Welcome to the history tricks where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.

And here's your 30 second summary.

La Malinche was discarded by her family and sold into slavery,

but by a series of curious circumstances,

she became one of the most famous or infamous characters in the

story of the Spanish takeover of Mexico.

The end.

Let's talk about La Malinche. But first let's drop her into history.

In 1519, it had been two years since his writing had set off the Protestant

reformation, but Martin Luther had yet to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church,

and it would take another two years for that to

happen. King Charles the First of Spain, grandson of former subject Queen

Isabella, added Charles the Fifth holy Roman Emperor to his titles.

Mariner Ferdinand Magellan set off to find the best route for spice trade.

His expedition would be the first to circumnavigate the globe,

although Magellan himself was killed before completing the voyage.

Future King Henry II of France and his wife, a future Queen Catherine de Mediji, were both born.

Leonardo da Vinci and Lucretia both died.

And in 1519, a young indigenous woman

was given to the party of a Spanish conquistador and then she was given a chance to change her life.

A young girl named Malinale or a name no one made note of was born sometime around the year 1500 in one or another of the altapitals or quasi-independent

city states of Central Mexico.

...