Aztecs (TRIH ep 51)

1519 · Resource

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview historian Camilla Townsend about her book The Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs. Townsend reframes common myths: the Aztecs did not generally think the Spaniards were gods nor foresee an imminent apocalypse at first contact. She explains Aztec origins as migrant Nahua/Mexica groups, their political rise in the Basin of Mexico, and the urban complexity of Tenochtitlan. The conversation covers religious beliefs and rituals—human sacrifice in soci...

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