The Fall of Mexico's Aztec Empire (audio)

Mitch Jeserich, Letters & Politics; Xochitl, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Codex Azcatitlan depicting the Spanish army, with Cortez and Malinche in front (wiki)

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Guest: Prof. David M. Carballo, a specialist in Mesoamerican archeology at Boston University, focusing particularly on the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Central Mexico is the author of Collision of Worlds: A Deep History of the Fall of Aztec Mexico and the Forging of New Spain (Oxford University Press). AUDIO

Collision of Worlds: A Deep History of the Fall of Aztec Mexico and the Forging of New Spain

Tikal: Mesoamerica (now mostly Mexico) is an amazing place of Aztec and Mayan history.

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The Mexico of five centuries ago was witness to one of the most momentous encounters between human societies, when a group of White European Spaniards led by Hernando Cortés joined forces with tens of thousands of Red Mesoamerican allies to topple the mighty Aztec Empire of Mexico.

It served as a template for the forging of much of Latin America and initiated the globalized world we inhabit today. The violent clash that culminated in the Aztec-Spanish war of 1519-1521 and the new colonial order it created were millennia in the making, entwining the previously independent cultural developments of both sides of the Atlantic.

The mighty Aztec Empire of Mexico (wiki)

Collision of Worlds provides a deep history of this encounter, one that considers temporal depth in the richly layered cultures of Mexico and Spain, from their prehistories to the urban and imperial societies they built in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Leading archaeologist David Carballo offers a unique perspective on these fabled events with a focus on the physical world of places and things, their similarities and differences in trans-Atlantic perspective, and their interweaving in an encounter characterized by conquest and colonialism and also resilience on the part of Native peoples.

We're still here, mostly in Los Angeles (LSG).

An engrossing and sweeping account, Collision of Worlds debunks long-held myths and contextualizes the deep roots and enduring consequences of the Aztec-Spanish conflict as never before. More