[@WhyYoutubeWhy]

At the end, and I've got to say, that guy IS apologetic! He turns the subject around bringing other cultures when it is not what we are talking about. Also, I would like to know whn did the Pharaohs butired their servants alive because I study egyptology and never heard of that. Also, if only 1 ruler did it, one time, you cannot generalise it to the whole civilisation (which in Egypt spends milleniums). The point is, what the Mexica did was on a much larger and cruel span than others. Not necessarily intentionally cruel, but it was such a horrible way to die. I do appreciate this podcast though, it was nice to have details and have reminders of how history works.

[@rammstein6193]

Amazing video.

[@user-yl6bw5cq9x]

Excellent!

[@damenwhelan3236]

Wow. Can we Infer the view of the human body and that of geography was interchangeable? Teeth are places. Teeth are set in the skull. Like places set in the world. Can be removed. Only after exposing them. I'm juatbwriting my thoughts.

[@BraziloCeaFort]

This podcast in a nutshell: You know, you know, you know, you know, You know, you know, you know, you know You know, you know, you know, you know, You know, you know, you know, you know You know, you know, you know, you know, You know, you know, you know, you know

[@BlkAuDiS401]

BraziloCeaFort you know this

[@tedfi-lay-on46]

Id like to say this is the funniest thing Ive seen in years

[@trainszelda3076]

Thank

[@caryboyd2181]

The best book on the Spanish conquest by Cortez is The Conquest of New Spain

[@caryboyd2181]

Bernal Diaz de Castillo best book

[@glumsulk]

Im currently reading it, it is such a crazy read. He was like early 20s when he experienced all of that.

[@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901]

I feel bad you actually bothered to read my name! It's just an old joke that I never bothered to change but regardless thanks for the content

[@Ottmar555]

Share manifesto pls.

[@anasty_arisaka754]

U had me at Alt-Centrist!!! 😂😂😂

[@rtuumm]

When ya'll do a video on the Taino indians?

[@elliottjames671]

They all murdered The End.

[@vredacted3125]

Nezuwa Coyot Flaca Elel The two architects that build the Aztec state, how do you properly spell their name?

[@hueytlahtoani1304]

Netzahualcoyotl/ Nezahualcoyotl and Tlacaelel. In classical nahuatl the "hu" read as "w"

[@vredacted3125]

@@hueytlahtoani1304 thanks

[@chavamara]

Suddenly very glad I learned a bit of Welsh!

[@treeflare2411]

Heeessss sheeeesssssh

[@jarodlets9872]

Thanks for criticized the Mel Gibson's movie and say that it's racist int of view. That's exactly what i teach in my classes

[@seriouslyyoujest1771]

“ History is lies agreed upon “ Voltaire

[@philipboardman1357]

There was so much great information in this podcast, and such nuance. I was devastated when Kiskel took the cowardly and careerist move to denounce Apocalypto as a racist love letter to colonialism. Pre-columbian Mesoamericans were human beings, much like the rest of us. When they are asked to perform human sacrifice against captives of war, they will dehumanize those captives. To depict the nature of man otherwise would have been dishonest, and that dishonesty would be laid bare in the final cut. PS: I'm not defending the veracity of the movie, as a whole, only its exploration of the crual nature of mankind.

[@ahuzel]

It was a lamentable try for shock people disguised as an "historical" movie. They the chance to make something never saw and just decided make a shit like having Wellington and William Walance hanging out in Ibiza. Yeah, no sense crap.

[@glumsulk]

@@ahuzel have no idea what youre talking about.

[@guidoylosfreaks]

Aztecs practiced a religion that was common in Mesoamerica back in the Middle Ages, "Toltecayotl". In this religion human sacrifice was ok. It wasn't taboo. Just as much it was ok to burn "witches" at the stake for Christians in Europe.

[@ahuzel]

*Protestants The spanish inquisition was more like police of thinking (fighting heresy, specially judaism), they were not all good tho, still, the "millions" killed by spanish inquisition are just propaganda by protestants. Even the natives in Nueva España and the other two Virreinatos were not persued for the inquistion, they only came looking for jews who scaped Europe. All around the globe there was people doing terrible things, they all had reasons behind that, like mongols leavain alone cities who surrendered wiu}thout a fight while at the same time they anihilated those who betrayed them.

[@MatrixMami]

I mean no offense to Sean but his pronunciation of Nahuatl was kind of rubbing me the wrong way. I'm a native (Mexican) Spanish speaker, as well as a Latina with a "TL" in her name (Xochitl), but whenever anyone in Mexico talks about Nahuatl, the "TL" in it is more pronounced like softly saying the word "bottle" in English. I've never heard it being pronounced "NAWAH" in Mexico but more of a "NAWATL" with a soft "TL" in it. It's a subtle thing that grinds my gears but I also understand that for someone who doesn't speak or is exposed to these kinds of linguistic, it can be tough to pronounce it right.

[@saxorex7972]

Nahua is the name of the ethnic group and Nahuatl is the name of the language. That can be a bit confusing on ocasion.

[@orlando7436]

@@saxorex7972 and none of those are pronounced as he did, point goes to Xóchitl

[@CostaCola]

So do you speak Nahuatl?

[@reservoirdog1]

CostaCola almost no one does, I’ve never met someone who does outside like 2 words

[@CostaCola]

@@reservoirdog1 I looked it up and the wiki page said 1.7 million do in central Mexico. I guess my original thought though was that he is speaken about classical pronunciation in the 16th century and mentioned there has been some linguistic changes over the years.

[@NEOSCISSORSJAGUARPRIME]

I LOVED THIS VIDEO...I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE STATUE FOR HUTZILOPOCHTLI WAS ACTUALLY FOR HIS MOM COATLIQUE

[@swest6982]

They address that in the video

[@-gemberkoekje-5547]

Instead of Japanese sashimi you use eels, instead of soy sause you use marmite, instead of Wasabi you use mustard, instead of rise you use bread!

[@orlando7436]

Not "Motecuzuma", his name was Moctezuma Not "Atzlan", it is Aztlán

[@aramb.5628]

The pronunciation Moteuczomatzin is the Nahuatl pronunciation. Moeteuczomatzin in Nahuatl sounds like Motecuzuma.

[@MG-zk9pc]

I have been studying Mesoamerican history for 12 years. I have seen and heard the Emperors named pronounced and written 6 different ways. My own professors couldn't agree on it. Don't think you are right, keep researching.

[@reddredd7088]

Motecuzoma , carnal... Revisa los textos de Miguel León Portilla, en especial La visión de los vencidos. En todos lados dicen Moctezuma.

[@glumsulk]

@@reddredd7088 multiple other places spell it different ways. There isnt even a consensus within one source usually lmfao.

[@justinmix143]

Take a drink of near beer (O’Doule’s, Sharp’s, etc.) every time Shawn says “uuuhhhhh,” and see if you still get blood-alcohol poisoning.

[@abdolpix4581]

You said in "the Spartan myth" video that Spartan infanticide was a myth. Now, you mention Spartan infanticide to justify Aztec Sacrifice? I think this channel is not really fact checking history. But it shows a perspective on history. This is a school of thought.

[@theangryholmesian4556]

I think you missed the point. It's not necessarily a justification. Just pointing out that we need to correct exaggerations and lies.

[@jmmh1313]

Let me, illustrate you about a deep sad truth. Americans do not care about the Aztecs. They care about portraying the Spanish empire under a bad light. And why would they? Well, despite the fact of all the propaganda from the war of cuba still being taught in their schools as factual, convincing mexicans into believing a fake view of their history, pushes them against the spanish. And because of that, they are pushed against other hispanic countries, whose only common legacy is hispanicity. Indigenism is one of the many ways in which the USA excercises cultural colonialism while trying to convince people that they are criticizing colonialism, telling people with literal spanish surnames that their cousins (spanish) are the enemy, and their brothers (colombia, venezuela, peru), are actually not related at all with them and have nothing to do with each other because being mexican is being an aztec... It reminds me to the way in which Yugoslavia was fragmented and is still fragmented today and will keep being fragmented and weak and easyly manageable due to the manipulation of their history by foreign influences that took a deep root inside of the nation.

[@abdolpix4581]

@@jmmh1313 So it's okay for Spaniards to conquer indigenous lands since they are not "White" for some reason and they are your anceators(you're probably criollo); but if Americans(who didn't colonize Latin America to the extent of Spanish Empire) try to depict Spaniards in a bad light, they are engaging in cultural colonialism? What really makes Spanish Empire less bad than British Empire? If Cuba(led by a communist regime) is such a good country, why Cubans are escaping to USA then? Btw, Cubans gained their independence first from Spain, before United States' military intervention in the country. So it's not like Cuba depicsts Spanish Empire in a very positive light in its curriculum. Don't even mention Venezuela. It's utopia there nowadays! How is depicting Spaniards in a bad light has anything to do with depicting Hispanics in a bad light, whom are a culture of diverse racial backgrounds. To my knowledge Hispanics are not the same as Spaniards. "It reminds me to the way in which Yugoslavia..." Yeah. Damn USA for getting rid of a regime which engaged in the massacre and ethnic cleansing of Albanians and other war crimes.

[@jmmh1313]

@@abdolpix4581 i stopped reading when you mentioned race. The conquest happened before the invention of trasatlantic slavery. Whiteness, was not defined at all yet, and that's exactly why we didn't care about mixing with the natives and even our queen (isabel la católica) said openly and explicitly that she saw as a good thing that male spaniards and female amerindians AND male amerindians and female spaniards married each other. Just with this one mistake, you revealed to know nothing, at all, whatsoever, about the real reasons behind the conquest or how spanish people saw themselves, and i would add, how they still see themselves. Now, you can bring upon the table all kinds of data, you can bring up dates, events or whatever suits, it will be meaningless and won't play in your favor, for everyone can point out where the pieces are in a chessboard but that's not the same as understanding the match.

[@abdolpix4581]

@@jmmh1313 On Okay. You're a Spaniard. I thought you're a Latin American who believes in the brotherhood between Spanish speakers and wants to say that the common enemy of the Spanish world is USA(especially White USA) and you try to downplay the bad side of the Spanish Empire in that regard. I was mistaken. I see you're a Spaniard who wants to prove that your country is a victim of Hispanophobic black legends propaganda. I see your point now. It's just you tried to prove your point by villainizing the USA, despite the fact that the roots of the black legends are way before the creation of America and it's as old as the conquista itself.

[@newvocabulary]

@15:20 The protect-your-neck and shit-you-not-brah tribes. Origins of the Wu-Tang?

[@jpraise6771]

Hello, to you random person reading this comment i just wanna let you know that God loves you and you should also always love yourself no matter the circumstance.

[@seahlilly]

Thank you 🥰

[@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski]

I don't know if apocalypto was colonialism friendly. We see the Spanish ship at the end and the film doesn't paint that incident with any particular bias. My subjective experience was; when I saw the Spanish ship landing after that long hellish chase, I thought; "oh no they're screwed, that's what the title was relating to. This is the apocalypse for these people". That being said mel gibson outside of the movie is super religious so I'm sure he was backing the Spanish but he didn't have the Spanish hopping off the boat all smiles and sunshine. Im defending the movie because I like the fact someone made some kind of effort to explore these people on film. He butchered William Wallace too but he got people interested.

[@juancamilobarberanduran5529]

jerusalem part IV

[@alfredodianacarolinaadkins9814]

😎

[@tramainecbaynes1364]

liked

[@gaylordpantamime]

Wonder if people ever smoked weed or like did opium or whatever maybe you can make a video about drugs and casual drug use in history

[@latinosesclavosdechinamote722]

Shroom Berry The mayas smoked tabaco

[@elliottjames671]

Aztecs did cubensis mushrooms, peyote, morning glory seed and a few other drugs

[@rickmoser3544]

The romans and greeks would but opium in their wine before battle

[@elliottjames671]

The germans put mandrakes into their butts before battle.

[@rejvaik00]

Invicta did indeed make a video on drug use by the Axis powers during WW2 if you search his channel you can find it

[@crisisbliss2462]

1:57:17 Strange that you saw it that way, as an apology for colonialism. I guess we all interpret things differently. In the beginning of the movie my reaction to the boar hunt was humans have so much fun chasing and killing, someone should chase them to kill them and they would see how much fun it is not. Lo and behold this is exactly what happens. By the end of the movie I had developed compassion for hunters who became the hunted and repulsed by the Mayans. I never knew any of this history. My former image of Indians being simplistic, one with nature, loving the earth, goody goody people had just been changed. So when I saw the white men on the boat with that cross I thought, poor guy, he just escaped one group of savage and here comes another group of savages, we know how that story ends. For me the message was what goes around comes around. And one day it will be the Christian Europeans time to pay for their wrong doings.

[@ututura]

I couldn't agree more with your intrepretation. and I also notice the same strangeness about his answer's direction being somewhat different from his aproach of the aztecs on the rest of the video.

[@theangryholmesian4556]

Except that's just the problem. The movies depiction of Mayans (who still exist as a people btw) is grossly exaggerated and inaccurate. Yes Rousseaus idea of the "noble savage" is inaccurate but that doesn't mean Mel Gibson is either.

[@teresafernandez9849]

@@theangryholmesian4556 Mel Gibson is a big time racist! He publicly berated the Jews! I never support his projects, he really hurt ALL the Natives of the Americas!

[@theangryholmesian4556]

@@teresafernandez9849 Uhh yeah Mel Gibson is a scumbag. What's your point? Did you really think this was an own?

[@jmmh1313]

Wake up, this is the real world and people only pay up for what they did good. Britain was an empire known for countless genocides and also for trying to abolish slavery, nowadays, no one remembers their genocides, but everyone points out how bad they were with their slaves. Romans were known for massacres and for the rule of law. Nowadays, no one brings up their massacres under a bad light, but everyone points out how often they broke their own laws (countless civil wars and all that stuff). And you probably won't believe this about the spanish empire, but it was known long ago, for religious intolerance on one hand and inclusivity on the other (you only need to read the last will of Elizabeth the catholic from an original not manipulated source) and nowadays, they are known for being "extremely exclusionary", if i may use that expression, with the natives. This is not the kind of world that punishes criminals, this is the kind of world where one can be a dictator for a lifetime without backlashes, and then, get overthrowned for providing to you people a decent level of education. On a side note, your hate, resentment, and swallowed lies about the real history of what happened in america, is a matter i won't address.

[@ixtacayaotl1205]

So I wish to clear one thing about where the "aztec" came from, there is proof and evidence that when the Aztecs came into Mexico, they were a part of the olmec nomadic group which migrated from the Utah mountains where the land became cursed. We go further back than that and you can see that we once had Pueblo, Hopi, Navajo, Ute, and many other tribes. This is in our migration stories which the other tribes also talked about meeting up with us when we were in the group of the olmecs. Especially the Navajo, they will also prove to you just how close we actually were, they have history of us all being in the olmec group and more.

[@ixtacayaotl1205]

Yes proof and evidence, not by your eurocentric standards though and what already existing evidence we did have you all either destroy it to further establish your claims or simply deny it. But one slimy cannot snuff out my peoples history like that, we have been passing on our history for many many years befor the arrival of these still squatting immigrants. We all know who we are and though mainstream history, archeology and media love to favor their ideas because its validated through bias Eurocentricism, the true history will never learned. Until they stop covering up the truth and facts, this truth will continue to be overlooked and further seperste the once United indigenous lands that once was. See, even now this information that has been given to us is only half true, the rest is merely speculated and theories about how we once lived. But the matter of fact is we still remember our true ways and continue to practice them. So yes facts

[@carloss2595]

Olmecs from utah? You may want to crack open those books there slick.

[@AloisWeimar]

Wow, you keep charging those windmills buddy. So in other words no actual evidence you know by native historians and academics from any university in Mexico or Latin America? Projecting inferiority complex much?

[@ixtacayaotl1205]

Well, yes of course when presented with evidence people are gonna deny the facts. Its just natrual and I expect this from anyone because this is the information they love to leave out in our history books. This happens a lot and I'm not the only one who experience this type of discrimination when it comes to the telling of my peoples history. All I am saying is that when it comes to information here in America or most European colonized countries, we see the altering of the peoples history to force them into following their society way of life. Go do some research that doesn't just support what everyone keeps trying to say and start to see things for what they are. The proof is all around you, Chaco Canyon, Pueblos, Georgian "mounds" and much more. The Olmecs wasn't the only name that they went by, for reals go pick up a book, there are plenty of them that are actually talk about what I just said and is backed by more evidence than what I can provide through commenting on these comments. Just do some actual thinking for yourselves instead of taking what little information comes your way and going with it just because everyone is doing it. Not being mean just hate when people whitewash my peoples history and I'm trying to make sure that the truth is actually known about what was actually going on on my peoples lands. This also wasn't just from books, I myself am traditional and have been following my peoples way of life since I was born so, I know certain parts of our history have been covered up, shit go ask any Diné or "Navajo" person about our history and if they do know about where we migrated from they will tell you that they came from the mountains of what is known today as skin Walker ranch. Back then we weren't called olmec and were named differently by every tribe when we began to experiment with the idea of what cities were. The Navajo called us the wonders because when we were in the same nomadic group, we all wondered from what is known as Utah today. I'm not gonna sit here and spoon feed every individual that pops up to defend their view of history because sometimes people just don't wanna learn and though that is one the biggest issues we face in modern times, that's an entire issue on itself and I can't do much about it except for telling you to go do your own research. I'm not exaggerating one bit, this is just what I have learned.

[@carloss2595]

Ixtaca Yaotl well you have learned wrong. The Olmec do not come from Utah 😂 Neither do the aztec. They dong even follow the same timeline at the peak of their empire. Por favor, deja de dar pena ajena. La historia es clara, y aún que corrupta por los conquistadores, no es como tu lo dices.

[@elliottjames671]

I dont see that book of poems either from nezahualcoyotl

[@ututura]

the question tone that one of the guys put on almost every afirmation is kind of anoying.... but he is good. gotta work this specific "speak like an adult" skill, however. the historicity of/on the talk, by it's turn, is simply amazing.... rarely seen on the net.

[@HighEnnui]

L M A O

[@omarvidal1238]

I'm from Mexico. Ask me whatever you want

[@jmmh1313]

Why do so many people feel identified with a tyrannical feudal state that only occupied a third of the country and massacred the rest in outrageous ways?

[@mansfieldtime]

I may be late to the vid but did Everyone forget that BEFORE AND AFTER the Spanish invasion of the Aztec the Spanish were in the middle of their inquisition. You know, when they slaughter anyone for not being Catholica. There were reports that anywhere from 30 to 300-Thousand people tortured and killed during this time. If that's not sacrifice then neither is what the Aztecs did. Both were killed because of religion.

[@vicentegarcia7102]

You are not late, you are retarded. Educate yourself.

[@jay-by1se]

If there was ever a culture that deserved to be cut short it was the Aztec! These guys put the nazis to shame.

[@jimbeam2299]

Hmm what about the Greeks that killed people in brazen bulls? Or normalized sex with children ? What about all of the torture and executions in medieval Europe?

[@jmmh1313]

Maybe, but it never happened. The spanish just sanitized it, despite of what is usually believed. The language for example was preserved and romanized to be written on paper, and lots of traditions were syncretized... anything that smelled to hunan sacrifice tho... that was cut short.

[@miqueltankard3697]

I really love the videos it just a pity you use BC/AD as apposed to BCE/CE

[@tom_demarco]

Neither of those abbreviations make sense

[@jmmh1313]

The era that is common is the one calculated since jesus birthday. Not mentioning the name of a system doesn't change the system you are using.

[@choncha23]

Guys these guys a break on pronunciation. They are telling you a history your parents failed to learn and pass down to you.

[@reservoirdog1]

manuel 14770 true, my primary school barely thought bare basics, named and such at most lol

[@MMpaintedpalm30]

+

[@fionafiona1146]

You are aware that I need to be in university in an hour and even dubble speed doesn't help much if its over 2hours.

[@fionafiona1146]

Or not, I appreciate your Video being available 😂😊

[@elliottjames671]

Talk about their drug use.

[@mslondoner185]

Misunderstood moments in history and no mention of Pewdiepie.

[@azorian888]

ur wrong about alot of things

[@santaclausewitz1891]

Europeans had public executions far worse then Aztec sacrifices. And many of them were basically seen as entertainment.

[@TheBestGamer43]

The Aztecs executed far more people each year then any European nation, up to 1000 to 20000 depending on the year. For reference, the Spanish inquisition executed an estimated 3000 over an 300 year long period and the witch trials in Europe is around 40000 to 60000 over the 300 years as well . Also they didn't commit literally cannibalism to my knowledge. That's not to excuse European crime against humanity but im not going to excuse your apologia either.

[@themanimal369]

To be fair many cultures executed prisoner of war, just not with as much pizzazz

[@chavamara]

OH MY GOD YOU ALSO KNOW ABOUT THE 400 RABBIT GODS OF DRUNKENESS THE BEST GODS OF ALL TIME CAN WE BE FRIENDS?!?! :D

[@gyalsnextman4725]

Jesus Christ it’s just a set of armour no need to explain everything about the armour set

[@urbanawp]

first

[@urbanawp]

@@limeman7553 thanks for your support

[@limeman7553]

@@urbanawp NP. Tho u oughtta not put "First" comments in the first place. They get people (aside from me ) annoyed. 👌

[@eldahalas7015]

Jojo- Ajajajajajajaja

[@justtime6736]

*THE AZTEC WERE THE ANAZASI*

[@damenwhelan3236]

The skin flaying of the princess and wearing the skin to go say howdy to the king.... may I ask please. What the actual fuck? And additionally, why the actual fuck? Thank you.

[@munkydelarocha]

I wonder if these guys think the residents of modern-day Central America would be better under ancient cultural practices. Their liberal education is showing.

[@munkydelarocha]

Just finished. This was an interesting podcast until it turned into a typical university course lecture. If I wanted to get a dose of cultural relativism, I’d go back to university.

[@reservoirdog1]

Munkydelarocha Mexico is in North America. Now that you mention it, the modern mayas in Yucatán are among the most peaceful places in Mexico crime wise

[@munkydelarocha]

l ( . _ .) l Mexico is mostly ruled by European descendants. And Central America has some of the highest homicide rates in the world. It is not a peaceful region. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_and_violence_in_Latin_America

[@-gemberkoekje-5547]

Why did I dislike this video?

[@elliottjames671]

Idolatry! Knocks down statue and puts up cross. 🤔

[@erendiranigarcia8326]

Just some advice, don't say Tarascan, it's considered derogatory by some because of its history. Thank you

[@jmmh1313]

Actually is weird. Because the very same word is nahuatl.

[@davidragsdale7923]

Hmmm. I really enjoy your videos. I really did not enjoy this. Too meta & the expert's voice was too pedantic for your brand. He'd work for NPR but not here.

[@indianasquatchunters]

David Ragsdale Not attacking you, just curious as to why you think it’s meta.