# The Cholula Massacre: Cortés's Bloody Gambit in 1519

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-conquistadors-exploration-greed-and-destruction-fexingo-history-7864470/the-cholula-massacre-cort-s-s-bloody-gambit-in-1519
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-conquistadors-exploration-greed-and-destruction-fexingo-history-7864470/the-cholula-massacre-cort-s-s-bloody-gambit-in-1519.md
Podcast: [The Conquistadors: Exploration, Greed, and Destruction — Fexingo History](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-conquistadors-exploration-greed-and-destruction-fexingo-history-7864470)
Published: 2026-05-26T14:31:27+00:00
Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-conquistadors/episode-0058.mp3
Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-conquistadors/episode-0058.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-conquistadors-exploration-greed-and-destruction-fexingo-history-7864470/episodes/the-cholula-massacre-cort-s-s-bloody-gambit-in-1519
Duration seconds: 551

## Resource

In October 1519, Hernán Cortés and his army slaughtered thousands of unarmed nobles and civilians in the sacred city of Cholula. But was it a preemptive strike against a planned ambush, or a calculated act of terror to break Aztec resistance? This episode examines the conflicting accounts—from Bernal Díaz del Castillo's justification to the Florentine Codex's portrayal of a deliberate massacre. We explore Cholula's role as a neutral power, the Totonac and Tlaxcalan influences, and how the massacre shaped the trajectory of the Conquest. Featuring the testimony of La Malinche, the political scheming of Moctezuma, and the archaeological evidence from the Great Pyramid of Cholula. A turning point that reveals the brutal mechanics of Spanish conquest. #CholulaMassacre #HernánCortés #LaMalinche #Tlaxcala #Moctezuma #BernalDíazDelCastillo #FlorentineCodex #GreatPyramidOfCholula #Totonac #MesoamericanHistory #SpanishConquest #AztecEmpire #Quetzalcoatl #Nahuatl #History #FexingoHistory #ColonialMexico #WarCrimes Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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