🎧 A New History of the Aztecs
Latest Podcast Episodes 🎧 • 22m
In November 1519, Hernando Cortés approached the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with its ruler, Moctezuma. The story which follows has been told countless times following a Spanish narrative. A key part of the story has been overlooked - until now. After being taught the Roman alphabet, the Native Americans used it to write detailed histories in their own language of Nahuatl. Camilla Townsend is a Professor of History at Rutgers University. For the first time, she has given these sources proper attention, providing a fresh take on our understanding of native Mexicans. She showed me how Moctezuma and his people were not just the exotic, bloody figures of European stereotypes and how the Mexica people did not simply capitulate to Spanish culture and colonization but realigned political allegiances, held new obligations and adopted unfamiliar technologies. _x000D
Up Next in Latest Podcast Episodes 🎧
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🎧 A People's History of Tennis
David Berry joined me on the pod to discuss a people’s history of tennis. From the birth of modern tennis in Victorian Britain to the present day, we talked about struggles around sexuality, gender, race and class that have transformed the nature of tennis and sport itself.
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🎧 The Rise of China
How has China become the economic superpower that it is today? The decades since the death of Chairman Mao Zedong have seen an unprecedented economic transformation, but how has this been achieved? And how credible is the idea that China’s long-term, strategic vision is the key to the nation’s fu...
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🎧 A Prince in the Tower with Tina Pepler
Tina Pepler, writer of the A Prince in the Tower history drama, based on the missing princes and the challengers to the throne in the early Tudor period, chats to Dan about the writing process and the challenges of writing a historical drama.
