Hernando Cortes and the Aztec Civilization

The Amazing Story Concerning the Collision of Spanish Conquistadors Against the Aztec Empire.

4.60 (440 reviews)
Udemy
platform
English
language
Humanities
category
instructor
9,133
students
4 hours
content
Dec 2014
last update
FREE
regular price

What you will learn

After viewing this course, students will understand how the Mexica came to occupy their Island on Lake Texcoco, along with an understanding of their society, culture, politics, and military.

After viewing this course, students will understand how the Spanish became interested and involved in the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico.

After viewing this course, students will be able to describe the main weapons used by both the Spanish and the Mexica.

After viewing this course, students will be able to describe the person of Montezuma II, and his regal splendor and court practices.

After viewing this course, students will be able to explain how Hernando Cortes was able to ally the Spanish with many towns against the ruler Montezuma II in Tenochtitlan.

After viewing this course, students will be able to relate the political and military struggle between the Spanish Conquistadors and the Mexica people under Montezuma II.

After viewing this course, students will be able to describe Malinche, Cortes’ translator and mistress, and her great contributions to the Spanish conquest.

After viewing this course, students will be able to explain several of the important changes in the region of Mexico since the Spanish conquest.

Description

This course will look at the Spanish Conquistador, Hernando Cortes, focusing upon his expedition to Mexico. The course will begin with lectures introducing the Mexica civilization, followed by an introduction to the Spanish enterprise in the New World. Connections will be made so that students will understand how the Conquistadors knew of Mexico and of their great wealth, and how Hernando Cortes came to be chosen as the leader of the expedition to find and conquer this people. This course will survey in some depth the collision of the Spanish Conquistadors with the Mexica civilization under Montezuma II. Primary sources are often quoted or paraphrased to bring the students into the spirit of the times. The persons of Hernando Cortes and Montezuma II are often viewed and compared in this struggle. The person of Malinche is also occasionally discussed, as she provided a great advantage to the Spanish. The many twists and turns in this drama are truly fascinating, and illustrative of many aspects of human nature. Other topics are explored as they add light to the story, such as the weaponry of the Spanish then, famous art representations, and the travel, water and food distribution of the Mexica within the city of Tenochtitlan. The coverage will also include the many military battles fought by Hernando Cortes, not only against the Mexica, but against other people groups in the area. There are several lectures at the end that will treat the legacy and conclusions of the conflict between the Spanish Conquistadors and the Mexica people. The course comprises 34 video lectures, using voice narration with over 500 Powerpoint slides. Frequently there are supplementary videos, web links, or additional Powerpoint slides to enhance the coverage. The time to complete the video lectures is about 4 ¼ hours. The course is intended for those High School age and up (though serious Junior High School students will benefit also), and requires just the ability to view and hear video lectures.

Content

Background

Introduction to the Course
The Aztecs (Mexica)
The City of Tenochtitlan
Montezuma II Described by Hernando Cortes
Montezuma II Described by Bernal Diaz
Omens of Disaster
The Religion of the Mexica
The Spanish Enterprise

Cortes and His Quest

Hernando Cortes
Their Weapons of Warfare
On the Yucatan Peninsula

Cortes and Montezuma in Communication

Ambassadors from Tenochtitlan
Montezuma's Ultimatum
Cortes Responds to the Ultimatum
More Communication with Montezuma
Letters to Spain
Mutiny!
Journey to Tlaxcala
Violence at Cholula

Cortes and Montezuma in Tenochtitlan

Cortes and Montezuma at Tenochtitlan
The Arrest of Montezuma
Montezuma as Hostage
The Arrival of Narvaez
Conquistador vs Conquistador

The Struggle Between the Two Civilizations

Alvarado at Tenochtitlan
The Death of Montezuma
La Noche Triste - The Night of Sadness
The Battle of Otumba
Plans for Counterattack upon Tenochtitlan
The Siege and Fall of Tenochtitlan

Conclusions and Legacy

Aftermath
Epilogue
Final Thoughts
Oral Quiz

Screenshots

Hernando Cortes and the Aztec Civilization - Screenshot_01Hernando Cortes and the Aztec Civilization - Screenshot_02Hernando Cortes and the Aztec Civilization - Screenshot_03Hernando Cortes and the Aztec Civilization - Screenshot_04

Reviews

Isis
January 11, 2022
I know its talking about Hernan Cortes and the Aztec's and its a pretty good story about them so nice effort on that :)
Isabella
December 17, 2020
I love learning about history. Anything with history... Super awesome. And I can't wait to hear about their culture, as we have talked about in class.
Lauryn
December 14, 2020
I'm only in 5th grade and this is pretty long for no reason. Also, why is it called lectures why couldn't it just be called sessions or class time or something like that. Kind of makes me feel like it's not as fun you know also I would like it a lot more if the people recording this would put just a little bit of humor in there just to give you a good laugh while you're learning. thank you for reading this from a fifth-grade student Lauryn
Messiah'el
November 27, 2020
Veery informative and the continuity of the speaker, his warmth, really helped the anticipation of what was taught
Victoria
April 20, 2020
The teacher had a nice voice. I feel like I am taking a tour of the Aztec world on PBS. I am relaxed while learning. A great mix.
Elvia
May 2, 2018
The course itself is great. The extra materials are excellent. I just will like to have one or two of the oral questions afther each unit to asses the knowledge.
Batool
April 5, 2018
An enjoyable series of lectures on Mexican or Azetic history. I wish this course was more interactive.
Diana
January 28, 2018
I liked the amount of detail used. I have some familiarity with the time period, but I feel like this course filled in a lot of blanks for me. The intro music was a bit odd, as it reminded me of Masterpiece Theater. The segments were occasionally jarringly short, but I think it is generally an advantage to keep them bite-sized.
Will
December 3, 2017
Since I don't know much about the Aztecs, I have to give a good rating because so far, I now know more than I did, and it's interesting.
Scott
October 5, 2017
Interesting course for anyone looking to better understand the motives of the Spanish and the Native Americans at the beginning of the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
Areej
July 10, 2017
Its good but the information is all over the place it need a little fun information now and then / keep up the good work
Kurtis
April 2, 2017
Phenomenal lecture series. It was like listening to an action/adventure story. I thought the delivery is flawless and engaging. I really hope you do a series on Pizarro and the Inca!!!!
Shari
April 12, 2016
Easy to follow & thorough. Very enjoyable course even though the instructor apologized for his lack of speaking voice and studio. Just for the record, I thought both were fine.
By
September 28, 2015
Not every person who teaches history draws the important connections that make sense of the way the events played out, rather than just unloading a bunch of unrelated details. Supposedly the presenter has the overview and savvy to make it coherent otherwise history is rather a pointless exercise in memorization. This is a great course because the instructor could do that and did do that. Because it was presented with the sensibilities of a story teller, It hooked me from the beginning. Strongly recommended.
Rodrigo
June 15, 2015
Its a very well explained course, very interesting from another point of view. I highly recommend it.

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265344
udemy ID
7/21/2014
course created date
11/22/2019
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