1 00:00:00,260 --> 00:00:02,930 October 12th 1992, 2 00:00:02,930 --> 00:00:05,440 Tenochtitlan region Mexico, 3 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:07,900 the president of the Meso-Amercian Federation 4 00:00:07,900 --> 00:00:10,920 has personally traveled to the heart of the Templo Mayor. 5 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:13,260 This is the day when the entire Aztec nation 6 00:00:13,260 --> 00:00:17,000 celebrates a symbolic return of their great God Quetzalcoatl 7 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:18,190 the feathered serpent. 8 00:00:20,130 --> 00:00:22,410 Having emerged victorious from the dreadful period 9 00:00:22,410 --> 00:00:25,090 of the great Spanish invasions of the 16th century. 10 00:00:25,090 --> 00:00:28,150 The Aztec empire has preserved it's independence 11 00:00:28,150 --> 00:00:31,130 by developing it's economy with European trading companies 12 00:00:31,130 --> 00:00:32,820 it was able to unite it's peoples 13 00:00:32,820 --> 00:00:35,338 and create a powerful federation. 14 00:00:35,338 --> 00:00:36,930 (sweeping music) 15 00:00:36,930 --> 00:00:38,920 Today united cities govern the whole 16 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,730 of the South American continent 17 00:00:40,730 --> 00:00:43,070 and now Coatl is the official language. 18 00:00:45,430 --> 00:00:47,240 But none of this ever happened, 19 00:00:48,140 --> 00:00:51,380 in 1520 a tiny grain of sand will decide the fate 20 00:00:51,380 --> 00:00:53,700 of the empire and bring about the death 21 00:00:53,700 --> 00:00:55,110 of the Aztec culture. 22 00:00:57,420 --> 00:01:00,610 Our history is no more than a series of incredible events. 23 00:01:02,530 --> 00:01:04,630 Every one of us can influence it's course. 24 00:01:09,221 --> 00:01:11,888 (intense music) 25 00:01:25,220 --> 00:01:27,550 The most infinitesimal of our decisions can influence 26 00:01:27,550 --> 00:01:30,290 the future of humanity, to know the past 27 00:01:30,290 --> 00:01:31,730 is to foresee the future. 28 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,751 November 18th, 1518, Hernan Cortez, Spanish conquistador, 29 00:01:42,751 --> 00:01:46,918 sets out totally illegally for the coast of the Yucatan. 30 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,994 June 30th, 1520, during a dark and rainy night, 31 00:01:51,994 --> 00:01:56,161 Cortez is snatched from the jaws of death by two of his men. 32 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:01,800 August 13th, 1521, Quo-ti-mok, the last Aztec emperor 33 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,040 is captured and tortured, the Aztec empire collapses. 34 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:08,870 These three intimately connected events 35 00:02:08,870 --> 00:02:11,010 are the key moments in the conquest of Mexico 36 00:02:11,010 --> 00:02:14,270 by Hernan Cortez and his conquistadors. 37 00:02:18,870 --> 00:02:23,710 1504, at the end of an interminable two month crossing, 38 00:02:23,710 --> 00:02:26,650 raiding the Atlantic ocean, the Spanish crowns convoy 39 00:02:26,650 --> 00:02:29,310 finally comes within sight of it's destination. 40 00:02:29,310 --> 00:02:31,330 Hispaniola, the modern island of Haiti 41 00:02:31,330 --> 00:02:32,680 and the Dominican Republic. 42 00:02:33,550 --> 00:02:36,120 Aboard one of the ships a young Castilian nobleman, 43 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:39,680 Hernan Cortes is coming to try his luck on this colony. 44 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,950 Lost some 6,500 kilometers from his native Spain. 45 00:02:44,470 --> 00:02:46,410 Because although Christopher Columbus had claimed 46 00:02:46,410 --> 00:02:49,940 the Caribbean in the name of the kings of Spain in 1492, 47 00:02:49,940 --> 00:02:52,290 the american continent remains, for the Europeans, 48 00:02:52,290 --> 00:02:54,990 a land of adventure where everything is possible. 49 00:02:56,300 --> 00:02:58,290 This is the new world. 50 00:03:00,780 --> 00:03:02,880 Since the beginning of the 15th century, 51 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,330 Portugal has been out to discover the world, 52 00:03:05,330 --> 00:03:08,000 braving the unknown, these intrepid explorers 53 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,020 have sailed the coast aboard their ships, 54 00:03:10,020 --> 00:03:13,340 gone up rivers, mapping every shore and every island. 55 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,210 In 1492, sailing to establish a new trade route to the east, 56 00:03:20,210 --> 00:03:22,700 the explorer Christopher Columbus found his way blocked 57 00:03:22,700 --> 00:03:24,950 by a considerable obstacle, 58 00:03:24,950 --> 00:03:25,810 America. 59 00:03:27,010 --> 00:03:30,170 Spain immediately set upon the colonization of Hispaniola 60 00:03:30,170 --> 00:03:31,220 and then Cuba. 61 00:03:32,130 --> 00:03:35,360 In these new territories everything had to be created, 62 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,750 they needed men who were daring and fearless. 63 00:03:40,330 --> 00:03:43,910 For them such a voyage is a promise of glory and wealth. 64 00:03:45,970 --> 00:03:48,690 Like Cortes, they set sail in their hundreds 65 00:03:48,690 --> 00:03:52,690 on an adventure that was both exotic and perilous. 66 00:03:52,690 --> 00:03:54,920 Though these territories were not virgin, 67 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,040 they are peopled by native tribes. 68 00:03:58,902 --> 00:04:00,700 (shouts) (guns fire) 69 00:04:00,700 --> 00:04:03,370 Appointed secretary to the Spanish governor of Cuba, 70 00:04:03,370 --> 00:04:06,310 Cortes takes part in the conquest of the island. 71 00:04:06,310 --> 00:04:08,940 Starting from very little, he is soon rich 72 00:04:08,940 --> 00:04:11,690 but this comfortable situation is not enough for him. 73 00:04:11,690 --> 00:04:14,980 He is fascinated by the fabulous accounts 74 00:04:14,980 --> 00:04:17,080 of the great navigators who set out to explore 75 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:19,380 the limits of the world. 76 00:04:19,380 --> 00:04:22,360 When the governor suggests he lead an exploratory expedition 77 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,150 of the Mexican coast, he jumps at the chance. 78 00:04:26,460 --> 00:04:28,590 The sale of his lands and loans enable him 79 00:04:28,590 --> 00:04:30,460 to recruit hardened seamen 80 00:04:30,460 --> 00:04:34,690 but most importantly, to purchase a a maximum on armaments. 81 00:04:34,690 --> 00:04:37,930 Because Cortes secretly envisages every possibility, 82 00:04:37,930 --> 00:04:40,210 in particular that of conquering new territories 83 00:04:40,210 --> 00:04:41,930 in the name of the Spanish crown. 84 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,550 Suspicious, the governor immediately order 85 00:04:45,550 --> 00:04:47,500 that Cortes is stripped of his command. 86 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:49,670 Too late. 87 00:04:49,670 --> 00:04:51,790 Cortes has already weighed anchor. 88 00:04:51,790 --> 00:04:55,510 His course set for Mexico, totally illegally. 89 00:04:58,490 --> 00:05:01,030 Welcome to the memory of humanity. 90 00:05:02,580 --> 00:05:06,570 Here we can control time, analyze and compare billions 91 00:05:06,570 --> 00:05:10,320 of events and alter them to rewrite history endlessly. 92 00:05:11,170 --> 00:05:14,800 All the events in our history, however minute they might be, 93 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,350 are memorized and interconnected. 94 00:05:17,350 --> 00:05:20,440 It only requires one to be changed for all the others 95 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:21,980 to be shaken to the core. 96 00:05:22,980 --> 00:05:27,910 From his very first step man has the thirst for discovery. 97 00:05:27,910 --> 00:05:30,740 A fascination for the unknown has often driven him 98 00:05:30,740 --> 00:05:33,340 to go further, beyond the horizon. 99 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:39,170 To cover distance, he was long limited by his own legs. 100 00:05:39,170 --> 00:05:42,610 Then he domesticated horses, built ships, 101 00:05:42,610 --> 00:05:43,790 invented the wheel. 102 00:05:46,070 --> 00:05:49,480 Ever since antiquity, sailing the high seas 103 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,090 has been dangerous but in the 15th century 104 00:05:53,090 --> 00:05:56,281 they developed ships that were stronger, more maneuverable 105 00:05:56,281 --> 00:05:59,614 and able to face the fury of the oceans. 106 00:06:00,869 --> 00:06:03,650 The caravel, a Portuguese invention, 107 00:06:03,650 --> 00:06:05,810 was perfect for exploration. 108 00:06:05,810 --> 00:06:08,040 It was this that enables Christopher Columbus 109 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:09,530 to achieve his exploit. 110 00:06:10,370 --> 00:06:14,070 Today, increasingly advance techniques bring fresh frontiers 111 00:06:14,070 --> 00:06:15,530 within our reach. 112 00:06:15,530 --> 00:06:17,050 From the oceans of business, 113 00:06:17,050 --> 00:06:19,090 to the planets of the solar system, 114 00:06:19,090 --> 00:06:21,850 we have the technological resources to enter into 115 00:06:21,850 --> 00:06:24,140 a new age of exploration. 116 00:06:26,100 --> 00:06:28,100 Our only limit 117 00:06:28,100 --> 00:06:29,180 is our daring. 118 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,000 11 ships, 518 fighting men, 119 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,940 14 cannons, 16 horses, and a few dogs 120 00:06:38,940 --> 00:06:41,250 set out to conquer the unknown. 121 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,870 Cortez, impromptu and illegal warlord, 122 00:06:45,870 --> 00:06:47,980 knows that he can no longer turn back. 123 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:51,450 But if he returns laden with wealth 124 00:06:51,450 --> 00:06:53,850 the king will pardon his insubordination. 125 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,150 He has turned into a conqueror, a conquistador. 126 00:07:01,334 --> 00:07:04,417 He is condemned to succeed or to die. 127 00:07:06,580 --> 00:07:08,990 1519 off the coast of Yucatan, 128 00:07:10,070 --> 00:07:12,750 for the explorers the coast means virgin forest, 129 00:07:12,750 --> 00:07:14,750 poisonous snakes and disease. 130 00:07:17,770 --> 00:07:20,320 Cortes knows that he will soon need assistance 131 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,640 in particular for his supply of provisions. 132 00:07:24,670 --> 00:07:26,560 He is hoping to find hospitality with one 133 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:28,810 of the many native tribes along the coast. 134 00:07:30,806 --> 00:07:35,416 (shouts) (arrow flies) 135 00:07:35,416 --> 00:07:37,749 (gun fires) 136 00:07:40,900 --> 00:07:43,980 The Spanish cavalry and their steel weapons wreak havoc 137 00:07:43,980 --> 00:07:46,090 among the enemy warriors. 138 00:07:46,090 --> 00:07:48,800 For the Amer Indians these men with the white skin 139 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,300 seem to have surged up from the ocean. 140 00:07:52,450 --> 00:07:54,450 In return for a promise of peace, 141 00:07:54,450 --> 00:07:58,617 the Amer Indians offer tribute, food, gold and slaves. 142 00:07:59,820 --> 00:08:02,050 Among them is Malensin. 143 00:08:02,050 --> 00:08:04,440 Whom the Spanish name, La Malinche. 144 00:08:06,070 --> 00:08:10,290 The slave is beautiful, intelligent and cultivated. 145 00:08:10,290 --> 00:08:12,840 She speaks several languages, notably 146 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,440 that of the great civilization that the conquistadors 147 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:16,750 will soon discover, 148 00:08:16,750 --> 00:08:18,440 the Aztec empire. 149 00:08:22,260 --> 00:08:24,940 The Aztecs are one of the many Indian peoples 150 00:08:24,940 --> 00:08:26,980 of Central America. 151 00:08:26,980 --> 00:08:29,770 Over the last century they have carved out an empire 152 00:08:29,770 --> 00:08:32,210 of eight million souls with the blades 153 00:08:32,210 --> 00:08:33,710 of their obsidian swords. 154 00:08:35,770 --> 00:08:38,560 From their capital Snochtitan, they rule 155 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:40,320 over the greater part of Mexico. 156 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,587 Legend has it that when pursued by their enemies, 157 00:08:45,587 --> 00:08:48,580 the Aztec sought refuge on a swampy island 158 00:08:48,580 --> 00:08:50,090 in a middle of a great lake. 159 00:08:51,830 --> 00:08:54,730 An eagle, grasping a fruit in it's talons 160 00:08:54,730 --> 00:08:57,210 was taken as a sign from the gods, 161 00:08:57,210 --> 00:09:01,377 one day a great Aztec city will arise here, Snochtitlan. 162 00:09:05,110 --> 00:09:07,130 Since then they have imposed their will 163 00:09:07,130 --> 00:09:10,480 and their religion on almost all of the neighboring tribes. 164 00:09:12,170 --> 00:09:15,050 Every city newly conquered must adopt the worship 165 00:09:15,050 --> 00:09:19,217 of Huitzilopochtli, the great Aztec god of war and the sun. 166 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,680 To enable the gods to be able to exist, 167 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:26,370 their thirst must be slaked with human blood. 168 00:09:26,370 --> 00:09:29,110 Devastating raids are conducted on the villages. 169 00:09:29,110 --> 00:09:32,552 The objective. Bring back the greatest number of prisoners 170 00:09:32,552 --> 00:09:35,385 and then offer them as sacrifices. 171 00:09:36,940 --> 00:09:38,730 Dragged to the summit of a pyramid, 172 00:09:38,730 --> 00:09:41,030 the victim is held down on a stone slab 173 00:09:41,030 --> 00:09:43,570 and his chest is brutally opened, 174 00:09:43,570 --> 00:09:47,350 his still beating heart is torn out by hand 175 00:09:47,350 --> 00:09:49,500 and offered to the sun. 176 00:09:54,060 --> 00:09:55,600 The fortress city, 177 00:09:57,104 --> 00:10:01,040 Snochitlan is an architectural audacity. 178 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,759 Because when they built their capital in the middle 179 00:10:04,759 --> 00:10:07,500 of the great lake Tex-coco, the Aztecs were faced 180 00:10:07,500 --> 00:10:09,660 with a host of challenges. 181 00:10:09,660 --> 00:10:12,940 In the heart on the rocky island stand the temples, 182 00:10:12,940 --> 00:10:15,830 the imperial palaces and the pyramids. 183 00:10:15,830 --> 00:10:18,430 A major part of the city was built on the waters 184 00:10:18,430 --> 00:10:21,930 by creating terraces of reeds, fixed with stakes 185 00:10:21,930 --> 00:10:23,660 and covered with earth. 186 00:10:23,660 --> 00:10:27,730 There in particular, we find fertile plantations of corn 187 00:10:27,730 --> 00:10:29,340 and tomatoes. 188 00:10:29,340 --> 00:10:31,850 Two aqueducts bring in fresh water, 189 00:10:31,850 --> 00:10:36,590 drains carry away the waste water and garbage is recycled. 190 00:10:36,590 --> 00:10:39,500 Huge jetty's interspersed with bridges, 191 00:10:39,500 --> 00:10:42,350 provide access to the dry land. 192 00:10:42,350 --> 00:10:45,570 A complex system of canals and dykes controls 193 00:10:45,570 --> 00:10:47,580 the water level and prevents flooding. 194 00:10:49,210 --> 00:10:54,120 When the Spanish arrive the city extends to 900 hectares 195 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,070 and has up to 200,000 residents 196 00:10:57,070 --> 00:10:59,870 which makes it one of the biggest cities in the world. 197 00:11:01,100 --> 00:11:04,340 Today, on the same side as that city 198 00:11:04,340 --> 00:11:05,960 sits Mexico city. 199 00:11:09,790 --> 00:11:12,300 A few hundred conquistadors against millions 200 00:11:12,300 --> 00:11:13,970 of natives. 201 00:11:13,970 --> 00:11:17,560 Cortes makes a rapid assessment of the situation. 202 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:21,660 However the Aztec empire is a giant with feet of clay. 203 00:11:21,660 --> 00:11:24,760 Founded on submission it demands total obedience 204 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:26,580 from the other Amer Indian peoples. 205 00:11:26,580 --> 00:11:28,960 And will not forgive a single fault. 206 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,570 There are many tribes who can no longer stand this. 207 00:11:32,580 --> 00:11:35,666 Cortes knows it and will play a clever hand. 208 00:11:35,666 --> 00:11:39,833 He presents himself as an alternative to the Aztecs. 209 00:11:41,270 --> 00:11:44,150 Meanwhile, what the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II, 210 00:11:44,150 --> 00:11:47,970 doesn't know what attitude to adopt towards his newcomers. 211 00:11:47,970 --> 00:11:51,250 Enemies? Allies? Gods? 212 00:11:51,250 --> 00:11:54,280 Cautious, he allows the Spaniards to live 213 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:56,040 for the moment. 214 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,460 As translator and advisor, La Malinche enables Cortes 215 00:11:59,460 --> 00:12:00,900 to forge precious alliances 216 00:12:00,900 --> 00:12:03,240 with the peoples under Aztec domination. 217 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:05,720 Gradually the Spanish army swells. 218 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,010 After two months of travel and negotiations, 219 00:12:09,010 --> 00:12:12,210 Cortes finally arrives within view of the capitol, 220 00:12:12,210 --> 00:12:13,043 Snochtitlan. 221 00:12:14,580 --> 00:12:17,690 Montezuma finally decides to invite them to meet him. 222 00:12:19,770 --> 00:12:21,670 Watched by Aztec warriors 223 00:12:21,670 --> 00:12:24,360 the conquistadors cautiously advance. 224 00:12:25,450 --> 00:12:29,040 On guard they are awed by the magnificence of the city. 225 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,980 The meeting of the two chiefs is one of two worlds. 226 00:12:36,140 --> 00:12:38,060 Everything sets them apart, 227 00:12:38,060 --> 00:12:41,110 nevertheless Montezuma offers hospitality. 228 00:12:42,670 --> 00:12:45,690 The Spaniards find themselves in a strange situation. 229 00:12:47,330 --> 00:12:49,900 Having come to seize new territories 230 00:12:49,900 --> 00:12:52,180 they are invited in peacefully. 231 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,090 Cortes in the heart of an alien city 232 00:12:57,090 --> 00:13:00,340 surrounded by natives who practice human sacrifice 233 00:13:00,340 --> 00:13:02,030 does not know what to do. 234 00:13:03,660 --> 00:13:05,310 He has several options. 235 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,620 But he decides to play his most insane card. 236 00:13:10,620 --> 00:13:13,300 He awaits the right moment and suddenly takes 237 00:13:13,300 --> 00:13:15,620 Emperor Montezuma the second hostage. 238 00:13:18,230 --> 00:13:21,100 His calculation is simple, by striking off the head 239 00:13:21,100 --> 00:13:24,120 of the empire, he believes that the Aztecs will surrender. 240 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:27,970 This shows ignorance of Aztec society 241 00:13:27,970 --> 00:13:30,710 because nobody can understand what Cortes wants. 242 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:34,170 The situation is a stalemate. 243 00:13:35,470 --> 00:13:38,280 Meanwhile, a Spanish counter expedition has landed 244 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,460 on the Mexican coast with orders for the immediate arrest 245 00:13:41,460 --> 00:13:43,240 of the outlaw conquistador. 246 00:13:45,330 --> 00:13:48,080 Cortes leaves a small troop in place and sets out 247 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:49,560 to face his compatriots. 248 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,780 In Snochtitlan, fearing an uprising, the Spanish garrison 249 00:13:53,780 --> 00:13:57,930 cut off, massacres several thousand Aztec nobles. 250 00:13:57,930 --> 00:14:01,020 When Cortes, having obtained a miraculous victory, 251 00:14:01,020 --> 00:14:04,919 returns to the capital, the situation has changed. 252 00:14:04,919 --> 00:14:07,250 The city is out of control, 253 00:14:07,250 --> 00:14:09,390 with the surviving conquistadors besieged 254 00:14:09,390 --> 00:14:10,730 in the imperial palace. 255 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,850 During the course of events, Montezuma is killed. 256 00:14:16,910 --> 00:14:20,130 The conquistadors have no choice, they have to flee 257 00:14:20,130 --> 00:14:21,490 and flee fast. 258 00:14:27,421 --> 00:14:28,754 June 30th, 1520, 259 00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:34,360 on a rainy night, the conquistadors abandon the city. 260 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,830 Laden with gold, they must reach the gates of the city 261 00:14:39,830 --> 00:14:43,380 and then in darkness, cross the vast causeway 262 00:14:43,380 --> 00:14:44,490 across the lake. 263 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:49,550 Overwhelmingly outnumbered, 264 00:14:49,550 --> 00:14:52,340 stealth and speed are their best cards. 265 00:14:57,220 --> 00:15:00,270 But the Aztec army quickly throws itself upon them. 266 00:15:01,570 --> 00:15:04,560 Looming out of the mist, thousands of Indians attack 267 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:06,020 the fleeing column. 268 00:15:06,020 --> 00:15:08,130 The Spaniards have walked into hell. 269 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,550 Their only chance of survival is to hack away 270 00:15:13,550 --> 00:15:15,030 through to the dry land. 271 00:15:16,300 --> 00:15:18,420 Some of them, weighed down with gold, 272 00:15:18,420 --> 00:15:21,460 die by drowning in the depths of the swamps. 273 00:15:21,460 --> 00:15:24,310 Others are captured and will be offered as sacrifices 274 00:15:24,310 --> 00:15:26,070 to the gods. 275 00:15:26,070 --> 00:15:28,010 Cortes himself is unhorsed. 276 00:15:29,033 --> 00:15:33,240 Two of his men save him in the nick of time. 277 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,100 Breathless, decimated, the survivors finally set foot 278 00:15:37,100 --> 00:15:38,100 on dry land. 279 00:15:39,130 --> 00:15:42,420 Cortes has just lost half his army. 280 00:15:46,190 --> 00:15:48,670 We have just reached a turning point. 281 00:15:50,340 --> 00:15:54,050 A turning point is a key event, a cross roads in our history 282 00:15:54,050 --> 00:15:56,670 where the world swings one way or the other. 283 00:15:59,010 --> 00:16:01,440 What would have happened if Cortes had been killed 284 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:02,850 during the noche triste? 285 00:16:03,930 --> 00:16:06,810 The chief was incontestably the moral pillar 286 00:16:06,810 --> 00:16:07,860 of the conquistadors. 287 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,620 Without him panic and distress would have overwhelmed 288 00:16:12,620 --> 00:16:13,780 the survivors. 289 00:16:15,060 --> 00:16:18,100 The troop in disarray would never have been able 290 00:16:18,100 --> 00:16:20,050 to face up to the Aztec army. 291 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,220 Those who escaped would have ended their journey 292 00:16:23,220 --> 00:16:26,290 on a stone table at the top of a pyramid. 293 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,000 The failure would have turned Cortes's audacity 294 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,290 into madness. 295 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,571 His successors would have shown much more caution. 296 00:16:34,571 --> 00:16:38,510 There would have been no more conquest. 297 00:16:38,510 --> 00:16:41,690 The Aztec empire could quite possibly have survived 298 00:16:41,690 --> 00:16:42,620 to our day. 299 00:16:43,470 --> 00:16:46,650 In the 20th century, it would be a powerful federation 300 00:16:46,650 --> 00:16:49,230 of Meso-American cities. 301 00:16:49,230 --> 00:16:52,810 South America would be speaking Amer Indian language. 302 00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:57,510 Surrounded by enemies, 303 00:16:57,510 --> 00:16:59,190 thousands of miles from home, 304 00:17:00,190 --> 00:17:03,280 decimated and wounded, the conquistadors know 305 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:05,310 they are facing their own annihilation. 306 00:17:08,070 --> 00:17:09,640 All hope of flight is vain. 307 00:17:10,970 --> 00:17:12,840 Upon arrival in the new world. 308 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,950 Cortes had dismantled his ships in preparation for this day. 309 00:17:18,100 --> 00:17:20,630 Cortes is now caught in his own trap. 310 00:17:26,270 --> 00:17:29,920 Their Amer Indian allies are in a similar situation. 311 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,140 Slaughtered in the thousands during the Snochtitlan debacle 312 00:17:33,140 --> 00:17:35,940 they know they will never obtain pardon from the Aztecs. 313 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:43,948 On July 7th, 1520, the survivors are overtaken 314 00:17:43,948 --> 00:17:47,400 and encircled by the Aztec army. 315 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,220 On the brink of the abyss about to be submerged 316 00:17:50,220 --> 00:17:52,660 beneath the wave of the new warriors 317 00:17:52,660 --> 00:17:55,230 13 riders risk all and charge directly 318 00:17:55,230 --> 00:17:56,520 at the Aztec commander. 319 00:18:02,710 --> 00:18:04,670 Miraculously emerging alive from the battle, 320 00:18:04,670 --> 00:18:07,140 Cortes uses the respite to regroup his forces 321 00:18:07,140 --> 00:18:08,760 and retake the initiative. 322 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:16,607 On December 30th, 1520 he is back before the Aztec capital. 323 00:18:18,210 --> 00:18:21,420 With him are tens of thousands of Amer Indian allies. 324 00:18:22,890 --> 00:18:25,740 But this time ruse would not be enough. 325 00:18:26,650 --> 00:18:29,330 The conquistador adapts a strategy and prepares 326 00:18:29,330 --> 00:18:30,810 for a long siege. 327 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:35,240 He builds ships fitted with firearms to carry out raids 328 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:36,073 on the capital. 329 00:18:37,690 --> 00:18:40,620 But the Aztecs have learned from their mistakes. 330 00:18:40,620 --> 00:18:43,550 Attacks at night, traps to foil the cavalry, 331 00:18:43,550 --> 00:18:46,156 protection against the musket balls, 332 00:18:46,156 --> 00:18:49,399 the two worlds adapt to one another. 333 00:18:49,399 --> 00:18:52,149 The better to destroy each other. 334 00:18:54,060 --> 00:18:57,530 Faced with maniacal Aztec defense, Cortes decides 335 00:18:57,530 --> 00:19:00,090 to adopt a scorched earth tactic. 336 00:19:00,090 --> 00:19:03,100 Move from house to house, burning everything in his path. 337 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,360 Soon the last Aztec forces are trapped 338 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:10,210 in the northern quarters of the city. 339 00:19:11,470 --> 00:19:15,850 August 13th, 1521, Quotamuch the new emperor 340 00:19:15,850 --> 00:19:20,017 is captured, the city is almost entirely destroyed 341 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:23,810 with it dies Aztec resistance. 342 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:27,670 Cortes has just brought down the empire. 343 00:19:31,180 --> 00:19:33,450 Steel against stone. 344 00:19:34,630 --> 00:19:37,480 The Aztec warriors were redoubtable. 345 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,740 Hardened to combat by almost permanent wars 346 00:19:40,740 --> 00:19:44,090 they were combative and had no fear of death. 347 00:19:44,090 --> 00:19:46,520 But their weaknesses stemmed from their equipment 348 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:48,740 and their fighting tactics. 349 00:19:48,740 --> 00:19:51,496 The Ameri Indians had no knowledge of iron or of bronze. 350 00:19:51,496 --> 00:19:55,060 Their arrowheads and their swords were of obsidian, 351 00:19:55,060 --> 00:19:59,720 a sort of flint carved and sharpened but fragile on impact. 352 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,370 They did not go to war to kill their opponents 353 00:20:02,370 --> 00:20:04,580 but to capture them as sacrifices. 354 00:20:07,010 --> 00:20:09,930 Opposite them the conquistadors were bristling 355 00:20:09,930 --> 00:20:12,480 with iron and the steel blades of their rapiers 356 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,150 were both sharp and resilient. 357 00:20:15,150 --> 00:20:18,300 Crossbows, muskets, cannons and cavalry, 358 00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:21,200 terrified and decimated the Aztec ranks. 359 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:24,620 While their arrows could not pierce the steel breast plates. 360 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,910 The conquistadors were almost invincible. 361 00:20:29,910 --> 00:20:32,800 Especially as they fought in a coordinated fashion. 362 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:34,610 Each covering the other. 363 00:20:34,610 --> 00:20:37,710 They fought to kill and to conquer. 364 00:20:37,710 --> 00:20:41,877 Two visions of war for two different worlds. 365 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,780 Cortes and his conquistadors were only 366 00:20:45,780 --> 00:20:46,840 the first wave. 367 00:20:48,700 --> 00:20:51,040 Christian missionaries rapidly arrive. 368 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,120 Their mission is to convert millions of Amer Indian pagans 369 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:57,320 to Christianity. 370 00:20:58,220 --> 00:21:00,360 Willingly or by force. 371 00:21:02,140 --> 00:21:06,307 Mexico is organized and transformed into a Spanish province. 372 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,740 Gradually ships laden with cocoa, maize, peanuts, 373 00:21:10,740 --> 00:21:14,907 vanilla, avocados and tomatoes arrive from Central America. 374 00:21:17,580 --> 00:21:21,010 Everybody, both Aztecs and the conquistador's allies 375 00:21:21,010 --> 00:21:23,620 are placed onto huge work farms. 376 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,530 But the Amer Indians are no longer so numerous. 377 00:21:32,150 --> 00:21:35,530 A successions of epidemics has ravaged the population. 378 00:21:36,780 --> 00:21:40,050 European diseases, such as cholera and small pox, 379 00:21:40,050 --> 00:21:41,840 have joined those already there. 380 00:21:43,870 --> 00:21:47,120 Coco-lits-lee, the equivalent of the European plague, 381 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:49,930 was already decimating villages before the arrival 382 00:21:49,930 --> 00:21:50,900 of the Spanish. 383 00:21:51,940 --> 00:21:54,490 The crowded conditions of the farm exploitations 384 00:21:54,490 --> 00:21:55,470 did the rest. 385 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:00,660 In one century the total population of Mexico fell 386 00:22:00,660 --> 00:22:04,827 from 20 million to a mere one million 600,000. 387 00:22:06,323 --> 00:22:08,740 (rock music) 388 00:22:10,190 --> 00:22:12,450 The Amer Indians were the major losers 389 00:22:12,450 --> 00:22:14,330 of the Spanish conquest. 390 00:22:14,330 --> 00:22:16,120 But not the only ones. 391 00:22:18,100 --> 00:22:22,150 The conquistadors were seeking adventure, glory and wealth, 392 00:22:24,860 --> 00:22:26,640 although adventure was awaiting, 393 00:22:27,570 --> 00:22:30,070 return of the investment of their sacrifices 394 00:22:30,070 --> 00:22:32,670 was sharply below their expectations. 395 00:22:34,430 --> 00:22:36,510 Replaced by merchants, 396 00:22:36,510 --> 00:22:39,690 they become the veterans of another age, 397 00:22:39,690 --> 00:22:43,100 old soldiers who had sometimes committed atrocities 398 00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:45,020 in the name of war. 399 00:22:45,020 --> 00:22:47,630 Many of them will end in poverty, 400 00:22:47,630 --> 00:22:50,920 reminiscing nostalgically about their hour of glory 401 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,040 to whoever will listen over a table in a tavern. 402 00:22:55,340 --> 00:22:57,730 Cortes himself is trapped between his image 403 00:22:57,730 --> 00:23:01,200 of a conqueror and that of a blood thirsty warrior. 404 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,070 Today we still don't know whether we should admire him 405 00:23:06,070 --> 00:23:08,010 or condemn him. 406 00:23:08,890 --> 00:23:11,850 Fallen into disgrace, he dies of dysentery 407 00:23:11,850 --> 00:23:14,380 on the second of December 1547. 408 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:19,607 Spain, a colonial empire, becomes the world's major power. 409 00:23:21,790 --> 00:23:23,810 Trade is becoming global. 410 00:23:24,750 --> 00:23:26,870 But that is another story. 411 00:23:30,260 --> 00:23:33,340 When Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola 412 00:23:33,340 --> 00:23:36,080 there were 300,000 inhabitants. 413 00:23:38,010 --> 00:23:40,840 50 years later there were only a thousand. 414 00:23:41,820 --> 00:23:45,640 92% of the Indian population of Central America dies 415 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,610 in the whirlwind of wars, and epidemics. 416 00:23:49,740 --> 00:23:52,410 And yet, this tragic episode for humanity 417 00:23:52,410 --> 00:23:54,680 is still not recognized as a genocide. 418 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,580 A genocide is the systematic elimination 419 00:23:58,580 --> 00:24:01,740 of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. 420 00:24:01,740 --> 00:24:05,390 An Ethnocide is the forceful elimination of a culture. 421 00:24:05,390 --> 00:24:07,700 They are collective crimes that are planned 422 00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:09,000 and perfectly intentional. 423 00:24:10,030 --> 00:24:12,680 The disappearance of the Aztecs was never the objective 424 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:14,680 of the Spanish authorities 425 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,640 but the consequence of the conquest, ill treatment 426 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:20,580 and above all of epidemics. 427 00:24:20,580 --> 00:24:22,530 Technically the virtual disappearance 428 00:24:22,530 --> 00:24:25,230 of the indigenous population of Central America 429 00:24:25,230 --> 00:24:28,410 is neither a genocide nor an ethnocide. 430 00:24:28,410 --> 00:24:30,690 Which does nothing to alleviate it's horror. 431 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,890 Today we only officially recognize four genocides. 432 00:24:35,890 --> 00:24:38,040 They all belong to the 20th century. 433 00:24:40,820 --> 00:24:42,830 But fortunately the Aztec culture 434 00:24:42,830 --> 00:24:45,500 has not completely disappeared. 435 00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:49,630 Cortes admired their civilization and many fundamental works 436 00:24:49,630 --> 00:24:53,300 have been preserved by both Aztec and Spanish intellectuals. 437 00:24:54,340 --> 00:24:57,740 In 1978 in the heart of Mexico city, 438 00:24:57,740 --> 00:25:01,240 archeologists uncovered the ruins of the great Aztec temple 439 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:02,490 of Tenochtitlan. 440 00:25:04,580 --> 00:25:08,090 The Mexican people, profoundly Hispanic and Catholic 441 00:25:08,090 --> 00:25:10,310 were then reminded that the blood of the Aztecs 442 00:25:10,310 --> 00:25:12,836 runs in their veins. 443 00:25:12,836 --> 00:25:15,253 (epic music)