Aztec Conquest

This audiobook tells the story of how Spain managed to conquer the Americas in the span of half a century, from the late 1400s to the mid-1500s. Although exploitation and warfare continued between the colonizers and the colonized after this period, the largest campaigns against the indigenous peoples were undertaken in this short time span, which is the focus of this audiobook.

Written by a leading historian of Latin America, Conquistadors and Aztecs offers a timely portrayal of the fall of Tenochtitlan and the founding of an empire that would last for centuries.

The date is 4 Jaguar 1 Monkey 1 House November 25th 2012 by the old reckoning and the Aztec Empire rules the world. The Aztecs' reign is one of cruel and ruthless oppression, encompassing regular human sacrifice. In the jungle-infested city of London, one man defies them: the masked vigilante known as the Conquistador. Then the Conquistador is recruited to spearhead an uprising and discovers a terrible truth about the Aztecs and their gods.  

The year is 1521, and Tenochtitlán burns. Wracked by plague and war, the majestic Aztec empire begins to crumble. As their beloved capital city falls to the ruthless Spaniards and hordes of vengeful tribes, the Aztecs make a last-ditch attempt to secretly save their heritage before it’s lost to the sands of time forever. Meanwhile, in the modern day, a string of high-profile robberies lays waste to archaeological sites and museums across Mesoamerica, overshadowed by a brewing nationalistic fervor which threatens to topple already fragile countries.

Specialist in the scam, the con, and the rip-off, Jerry Manelli is running around New York hot on the trail of a priest: a thousand-year-old, two-foot-tall, ugly, misshapen, dancing Aztec priest made of solid gold, with eyes of pure emeralds, worth a million dollars. Somebody stole it from its museum home in South America and smuggled it through U.S. Customs in a shipment of plastic imitations. But the wrong one got delivered, and the million dollar statue, mixed with the fifteen copies, is somewhere in New York.

The Aztecs believed offerings of human blood and human lives were necessary to the continued running of the universe. Indeed, in Aztec myths, the gods themselves make sacrifices of their own blood and even of their entire bodies in order to create a universe humans can live in and, in one story, to create humans themselves. To the ancient Aztecs, these practices seemed fitting, necessary, and honorable, helping to connect the world of humans to the divine world of the gods, a universe that in Aztec myth took shape in cycles of creation, destruction, and rebirth.

In 1519, Hernando Cortés arrived in Mexico to investigate stories of a wealthy empire. What he encountered was beyond his wildest dreams; an advanced civilization with complex artistic, political, and religious systems (involving extensive human sacrifice) and replete with gold. This was the Aztec empire, headed by the aloof emperor, Montezuma.

The Aztec Empire did not recoil from the face of an impending doom, it struggled faithfully. Destined to emerge from humble beginnings, it grew into a highly complex devoted civilization refusing to live at the mercy of more neighboring powerful rulers. Its powerful pochteca combed the valley for luxury items while markets dotted their lands. Investigate the era of the Fifth Sun and what defined the Aztecs and their relationship with the divine.

In The Aztec Drumbeat: Echoes Before the Conquest, history pulses through the streets of the great city, where emperors dream of omens and eagle warriors stand watch over ancient bloodlines. But far across the sea, sails have caught the wind—bringing steel, faith, and fire to a world unprepared for what’s coming.

Join the expedition of explorer, Hernando Cortez and meet Diego Orteguilla, a 14-year old Spanish boy who signs on to sail from Cuba to the land of Mexico. Rumors abound of strange animals, exotic plants, a beautiful, whitewashed city surrounded by water, and a people who own gold - lots of gold. You will see Diego and the Spanish soldiers fight their first battle in Mexico and learn of the great Aztec empire and the king who rules this empire, Montezuma.

For many years, the Aztecs have captured our imaginations. Stories from the original European invaders combined with unique, awe-inspiring ruins and legends that speak of palaces of gold create an image of Aztec society defined by grandeur, wealth, and splendor. But who exactly were the Aztecs? Where did they come from? How did they rise to control such a wide expanse of land? These are just some of the questions that this new captivating history audiobook will answer.

Ha pasado un cuarto de siglo desde el desembarco de Colón en suelo americano en 1492, el Nuevo Mundo sigue siendo un misterio para los españoles y aún no hay rastros de las riquezas que se suponía que encontrarían. Pero esto está a punto de cambiar. El capitán Hernán Cortés a escuchado rumores de la existencia de un imperio un poco más al sur, la provincia de Yucatán, y, lo más interesante, que hay oro.

Tras la noticia del descubrimiento de América por Colón en 1492, decenas de aventureros emigraron a las nuevas tierras en busca de gloria y riquezas. Uno de ellos, el célebre Hernán Cortés Monroy Pizarro Altamirano, nacido en 1485 en España, sería el protagonista de una verdadera proeza al conquistar el Imperio Mexica, con no más de mil españoles a su mando, un enorme imperio de millones de súbditos.