All language subtitles for Civilisations Rise and Fall.s01e03.Aztecs

The 8th of November, 1519.

In a magnificent city,
surrounded by water,

an all-powerful Aztec ruler
prepares to meet a man

like no-one he's ever seen before.

Imagine, in your mind,
blue sky, beautiful weather,

sunlight glittering on the lake.

And these, basically, visitors from
Mars advance across the causeway.

These are the Spaniards.

They wear unfamiliar clothes
and carry strange weapons.

The first meeting
between Cortes and Moctezuma

is one of the great moments
in human history.

This is the moment when the two
halves of humanity come together.

Old world meets new...

..changing forever
the course of history.

One, a formidable ruler

who has been dominating his world
for 20 years.

The other, one of the most ruthless,
effective, brilliant,

brutal opportunists
in world history.

This fateful meeting
will expose fault lines

at the heart of the Aztec Empire...

..a harsh regime,
fuelling resentment...

..and a fateful weakness in the face
of an invisible killer.

Ancient Egypt...

..the Roman Empire...

..the Aztecs of Mexico...

..and the Samurai of Japan.

Four great civilisations...

..each a pinnacle of human ingenuity
and achievement.

Each lasted for centuries.

Their people thought
they would endure forever...

..until suddenly...

CANNON FIRES

..everything changed.

These civilisations faced challenges
that are all too familiar today.

Climate catastrophe.

Pandemic.

War.

Challenges for which ancient
societies had few solutions.

But what if there was a place that
had the answers to what went wrong,

a place full of secrets
and stories...

..a repository of memory,
stretching back through time?

The British Museum, home to
more than eight million artefacts,

is a record of how and why
the greatest civilisations

rose to power
and then spectacularly fell.

Its treasures are the human traces
that survived disaster.

But might they also hold lessons
for our own future?

Every civilisation throughout
history has had an expiry date.

With great societies,

the seeds of their destruction
are sown within the society.

They're already there.

No civilisation
ever thinks it's going to fall,

but the question is,
what can we learn from the past?

In the shadow of volcanoes...

..on an island in the middle
of a vast lake...

..the city of Tenochtitlan
is home to around 200,000 people.

It is the dazzling jewel at the
heart of the mighty Aztec Empire.

Stretching from coast to coast,
across what is modern-day Mexico,

its territory covers
over 77,000 square miles.

Tenochtitlan is far more advanced

than most European cities
of this age,

five times the size
of Henry VIII's London.

Tenochtitlan is not like
an old medieval European city.

It was planned
in the form of a grid,

rather like Manhattan is today.

The city is green and lush.

Fertile water gardens
produce multiple crops each year.

This civilisation
created the technology

in order to use this water

and also to construct fields
on the water.

And these people, it was possible
to sow corn, to sow beans,

to sow tomatoes on these fields.

You have all kinds of foods -
chillies, peppers.

You can buy fish
prewrapped in a maize leaf.

So you can kind of take away
your dinner, if you'd like.

They have huge kind of
seething markets

where tens of thousands of people
go shopping every day.

This city's teeming with life.

There are priests and soldiers,
weavers, traders.

The city is overwhelming
in its colours and its smells

and sort of the atmosphere
of excitement and bustle.

Much of what we know
of this civilisation

and the clues to
its catastrophic collapse...

..lie in a remarkable set of books
that survive from that time,

written by the Aztecs themselves.

We have hundreds and hundreds
of pages in the Aztec language.

They're called the Codices.

Today, we can look at the beautiful
images and the alphabetic writing

and learn a great deal
about their political history,

their religious beliefs.

The Aztecs have a very long
tradition of writing.

This is my mother tongue

and this is a language that
my parents transmitted to me

in the 20th century.

We feel very proud to find
a very strong legacy

in the history
of the Aztec society.

You're hearing things
that were said,

performances that were given,
prayers that were uttered.

It's really quite extraordinary.

The picture that emerges
from these manuscripts

is of a community bound together
by a level of equality -

very unlike Europe at the time.

Aztec society
is incredibly progressive.

You have institutional education
for boys and girls.

They instil the children
with an understanding

of being part of Aztec machine.

Men and women have very specific
and very different roles,

but both are regarded
as equally essential

to the successful perpetuation
of their culture.

The empire and
its five million inhabitants...

..are under the control of a single
all-powerful ruler.

Moctezuma was a man
in his early 40s.

He had been emperor for 17 years
and a very successful one.

His name, Moctezuma,
means "frowns like a lord",

so presumably he was high-handed
and had a temper.

Moctezuma became ruler
after the death of his uncle.

He did not inherit the throne.
He was chosen.

The Aztecs are so interested
in who's going to do a good job

that that takes over from
who is the closest relative.

Montezuma looks like
a good bet as ruler.

He is a brilliant,
effective warrior.

There's good evidence that
he himself went out into the field

and led armies
and was a successful general.

However, in private,
Moctezuma appears to be an emperor

who likes to sit in Tenochtitlan
and read books

and learn about his empire.

He is intelligent
and he has a thirst for knowledge.

Moctezuma believes
in his own ability

to understand and control
the world around him.

His people revere him as a demigod.

But soon he will face a challenge

for which he is
completely unprepared.

1,500 miles away,
on the island of Cuba,

a Spanish adventurer
is plotting a bold expedition.

His name is Hernan Cortes.

The single most important thing
about Hernan Cortes

is that he is a nobody.

He was born in 1485 in Extremadura,

a kind of scrubby,
frontier bit of Spain.

He could have stayed in Spain,
but he's clearly very ambitious.

It has been nearly 30 years

since the arrival of Christopher
Columbus in the Americas.

Since then, Spanish explorers,
mercenaries and merchants

have been travelling to
the Caribbean in their thousands...

..looking for land, gold and glory.

They are known as conquistadors.

Everyone who's going
to the new world

is going to seek their fortune.

It's the American dream.

It's the idea of anyone can go
and make something of themselves.

They're a bit like venture
capitalists investing in tech.

They're looking for the next
frontier, the next big thing.

Cortes, growing up in Spain,

saw ships laden with treasure
arriving from the new world.

He followed the lure and joined
the ranks of the conquistadors.

Cortes wants money and gold, and
probably also fame and recognition.

Cortes is a narcissist.

He's possibly a sociopath.

He's a clever guy,
but he's an awful person.

Cortes will sacrifice friendships
and betray his colleagues

in order to get what he wants.

Arguably, Cortes
is kind of a monster.

Cortes has set his sights
on the mainland to the west.

A previous expedition
has explored its coast

and brought back tales of
a mysterious kingdom beyond,

said to be laden with gold.

He starts drumming up support
and gathering men,

promising them great wealth
if they come with him.

Cortes is often described as a very
Machiavellian kind of character,

very manipulative.

He's highly ambitious.

Leading 11 ships and some 500 men...

..Cortes's thirst for gold is about
to take him into the unknown...

..and into the heart of
the most powerful warrior culture

in the Americas.

Do Cortes and any of his men
have any sense of Tenochtitlan,

of the Aztec Empire,

of the extraordinary power
of this civilisation?

I think the answer is clearly no.

Throughout his rule, Moctezuma has
ruthlessly expanded his empire...

..backed by an army
of some 200,000 warriors...

..inspired by the ferocious power
of the apex predators

that hunt in the wilds
of the Aztec world.

Everything in nature,
whether it be animals, or mountains,

or plants, or trees,
is seen as part of their worldview.

They feel that there are
strong spiritual bonds there.

Aztec warriors even dress
as the animals

whose primal violence
they seek to harness.

Eagle and jaguar warriors

were the two highest orders
in the Aztec army.

They symbolised bravery,
proximity to power and to creation.

The Aztecs aren't just
a fearsome military culture.

Their religious beliefs
also lead them

to practise a terrifying ritual.

It's hard to get away from sacrifice
when it comes to the Aztecs.

The popular image of Aztec culture
is basically they love a sacrifice.

They love nothing more
than plunging a knife,

ripping out your heart
and holding it up to a baying mob.

Everybody's covered in blood.

But it's not how the Aztecs behaved.

They almost certainly saw these

as very serious kind of
religious rituals.

This knife clearly is
an incredible symbolic object.

Knives like this are often used
as part of ritual offerings.

The blade is crafted
from razor-sharp flint...

..the handle carved in wood...

..then decorated in mother of pearl,
turquoise and malachite...

..to depict one of the most
formidable of all Aztec fighters...

..the eagle warrior.

The black patches at the tips
of the eagles' wings,

those are singeing from the sun,

because supposedly they were
the animals that stood the closest

to the sun at its creation.

The Aztecs see it as their duty
to uphold the balance of the cosmos.

To achieve this, they must feed
the sun and the earth...

..with blood.

The most common ritual sacrifice

takes place on top
of the temple pyramid.

Four priests would stretch the arms
and legs of the person backwards

over a pointed stone.

They stretch the arms
of the victim backwards...

..and then a fifth priest removes
the heart from the ribcage,

which is extended...

..and the heart is given
to the gods.

Human sacrifice also
allows Moctezuma

to rule his empire
with absolute authority.

This isn't just about saying,
"Look how many people will die."

It's about saying,
"Look how powerful our gods are."

It's about Moctezuma
being at the heart of that power

and being the figure around which
the cosmos is swirling.

He is the man who has to hold
all those forces in balance

and that is a big statement
about power.

The Aztecs wanted
to frighten people.

Human sacrifice became a weapon
in their war against others.

For now, Moctezuma is terrifying
his enemies into submission.

But he is about to face
an entirely new kind of opponent.

Two months after setting out
from Cuba,

the conquistador Hernan Cortes
reaches the coastline

of the Aztec Empire.

When the Spaniards first arrive
on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico,

their expedition is being watched.

It's the first time that the Aztec
people are observing strange people.

Their skin was, more or less, white.

They were using swords,
riding horses.

These animals were not known
in Central Mexico.

They have ships that are large.

They have different clothing
and weaponry.

They are hairier, smellier, and
the Spaniards seem and are grubby.

Moctezuma's spies are watching...

..and he soon hears reports
of the strange new arrivals.

He could crush the Spaniards,
but he chooses to let them live.

Moctezuma is curious
and he wants to see them.

If an alien spaceship landed
and aliens who looked human

got out and walked around,
your first instinct wouldn't be,

"We must immediately kill them."

You'd want to talk to them and
find out where they've come from.

He cannot possibly think
that they pose a threat

to his life or to the survival
of his empire.

Moctezuma sends a message
to the newcomers,

intended to show his strength.

But it's a message that will be
misread, with tragic consequences.

He dispatches a gift of gold.

The Aztecs had a special name
for gold,

which was the excrement
of the gods,

something so precious and so
beautiful that only gods could do.

Few items made of gold
from the Aztec world still exist.

We often hear the Aztecs
preferred turquoise,

but this is really not true.

Once they discover the beauty,
they go crazy with gold.

We see the Aztecs being, in a way,
like nouveau riche

that has acquired wealth suddenly
and is showing it off.

It's the equivalent
to a Rolex watch.

For the Aztecs, gold is
not just valuable, it is sacred -

a sign of the presence
of gods on Earth,

and through intricate craftsmanship,

a way to harness
supernatural forces.

This ring is depicting a jaguar,

the most powerful feline
in the Americas.

This could have been worn
by a noble or a priest

or a distinguished warrior.

So, it's a symbol really of power
and it's a symbol of strength.

Moctezuma's gift of gold
is extremely valuable to the Aztecs,

but it is not meant as a welcome.

I would read that as a display
of power, or else a grand display,

"Look how rich I am,
I can give you all of these things,

"so you should go away."

The Spanish, of course,
see it as a submission -

'Oh, he's agreed that
he'll give us all these gifts

"and so we're going to be
in charge."

Moctezuma believes
he's shown his strength.

What he fails to realise

is that he has just made Cortes
more determined than ever.

It is a catastrophic mistake.

Four months later,

Cortes and his men are forging
a path inland...

..up through the lowland jungle.

They are beginning to understand
that to get their gold,

they will have to take on
a vast warrior empire.

But then Cortes discovers a weakness
that he can exploit.

There are plenty of people
who've been suppressed by the Aztecs

who might want to take advantage
of the arrival

of a new power player
in the territory.

There is a simmering resentment
against Moctezuma.

The source of this resentment

is encoded in a remarkable object
from the Aztec world.

This is a human existence that has
been transformed into a work of art.

Beneath a layer of precious stones
is a human skull.

We call it the decorated skull.

But it's not a decorated skull.
It's a power object.

Its mosaic covering is of
dazzling turquoise, black lignite...

..and red oyster shell...

..precious materials
Moctezuma demands

from the wider Aztec Empire...

..part of a harsh system of taxation
imposed on his subjects.

The city of Tenochtitlan
is a parasite on other territories,

so tribute can encompass everything
from raw materials and currency,

so things like gold
and cacao and cotton,

to fully-created warrior outfits

and even, in some cases,
sacrificial victims.

The richly decorated skull
attached to a deerskin belt

was designed to be worn
by an Aztec warrior,

strapped to his back to strike awe
into those that followed.

The idea that this skull mask
could be attached to the body,

looking behind you as you move
forward, as a priest or a warrior,

that in some senses,
here is this object

that talks about
the overcoming of death.

I can imagine the warrior going
into battle wearing this thing,

somehow feeling invincible...

..protected, being reinforced
in their own inner potency.

The decorated skull,
built from cruel tribute,

is a symbol of Aztec domination...

..but it also holds a warning
for Emperor Moctezuma.

The danger for him is that
there will be some people who think,

"The Aztecs are very overbearing.

"This guy Moctezuma, you know,
he's a real menace.

"I can't wait to see
the back of him."

And that, of course,
means that there are people who,

if a new group entered the arena,

would be very keen to ally with them
against Moctezuma.

It's a curse often
to be in a position of power.

You are in a position
that is incredibly precarious.

In the case of the Aztec Empire,
it was even worse,

because this was an empire
that was recently built upon

conquest of multiple different
groups and ethnicities.

It was bloated, overtaxed,
unequal and fragile.

Cortes and his men press on...

..and now they discover
that Moctezuma's empire

doesn't just harbour people
who resent his rule...

..there are also those
prepared to resist.

There are city states within Mexico

which don't send tribute to
Tenochtitlan and actually defy it.

Most famously, its big rival
is a place called Tlaxcala.

Tlaxcala is a pocket
of independent territory

that lies directly on Cortes's route
to the Aztec capital.

When the Spanish first arrive,

Tlaxcalan warriors
try to drive them back.

But Cortes has a secret weapon...

..someone who can help him negotiate
with the people of Tlaxcala.

When the Spaniards
first arrive on the coast,

Cortes is very lucky that
the Spaniards are given 20 girls

to be part of the Spanish encourage.

Among them is a young woman who will
help change the course of history.

In Spanish,
she is known as Malinche.

The Aztecs call her Malintzin.

Malintzin is said to have been
born in the household of a nobleman

very near the Gulf of Mexico.

Between eight and 12 years old, she
was captured and sold into slavery.

We do not know how many people
had owned her.

Hernan Cortes gave Malintzin

to the highest-ranking Spaniard
in his group,

who was very impressed by Malintzin
because she was beautiful

and also she was very confident.

Malintzin soon proves
extremely useful to Cortes.

Born just outside the Aztec Empire,
she speaks their language.

Now, she learns Spanish as well.

Almost overnight, she moves
from being a sexual servant

to being a translator,

directly engaging and working
with Hernan Cortes.

Images of Malintzin herself can be
seen in the Aztec record books.

She often appears either as large
or larger than Hernan Cortes,

which points to her importance.

Malintzin is helping Cortes,
but she has her own agenda.

She holds a deep grudge
against the Aztecs.

It was they who tore her from her
family and sold her into slavery.

Malintzin is really advancing
her own interests.

We can well imagine
that it might have seemed

like an opportunity for her
to escape slavery.

The Tlaxcalans' own records
capture the moment when,

with Malintzin as his translator,

Cortes tries to persuade them
to help him.

The Spanish have to work
really hard

before the Tlaxcalans
eventually decide,

"OK, it looks like we might have
a chance of defeating the Aztecs,

"so let's join forces."

Six months after setting foot
on the mainland,

Cortes and his men, backed by
6,000 of their new local allies,

cross the mountain passes
surrounding Tenochtitlan.

They finally get their first glimpse
of the spectacular Aztec capital.

They start to proceed
across the causeway.

Cortes and his captains
leading this column of Spaniards.

They have all their finery,
they want to impress their hosts.

Moctezuma believes in the strength
and power of his empire...

..so he welcomes the Spanish.

But he also reminds them
who has the upper hand.

There really is
an enormous power imbalance,

and Moctezuma emphasises
that power imbalance

by making Cortes wait
for ages and ages and ages.

He has to wait for absolutely hours

before, eventually,
he meets Moctezuma himself.

This moment is, I think,
the most richly symbolic,

the most momentous meeting of
two human beings in world history...

..because it stands for something
much bigger,

which is the European discovery
of the new world

and of course the new world's
discovery of Europeans.

And all of that is embodied
in these two extraordinary people.

First comes an exchange of gifts.

Cortes presents a necklace of pearls
and glass beads.

It's no match for the craftsmanship
Moctezuma can call upon.

One written account
records the gift

of a carved serpent
covered in turquoise.

Remarkably, an Aztec artefact

to match that description
has survived...

..and it holds clues to the message
Moctezuma meant to convey.

The double-headed serpent
is this absolutely exquisite object

that, from the moment you first
see it, you can never forget,

because it imprints itself
on your memory.

Snakes for the Aztecs
represent fertility,

they represent life and death.

The shedding of the skin
symbolises rebirth.

This is to be seen, to be admired,
to be shown to the world.

It's part of the pride
that the Aztecs have.

It's a display of power.

The person that made it
must have been aware

of the emergent power of this object

and been spellbound by it
as it was being made.

The gift is meant to impress Cortes,
but it may also be a warning.

The double-headed serpent
is an ambiguous symbol.

It can be a negative omen

because you have the two of them
pulling in different directions,

so there's that slight hint
of danger underlying it.

If you were a betting man and
you're looking at these two blokes,

you'd say, "Come on, there's only
going to be one winner here."

And it's not the Spaniard,

who's got a few hundred adventurers
and ruffians at his back.

It's the bloke with a massive
capital city and millions of people.

It seems like no match at all.

But Moctezuma critically
underestimates the threat.

He treats Cortes like a friendly
visitor, a courtly prince,

when in reality,
he's a ruthless mercenary.

He says to Cortes,
"Welcome, this is your home,

"please come into the city,
everything is yours."

You know, "We're so delighted
that you've come."

This was basically like people
who say, "Oh, come into my house",

but you never really mean it.

You're saying polite things,
these are the courtly conventions,

courtesies that you extend
to your guests.

That's what Moctezuma is doing.

And I think the Spanish
take that literally.

Cortes is like, "Great",
you know, "Let's go."

The Spaniards,
along with the Tlaxcalan leaders,

take up residence
inside the Aztec capital.

Moctezuma thinks, "I am much more
powerful than the Tlaxcalans,

"and these guys will be overwhelmed
by my city and me and my power

"and probably they'll abandon
the Tlaxcalans

"and come and work for me."

Cortes is clearly in awe
of this wonderful city.

One of the other conquistadors
later says,

"We wondered if it was not a dream
because it was all so beautiful."

He and his men
are housed in a palace

next door to Moctezuma's own palace.

We have this sense that
he's building a relationship,

a rapport with Moctezuma.

The Spaniards are engaging in a kind
of prolonged diplomatic encounter.

They go hunting together.

They were very impressed
by the market.

They saw the insides of temples.

They were taken by boat
to the other side of the lake shore

to see other little towns
and villages.

The more the Spanish
see of this fabled land,

the more desperate they are
to get their hands on it.

The problem for Cortes is that
there's no apparent end point

to this prolonged period
of diplomacy.

After five months
of diplomatic stalemate,

Cortes receives news
that forces him to act.

Cortes learned that some other
Spaniards had arrived on the coast.

He knew he had a problem,

because he didn't have
the permission to be there.

Cortes has embarked
on his bold venture

without getting approval
from the Spanish authorities.

Cortes has gone rogue.

Effectively, Cortes is attempting
to defeat an empire

without actually having a licence
from the king of Spain

to do what he's doing.

The new arrivals are here
under orders to arrest Cortes.

He needs a bargaining chip...

..so he takes a huge risk.

Cortes thought
it would go better for him

if he could say that
he had control of the kingdom

through a hostage prince.

This was an age-old way
of making war in Europe.

You take a prince hostage and then
you have control over their people.

He had the nerve to send
a group of men

into the throne room
where Moctezuma was...

..and literally take him prisoner.

Malinche is doing
all the translating,

and they say, "Look, you're coming
with us."

And he's just so stunned,
it's a kind of paralysis...

..that he's like, "OK, I'll go."

It's such a mad gamble,
such a mad thing for Cortes to do,

to take Moctezuma prisoner.

We get this sense of Cortes
being this amazing maverick

who makes the right choices
at the right time.

What's often forgotten is the fact
that he is a desperate man.

He can't turn back.

He's got no choice,
so he may as well plough on.

The gamble pays off.

And Cortes bribes the new arrivals
to join him in his quest for gold.

Cortes is able,

through his usual mix of military
and diplomatic prowess,

to win the new Spaniards over.

In fact, it takes almost
no winning over at all.

He now has 800 additional soldiers.

But having kidnapped Moctezuma,

Cortes has made the whole population
of the Aztec capital his enemy.

Once they have taken
Moctezuma prisoner,

the mood in the city
has definitely darkened.

There's a few hundred Spaniards,
they're in this palace,

but around them,
it's not merely the city

with hundreds of thousands
of people,

but it's the whole massive empire.

A band of Aztec warriors
stages an attack on the palace

where Moctezuma
is being held prisoner.

The emperor is ordered by Cortes
to try and defuse the situation.

Moctezuma was forced on a balcony
to appeal to his people.

They're kind of using him as a bit
of a hostage, a human shield,

possibly still hoping that
he can act as an intermediary

with the people, although I think
it's pretty clear by this point

that his authority
has drained away

and that people are no longer
listening to him.

The emperor has lost all control
over his people.

Once hailed as a demigod,
he is now powerless...

..and all too mortal.

Moctezuma is a hostage
who has outlived his usefulness.

We know the Spanish kill
all their other hostages,

and there are sources that say

the Spanish basically came into
his room and killed him.

The corpse of the once mighty leader

of Central America's
greatest civilisation

is left on the street to rot.

Before the Aztec warriors
can take their revenge...

..the Spanish decide to grab
what they can and make their escape.

They're sneaking through
the streets, which seem deserted.

"How are we going to get out of here
with our lives?"

They are seen by a woman
who's collecting water

and she raises the alarm.

And then it's as though
the whole city

is pouring out of the buildings.

Canoes are swarming
around the Spaniards.

The mortality rate
is just piling up.

Horses are being killed, people are
being killed by the hundreds.

In the chaos, around two thirds
of the Spaniards die - some 600 men.

Cortes himself is quite badly
injured, but he survives.

This night has gone down in history,
with the name of La Noche Triste -

"The Night Of Sorrows" - because
for the Spaniards, it is a tragedy.

From the indigenous point of view,

maybe we might think of it
as more like a night of triumph.

Finally, the Aztecs have rid
their capital city of the newcomers.

The whole city celebrates.

The Spaniards are gone.

But they have left behind
a parting gift...

..an invisible threat that will
bring the Aztecs to their knees.

After the Spaniards left, for
a few weeks, people were very happy.

But then people began to die.

For the Aztecs,
can you imagine the horror,

as this silent, unexplainable killer
first appears among them?

Tantalising evidence
for this mystery disease

may be embedded in the most iconic
artefact from the Aztec world.

Masks were a central element
of Aztec life.

Turquoise masks were usually placed
on corpses at the time of a funeral.

Here, we see an Aztec...

..with ammonite-like eyes...

..aquiline nose...

..and beautiful teeth.

But this mask contains
some unexpected details.

We see these stones.

They stand out,

so the imperfections of the skin
are being shown.

We see the man being afflicted.

He is showing us
what he's suffering from.

The lumps on the skin might
represent the disease of leprosy,

widespread in the Americas.

But they are also a remarkable match
for a killer plague

that the Spanish have introduced
to the new world...

..smallpox.

It seems very evident to me

that those bigger bits of turquoise
on the surface,

that is the lumps that
you would find on the face

of somebody afflicted by smallpox.

It's hard not to associate the mask
with exactly that -

this wave of mortal disease that
decimated 40% of the population.

Since the Spaniards' arrival...

..smallpox has spread inland
from the coast...

..before engulfing
the Aztec capital itself.

This population
was virgin population,

in the sense that they had
never been exposed

to these western microbes.

They all got sick.

They had no medicine that worked
for it, no way to understand it.

It was psychologically devastating.

Smallpox is one of
the most deadly diseases

we've had in the history
of humanity.

Infectious enough
to spread quite quickly,

but deadly enough that actually
it kills a third of people infected.

It is higher than SARS,
which is 10%.

It's higher than Covid-19,
which was, you know, 1-2%.

When you get it,
you start feeling unwell -

high fever, headaches, vomiting.

The next stage is the tongue
and the mouth

get covered with pus-filled
little sacks.

Your skin starts rising up,

almost like little peas underneath
your skin, incredibly painful,

which soon come all the way up
and develop into scabs.

Once it's in your home,
everyone will get it,

and then it's the question
of how many will survive.

Disease is the greatest reaper
across human history.

More people have fallen to pathogens
than they have to any other cause.

Epidemics are a shock.

But ultimately,
what's more important is,

how vulnerable is a society
which is hit by an epidemic?

Nearly 14 months
after he fled the Aztec capital,

Cortes has returned to
a civilisation in its death throes.

Now, backed by his local allies,
he launches a brutal attack.

They're fighting a disease-ridden,
weakened, starving population.

And I think that is massive

in explaining how he's able
to achieve what he does.

The Aztecs insist
on fighting to the death.

So the Spanish start moving through
the city, practising total war.

It's simply the only way the Spanish
are able to force the Aztecs,

this proud warrior culture,
to surrender.

Finally, the mighty warrior empire
of the Aztecs...

..has fallen.

The Aztec Empire fell apart
within two years.

This makes it one of the fastest
collapses throughout world history.

That was due to the sheer variety
of threats it faced.

An overbearing leader
who demanded tax and tribute,

a disaffected people
with nothing to lose...

..and a ruthless opponent

who exploited these fault lines
for his own gain.

Once you think about
the huge amount of indigenous people

who were not happy and were ready
to fight against the Aztecs,

you get a very different view
of the situation.

This is an indigenous civil war,

an empire that has
collapsed in on itself.

A collapse hastened
by an unforeseen killer.

Disease is still one of the greatest
threats to civilisation.

We do need to look at
our collective vulnerability.

Just think of what happened
with Covid.

Pathogens always seem to be
two steps ahead of us

and we're trying to catch up
in that race.

The story of the Aztecs
is ultimately a story

about the arrival of the unexpected,

and I think that has to be
a pretty sobering lesson for us.

We are deluded if we think that
everything we take for granted

will be here forever.

Japan, a unique culture, closed off
to the West for centuries...

..is on a collision course
with the modern world.

As foreign aggressors
arrive on their shores...

..Japan's ancient warrior class,
the samurai,

must fight to save
their way of life.