There is a bit of a blank spot in most people's maps when it comes to Central America. We know about the Aztec and the Inca but what was going on in between? There were actually several advanced societies in the region, with historians even placing one in the same category as the Mesoamerican and Andean cultures. This episode will outline some of them, as well as discussing language families and how they help us work out who is related to who (and how they got to the places they are today).
Today we look at Spanish movement north of Hispaniola. We will follow Ponce de Leon as he explores Florida, as well as Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba and Juan de Grijalva on their trips to Mexico. ...
While Cortez was in Mexico, something else was happening - something which was perhaps just as important for world history. Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain to find a route around the Americas to Asia, and sail all the way around the globe. ...
Columbus' third voyage was less about exploration and more about the governance of his fledgling colony. Despite this he would reach the American mainland for the first time and venture further south than he had before. Meanwhile, things in the colony were not going well and things were slipping out of Columbus' control. ...
