“We came to serve God and get rich” — Bernal Diaz

“Behold this torch which we will light and place between our armies. If you do not make haste and retreat before the torch is burned, you will die. We do not want you as guests.” — Maya warning to the Spaniards in 1518

“Do not lose your soul for the sake of an Indian woman” — Geronimo de Aguilar to Gonzalo Guerrero

In the 1500s, two highly militaristic peoples fueled by religious ideologies requiring bloodshed clashed with one another. This is the tale of what happened when a band of Spaniards run into the Mexica (Aztec) empire. By the time the dust will settle, out of the 25 million indigenous inhabitants of Mexico, little over a million will be left standing.

In this first episode:

The development of Mesoamerican civilizations leading up to the Mexica

An unfortunate misunderstanding between the Mexica and their neighbors involving a flayed princess

The toughest mercenaries in the Valley of Mexico

Serving the God of War

A ballgame to settle a dispute on the meaning of creepy omens

The Cordoba expedition

The Grijalva expedition

Pedro de Alvarado and his gangsta rap taste in jewelry

Hernan Cortes and his playboy ways

If you drop out of law school, at least conquer an empire

The ballad of Gonzalo Guerrero

This episode is sponsored by www.blueapron.com/onfire For less than $ 10 per meal, Blue Apron delivers straight to your door seasonal recipes along with pre-portioned ingredients to make delicious, home-cooked meals. Get your first three meals free—with free shipping—by going to www.blueapron.com/onfire

Thank you to Geek Nation Tours, a vacation company which creates tours focusing on geek culture including conventions, movie locations and historical battlefields.

This October, they will be time-traveling to Feudal Japan and the battlefields of Sekigahara…Join them as they watch Kendo, Kyudo, Iaido, and sword making demonstrations at the Seki Cutlery Festival, visit the most famous Japanese medieval castles, hike through spectacular natural landscapes and of course visit the Sekigahara re-enactment festival where you will see samurai walking the streets in full armor and battling in a commemoration of that singular battle of 1600.

http://geeknationtours.com/tours_post/signature-battlefield-series-feudal-japan-and-the-battlefields-of-sekigahara-2017/

A big thank you also to Leafar Guerrero and everyone at Mama Licha’s Kitchen. If you find yourself in LA’s San Fernando Valley, have a meal at their awesome restaurant. And if not, please give a ‘like’ to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MamaLichasKitchen/

Please, also show some love to my regular sponsors by shopping for supplements, special foods, clothing and exercise equipment at http://www.onnit.com/history and receive a 10% discount.

And if you are in the market for backpacks, computer bags and other hemp gear, check out my favorites at http://www.dsgear.com and use the code “daniele” at checkout for a discount.

My lady (and author of History on Fire logo, plus producer and editor of History on Fire) has a FB public page about her art & fighting: https://www.facebook.com/NahryEm/. Thank you to Onnit, Datsusara, Float Clinic, Shaman’s Simple Solutions, War Fuel, Proven Nutrition, and Fight Chix for sponsoring her for her first MMA fight. If you’d like to check out Fight Chix merchandise, you can get a 20% discount by going to http://www.fightchix.com/ and entering the code Fire20 upon checkout.

This is my public FB page: https://www.facebook.com/danielebolelli1/

Here is a link to the audiobook of my “Not Afraid”: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/not-afraid-audiobook/

For those of you who may be interested, here is a lecture series I created about Taoist philosophy: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/taoist-lectures/

For listeners in US, UK, CA, AU, this episode can be found at Luminary Premium. Sign up here: luminary.link/history . If you are not in these territories, feel free to message us as we try to find a solution for listeners in other countries.