Hi, this is Chris Harford and I'm plugged into a Chris Harford podcast and I'm taking the charge

over to Colts in their game December 26th.

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When people ask me about what I think are the most incredible, surprising,

or mind-boggling moments in world history, my mind always goes to the

era of first contact between Europeans and the indigenous people of North and South America.

Specifically, the conquests of the Spanish conquistadors in Mexico, Central and South America

always blow my mind. Those of you who are longtime fans of the podcast

know that the conquest of Mexico was actually one of the first topics I ever covered.

And that's because I think it's absolutely amazing. Well, it was horrific and in many ways

deeply saddening, but it's also one of the most undeniably dramatic and enthralling stories

in human history. But there's a debate out there among armchair historians about which

Spanish conquest was more improbable, surprising, and ultimately devastating. Was it the toppling

of the Mexica or Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortez? Or was it his cousin Francisco Pizarro's

unlikely conquest of the Inca Empire? For his part, celebrity geographer Jared Diamond

seems drawn to Pizarro's exploits. In fact, Pizarro's collision with the Incas

acts as an important framing device for his 1997 bestseller, guns, germs, and steel.

Jared Diamond ends part one of his book by recounting at length the fateful meaning between

Atahualhapa, the Sapa Inca, or Emperor of the Incas, and Francisco Pizarro and his force of 168

Spaniards in the Incan mountain town of Casamarca. Now, the history podcaster in me is just dying

to give you all sorts of historical context to help you understand the very specific circumstances

...