For centuries, the story has been told the same way: Montezuma surrendered to Hernán Cortés, and a small band of Spaniards conquered the Aztec Empire.

But that story has always seemed a bit ... fishy. 

To get the TRUE story, Bob calls up historian Matthew Restall to debunk one of the most enduring myths of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. As it turns out, when you dig into Indigenous sources a whole new story begins to emerge. Shocker, Montezuma did not surrender and Cortés was not viewed as a God-like figure. 

In this episode, we'll revisit the famous meeting between Montezuma and Cortés, unpack the legend that Europeans were mistaken for gods, and explore how Spanish self-promotion shaped the history books for hundreds of years. 

If you’ve ever wondered how a few hundred conquistadors were said to defeat an empire of millions — or why we’ve been telling this story the same way for 500 years — this episode offers a long-overdue reset.

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