Mexico is one of the cradles of humanity and was home to some of the world's great civilisations. Everyone knows about the Aztec and the Maya, but these are just two of the many peoples who inhabited the region. In this episode we look at the earliest cities in Mesoamerica including the Olmec and the Zapotec. We will also discuss the ball game - the strange sport which was ubiquitous in the area, and which sometimes resulted in the sacrifice of its participants.
The Amazon basin is one of the world's last great wildernesses. It is a vast expanse of thick jungle inhabited by small tribes who live the same way that they have done for millennia. Well actually, probably not. More and more evidence is coming to light which suggests that the region was actually home to large populations, organised states and even cities. This episode looks at these discoveries and what they mean for our understanding of the Amazon. ...
In part one we looked at the institutions the Spanish were creating in their colony, and much of what they did was not pleasant for the island's native inhabitants. Today we will continue our exploration of early Hispaniola by having a look at some of the push back against this. We will talk about the slave revolts and that of the Taino under Enriquillo, and we will have a look at Bartolome de las Casas - a Spaniard who dedicated his life to changing how indigenous Latin Americans were treated. We will also finish off the story of governor Ovando and have a look at the rule of Diego Columbus - son of the famous explorer. ...
Being the first new world colony that the Spanish established, Hispaniola was a grand experiment. Today we take a look at how it was turning out under the rule of its third governor Nicolas de Ovando. His rule was a time of rapid growth, despite the fact that he had to deal with both a hurricane and an earthquake. This was also a pivotal time for the indigenous Taino. Ovando would go on a campaign of pacification which involved numerous massacres and which saw the population drop by as much as 90%. The remaining Taino also became subject to the new encomienda system which governed their role in this new society they found themselves forced into. ...
