Original subtitles

NARRATOR: In August 1519,

the Spanish adventurer Hernán Cortés prepared to lead his men

into the unexplored territories of Central America,

modern-day Mexico.

Lured on by rumours of immense treasure,

he and his small band of a few hundred conquistadors

had come to conquer an entire continent,

for King, for country and for the Holy Catholic Church.

ALL: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly grateful.

Now come on, boy.

You'll see worse than this, I promise you.

None of us wanted this to happen. Did we?

But we're an army and no army can tolerate deserters.

Velasquez, will you come with us?

What do you say?

Good man.

Release them.

Now signal Lopez.

Tell him to sink those ships.

- All right, mate. Sink her. - Yes.

Well, gentlemen,

no turning back now.

NARRATOR: There was now no possibility of returning home.

This is the story of how Cortés and his tiny army

took on an entire empire, the Aztecs.

It is one of the greatest but darkest epics in history.

A clash of civilisations that would end in catastrophe

and destruction.

Less than 30 years after Columbus discovered the New World,

explorers from Europe, travelling along its coast,

began to hear reports of a fabulous city

somewhere deep inside the mysterious continent.

There were tales of huge pyramids, of streets built on water

and of an emperor whose palaces were filled with gold.

He ruled a brutal tribe called the Aztecs,

who had enslaved millions of people and believed in human sacrifice.

The emperor's name was Montezuma.

He ate his prisoners

and offered their hearts to the sun.

One month after sinking his ships at Vera Cruz,

Cortés was leading the first ever expedition to find that emperor,

and his city, Tenochtitlan.

Four months later, by the time he neared the city,

Cortés had won over the Tlaxcala, a rival tribe to the Aztecs.

His few hundred men had been joined by 1,000 Indian warriors.

Amongst them was a woman,

known to the Spanish as "Doña Marina",

who acted as a translator.

Look. There it is, Tenochtitlan.

Incredible.

Have you ever seen anything like it?

NARRATOR: Tenochtitlan contained over 200,000 people.

It was bigger than any city in Europe.

So, Velasquez,

glad you lived long enough to see this? Was it worth it?

If there's as much gold down there as they say, Don Cortés,

it'll be worth it.

Listen to me. This is no Tlaxcala.

This will be much harder. The Aztecs are real warriors, ruthless.

Believe me, I know. I was once their slave.

It's very big.

There must be millions of them down there.

We wouldn't have a hope in a battle.

No. We go down and talk to them.

- Talk to them? - As ambassadors from Spain.

Didn't you hear what I said?

Eyes front! Make them think you've seen it all before.

Don't let them think you're impressed.

Montezuma's coming. The emperor is coming to meet us.

NARRATOR: To explain how Cortés could have taken on so vast an empire,

Montezuma has often been portrayed as a superstitious primitive

who believed Cortés to be a god.

In fact, he presided over an advanced civilisation

that had writing, education and organised religion.

He ruled over millions of people.

Try not to catch his eye. No one is supposed to look at him.

Are you Montezuma?

Lord, he asks if you are Montezuma.

Yes.

I am Montezuma.

Yes. He is Montezuma.

Of course.

Who is this man? What does he want?

- What does he say? - He asks why you've come here.

I come as an ambassador of his most Catholic Majesty, King Charles.

He wishes to forge a friendship between our great empire and yours.

He sends this gift as a token of his friendship.

You are welcome as the ambassador of your great king.

We have prepared quarters for you in one of our palaces.

Ask for whatever you need.

You will be obeyed. I have ordered it.

Keep your poxy flowers.

They're just being friendly, Alvarado.

I told you we'd be all right.

Montezuma isn't being friendly. He's showing you how powerful he is.

You should have killed him while you had the chance.

We're here to convert them, not to kill them.

For Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Montezuma is waiting for us.

On a clear day from up here you can see the whole city.

Over there, on the other side of the lake, do you see?

The city of our allies, Texcoco.

And on this side, Tacuba.

It's like one enormous spider's web.

And we're the flies caught right in the middle.

Just take a look at all those bridges and causeways.

All they have to do is pull one of them up.

This is where we should build our church.

- Up here? - Tell him.

- I can't tell him that. - What does he say?

- He says how beautiful it is here, Lord. - Then come and see inside.

It stinks.

- What is it? - What do you think it is?

It's blood.

- It's human blood. - Oh, no.

It's disgusting.

How can you believe in something so vile?

Don't. Don't provoke him.

It's barbaric. We need to purify this place.

- Please. - You need God.

- The one true God. - I was wrong to let you come up here.

- Your religion is an abomination. - This is sacrilege.

Good.

This will have to do until we build our church.

Their gods need blood.

Montezuma himself gives blood every day.

That was probably the most offensive thing you could have done.

Offensive? What do you call human sacrifice?

Next time it'll be us up there. Think about that.

Give me the hammer.

What's he up to now?

What is it?

Get the pickaxes. Quickly.

That's good enough.

Well, this is what we came for.

Then let's get out of here before it's too late.

While we still can.

You don't get it, do you?

This is a sign.

We're being rewarded for doing God's work.

We're not going anywhere.

You must come with us.

I must do what?

You must come with us back to our quarters.

You do not order the emperor to do anything.

Wait, Cuauhtemoc.

Why? Why must I?

If you do not, my men will kill you.

- Guards! - CORTES: Your emperor will die!

Kill him now. We've nothing to lose.

- You see? - Kill them.

- He'll die. - Kill them now.

- Stop. - MARINA: Go with them, Lord,

or they will kill you.

NARRATOR: Capturing Montezuma was Cortés' masterstroke.

Because the emperor held supreme power,

if Cortés controlled him, he controlled much of the empire.

So for months, Cortés held Montezuma prisoner,

forcing him to issue orders handing over gold to the Spaniards

and banning human sacrifice.

For God.

For Jesus Christ.

For Saint James and our holy Catholic faith.

Don't forget. One-fifth of all that goes to the king.

- Let me attack them now. - No. Think how many people would die.

Yes, but we could wipe them out. It wouldn't take a moment.

It would be a bloodbath.

They are desecrating our temples. What are you afraid of?

- They will leave soon enough. - They will never leave. Why should they?

Remember, Cuauhtemoc, I am still Emperor.

They will leave.

This was brought to me from the coast.

Our friend, Cortés, is not all he claims to be.

My people call you the Son of the Sun because of your golden hair.

But the sun does not cheat us.

Are you accusing me of cheating?

I think I am the winner and not Don Cortés.

- What do you mean? - What do you think I mean?

Who are you?

- You know who we are. - Yes.

- Cheats and liars. - ALVARADO: What?

- Well, you lied to me. - What?

Wait.

- We lied to you? - Your king.

Your great king for whom you say you are an ambassador

has sent an army to arrest you.

You are nothing more than common criminals.

NARRATOR: This was Cortés' secret.

He had no official authority from the King of Spain.

In fact, he'd stolen some of his ships and supplies from the Governor of Cuba,

who had now sent almost 1,000 men to arrest him.

If they captured him, he'd hang.

NARRATOR: Leaving Alvarado and a hundred men in charge of Montezuma,

Cortés led his small troop of Spaniards

back over the mountains towards the coast.

Heavily outnumbered by the army from Cuba,

Cortés' men had one advantage.

They were used to fighting in the harsh conditions.

Give them back their swords.

You'll never get away with this. You'll hang.

Who are you?

Villafaña.

Well, Villafaña,

why don't you come and take a look at what we've conquered for the king?

- For the king? - Yes.

For the king.

You're the same as us. You want the same things we do.

- Join us! - And be an outlaw? Never.

Look at this. It's pure gold.

We've found a city full of it. It's like a dream come true.

When we get back to Spain, we'll be so rich we'll be treated like heroes,

not outlaws.

- You must be mad. - It's true. Look.

CORTES: Come on, Villafaña.

You've been a loyal servant to the Governor all your life.

Where has it got you?

Come with us.

- MAN 1: I'll join you. - I will, too.

MAN 2: Me, too! MAN 3: And me!

MAN 4: Long live Cortés!

- Long live Cortés! - Idiots.

NARRATOR: Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan with 1,000 new recruits.

But he did not get the reception he expected.

Where is everybody?

- Thank God you're back. - What the hell happened?

This bastard set his people on us. Thousands of them.

Look what they've done to me.

If you hadn't started it, nothing would have happened.

- You massacred hundreds of unarmed men. - They were going to kill us.

They were celebrating a festival. It was just a ceremony.

Aye, where they rip your hearts out!

They were unarmed, you fool!

Didn't you see? They weren't armed.

Stand to. Everyone.

Get Montezuma! Bring him up here!

Persuade him somehow.

Your people will die in their thousands.

Your people, not the Spaniards.

- Stop them and you'll save their lives. - They will not listen to me any more.

Where the hell is he?

You swore.

When you were made emperor, you swore to be the mother of your people,

to carry them on your shoulders,

to be the mirror in which they could see themselves.

Go back! Come on!

Throw them back!

Go back!

MAN: The emperor!

You must stop this now. Go back to your homes.

No. Kill them! Kill them all!

- Others will take their place. - We will kill their tribe!

These people can be our allies.

You are a traitor!

He's dead.

What the hell do we do now?

- This is all your fault. - My fault?

Well, it wasn't anybody else's. If you hadn't been so stupid.

Listen, little boy, do you want some of this?

Go ahead! We're gonna die anyway.

Do you know what they do? They skin you.

They rip your skin off and then they eat you, you fool!

- Stop this. - Save your energy!

We have to find a way out of this.

They're taking up the bridges. Now we're really trapped.

Then we'll have to build our own bridges as we go.

What are you talking about?

There are at least eight bridges on the shortest causeway alone.

We'd never do it. We wouldn't stand a chance.

- It could be our only chance. - No. Sandoval's right.

- Don't you think... - Alvarado, no.

We would be sitting ducks.

We'll have to build a bridge here and carry it with us.

Lopez?

If we can find enough timber. There's some very big gaps.

Come on, this way. Come on.

That's the king's share.

Whatever happens, that's got to get through.

- If it doesn't, we're dead. - And all for the king.

Yes, Villafaña, for the king and God.

You'd better remember that, and pray.

Right, men. The rest is yours.

Come on, men!

Come on. Hurry!

Quickly now! Move on!

Lopez, the gold. The king's gold, help me!

The gold!

Alvarado, Lopez, the king's gold!

Here they come! Let down the bridge!

Alvarado, come quick. The king's gold!

Velasquez!

Alvarado! Help me! Help!

NARRATOR: Cortés lost over three-quarters of his men that night.

Many of them drowned, dragged under by the gold they had stolen.

It would later become known as "The Night of Tears".

It was the canoes. If it hadn't been for the canoes...

Ah, the canoes, the canoes. It wasn't the canoes.

We should never have been there in the first place.

Anybody could've seen that, anybody who was a soldier.

They may have to come off.

Hold him while I try to bandage these up.

Wait a minute. Where's the king's gold?

- It's gone, lost. - All of it?

We were trapped on the wrong side of the causeway.

No gold?

They thought they'd got me, but I used a lance to vault across.

Bloody liar. He swam like the rest of us.

Alvarado, there's no gold. Don't you get it? Don't you understand?

That's it.

We're finished. We've got nothing to give the king.

NARRATOR: Cortés did the only thing he could, and retreated.

He led his defeated army the 60 miles back to Tlaxcala,

home of his main Indian allies.

"Found a city full of gold. It's like a dream come true."

Some dream.

"We'll be so rich, we'll be heroes."

- Villafaña. - What?

Shut your mouth.

- We'll have to go back. - What?

That's insane. You saw what happened.

- What's the alternative? - Go back home.

And hang?

No. We have to go back to Tenochtitlan.

- There aren't enough of us, are there? - There's still plenty of Indians.

But this time we're going after more than gold.

This time,

we're going after the biggest prize King Charles has ever had.

We're going to give him the greatest city on Earth.

The city's impregnable, you know it is. How do we get across that lake?

ALVARADO: We head straight down through the causeway.

Oh, yes, yes,

that'll work very well, won't it? Just like it did the last time.

No. We build a navy.

What?

A navy? You mean canoes?

No. I mean proper sailing ships, with cannon,

so that we can smash through the Aztec canoes.

It's more than 60 miles across those mountains.

How do we get them there?

We'll carry them.

NARRATOR: Leaving Lopez behind to build 12 ships,

Cortés once again crossed over the mountains to Tenochtitlan.

This time, he brought an army of some 10,000 men,

his ranks swollen by Indians, who'd either been cajoled

or terrified into joining him.

Cortés had started a civil war in the Aztec lands.

He's going to get us all killed, you know.

We have to stop him.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, the Aztec war machine was mobilising.

Cuauhtemoc had succeeded as emperor.

Unlike Montezuma, he had no qualms about fighting to the death.

Deepen the channel under the bridge, so deep that they can't cross.

They're not gods, they're men like us.

They can die.

We will stop them here,

or at the next bridge or the bridge after that,

but we will stop them.

There are almost 300 of us now. Rojas is with us.

Verdugo is with us. Now, gentlemen, ask yourselves,

do you really want to die for one man's wild ambition?

Well, well.

All your old cronies from Cuba. Huh, Villafaña?

What do you want to do?

- To kill me? - Yes, you lunatic.

Well, what are you going to do? Kill us?

You'll have no one left.

Yes.

Why don't you do that?

Kill us all.

No, my friend.

Not all.

ALL: Amen.

Well, here they are,

all the mutineers.

We'll never know who was involved now,

apart from Don Antonio de Villafaña, of course.

But whoever was involved

had better be with me

from now on.

NARRATOR: Martin Lopez had built the ships in just 15 weeks.

They had felled whole forests of oak to do it.

Some 50-feet long and big enough to hold a cannon and 30 men,

they were carried in pieces over the mountains by 8,000 Indians.

What took you so long?

Well, we had some extra wood, so I built another boat.

Good man, Lopez. Good man.

We advance up the causeways, supported by the ships.

Alvarado from the west, Sandoval from the south.

And what about the northern causeway?

- We leave that open. - Why?

They'll be able to bring in reinforcements and supplies.

If we don't leave them an escape route, they'll have to fight to the death.

- Isn't that what we want? - No. We are Christians, not savages.

I won't see this city destroyed in the name of God.

Charge!

Charge!

All on the ship!

Now. Now, attack! Attack!

So, what do we do now?

If we can't bring the ships in close, we haven't a chance.

We could still use them. Bombard the city from a distance.

Knock it all down around their ears.

And be left with a pile of rubble.

- You could starve them out. - The northern causeway's still open.

Then close it.

There are thousands of women and children in that city, Marina.

They've had their chance.

We don't fight women and children.

So we can't blow it up and we can't starve them out.

You could always go back to Spain and hang.

If you don't take the city, what have you got?

If you starve them out, at least you'll keep the city intact.

Then you had better close the northern causeway, Sandoval.

NARRATOR: Within weeks, the besieged Aztecs began to starve.

And then came a horror that the Spanish had brought with them from Europe.

Smallpox.

After six months of continuous fighting,

Cuauhtemoc was forced to withdraw to a small area in the north of the city.

This allowed Cortés and Alvarado to advance down the causeways

and finally gain a foothold in Tenochtitlan.

They at last linked up at the main temple.

Fall back, men!

Fall back!

Fall back!

NARRATOR: Over 50 of Cortés' men were captured

and taken to be sacrificed on the northern temple.

MAN: Please, let me go!

No, no!

No!

Stop it!

Stop it!

MARINA: You must demolish the city.

Pull all the houses down, fill in the canals and flatten it.

Then they won't be able to fight.

God help us.

- It'll soon be over. - Happy now?

All I ever wanted was to free my people from the Aztecs.

- No matter what the cost? - No matter what.

But it was beautiful.

You think a slave is worried about beauty?

At least I'm honest about what I'm doing.

I didn't just come here grubbing for gold.

What? What do you mean?

Look! It's Alvarado!

He's done it. Come on!

Leave them!

Stop it!

Stop it!

Stop it!

Leave them alone!

I've done everything I can to defend my people.

You should kill me now.

No. We are a Christian people.

We came here to bring peace

and the word of God.

You did this for God?

NARRATOR: On August 13th, 1521, after eight solid months of fighting

and the slaughter of almost 250,000 people,

Tenochtitlan finally fell to the conquistadors.

But they found almost no gold.

Cortés had Cuauhtemoc tortured to make him reveal where it was hidden.

But it was never found.

Doña Marina had a son by Cortés, but later married another Spaniard.

Most of the Spaniards remained in the New World,

bitter at how little they'd made from the conquest.

Cortés himself became hugely wealthy, rewarded by a grateful king.

But his name is now a symbol

of how one civilisation can eradicate another.

Within a century, 90% of the Aztec population had been wiped out

by European guns, germs and steel.

Today, Tenochtitlan is the site of one of the biggest cities in the world,

Mexico City.

There is no public statue there of Cortés.

It was all so beautiful before.

But it was not yours,

and now it is.