Cortes deployed every European technology and tactical advantage he had on the battlefield. ibid.
Cortes lost control of the city and then recaptured it after a terrible siege. ibid.
Why are violence and the sacred so intertwined? Why is death seen as necessary to renew life? ... To us the Aztec universe may appear irrational, terrifying, murderous in its brutality; and yet it is a mirror held up to our humanity which we ignore at our cost. For in the name of other ideals and other gods Western culture has been no less addicted to killing, even in our own century. Michael Wood, In Search of the First Civilizations
Today we are at last beginning to understand the intricacies of this amazing culture, which was the equal of any in Europe in moral refinement, artistic sensibility, social complexity, and political organization. J Jorge Klor de Alva, The Broken Spears
Such as they were, with their greatness and their weaknesses, their ideal of order and their cruelty, their obsession with the mystery of blood and death, their sensitivity to the beauty of flowers, birds and gems, their strength of religious feeling – strong to the point of suicide – their excellent practical organisation of the state, their attachment to their land and their maize, which still did not keep their eyes from turning continually to the stars – with all this, these ancient Mexicans were civilised men. Their culture, so suddenly destroyed, is one of those that humanity can be proud of having created. In the hearts and minds of those who believe that our common inheritance is made up of all the values that our species has conceived in all times and in all places, it must take its place among our precious treasures – precious because they are so rare. At long intervals, in the immensity of the world’s life and in the midst of its vast indifference, men joined together in a community bring something into existence that is greater than themselves – a civilisation. These are the creators of cultures; and the Indians of Anahuac [Aztecs], at the foot of their volcanoes, on the shores of their lake, may be counted among them. Jacques Soustelle, Daily Life of the Aztecs
We are here dealing with a totalitarian state of which the philosophy included an utter contempt for the individual ... any freedom of thought or action was inconceivable in the Aztec world ... dependence and instability were absolute, fear reigned. Death lurked ceaselessly everywhere, and constituted the cement of the building in which the individual Aztec was prisoner ... Clearly the spirituality of some aspects of Aztec life must have sprung from an old pre-Aztec tradition, later betrayed. Laurette Séjourné, Burning Water
The Central and South American high cultures of antiquity were entirely worthy of comparison with what the Old World had achieved by the time of the Han, the Gupta, and the Hellenistic age. The fact is that the Amerindian high cultures were a human modality of their own, and those Spaniards who came among them first would have had the sensation, if they had ever heard of such literature, of treading in a world of imaginative science fiction. But it was real, and the Amerindian achievements deserve all our sympathy and praise. Joseph Needham & Gwei-Djen Lu, Trans-Pacific Echoes & Resonances: Listening Once Again
The Aztec gods and goddesses are, as far as we have known anything about them, an unlovely and unlovable lot. In their myths there is no grace or charm, no poetry. Only this perpetual grudge, grudge, grudging, one god grudging another, the gods grudging men their existence, and men grudging the animals. The goddess of love is goddess of dirt and prostitution, a dirt-eater, a horror, without a touch of tenderness. D H Lawrence, Mornings in Mexico
‘The Aztecs’ life was one of efficient, many-sided agriculture; of craftsmanship unexcelled in the Western Hemisphere or the world; of much democracy in human relationships. Its social base was the exogamous clan, and within the clan, leadership was achieved and kept through proved individual merit. Clans united into tribes, with equal representation on the tribal council; and the council chose the tribal functionaries on the basis of demonstrated merit. There existed rank, but not caste, the only exception being the quite fluid, shifting slave class. The slave controlled his own family and could in turn hold slaves; none were born into slavery; murder of a slave brought the death penalty to the killer; slavery became a temporary status while a man expiated a crime; often families of the poor would rotate their children, one at a time, into temporary slavery. John Collier, The Indians of the Americas
Probably no other nation, past or present, has received such a bad press as the Aztecs (or the Mexica, as they usually called themselves). In the minds of the public at large, the Aztecs are almost universally viewed as a cruel and sadistic people, on a par with the Nazi Germans for their sadistic, bloodthirsty atrocities. Sophie D Coe & Michael D Coe, The True History of Chocolate
I was a racketeer for capitalism. I helped purify Nicaragua for international banking. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests. And I helped make Honduras ripe for American Fruit Companies. General Major Smedley Butler
There are thought to be 300,000 gang members in Central America. MS-13 is the biggest gang. Caribbean with Simon Reeve 3/3, BBC 2015
What a place! This is completely epic. I’m in Alaska …I’m travelling the length of the Americas starting at the top and heading to the toe … through North and Central America. It’s a journey of 5,000 miles through some of the biggest landscapes on Earth: it’ll take me to places of myth and wonder. The Americas with Simon Reeve I, BBC 2019
I’m travelling across Central America from the Caribbean coast of Belize to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It’s one of the most beautiful and bio-diverse places on Earth. The Americas with Simon Reeve V
The sea here teems with life … The second largest barrier reef system on the planet … Manatee: Belize is home to one of the largest surviving populations. ibid.
Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador now account for almost 70% of immigration into the United States. ibid.
We have to demonstrate that we are still the decisive force in determining the political outcomes in Central America and that we will not permit others to intervene. Zbigniew Brzezinski
Deep in the jungles of Central America more than 1,000 years ago a remarkable hidden civilisation was created. Cities of staggering scale and complexity still stand as testament to the ancient Maya. But despite decades of archaeological investigation much of their world remains a mystery. Secret History: Lost Cities of the Maya: Revealed, Channel 4 2018
Thousands of new discoveries right across the Mayan world … This unique project alongside breathtaking discoveries on the ground and the decoding of Mayan writing is placing the Maya beside Egypt and China, at the very top table of the greatest ancient civilisations in the world. ibid.
At its height the Mayan world encompassed vast areas of modern-day Central America: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras. ibid.
The Maya settled in these jungles around 3,000 years ago and reached their height around the 7th century A.D … They created stunning works of art and without metal tools built some of the greatest pyramids the new world have ever seen. ibid.
The Snake Kings: a royal family that rose from obscurity to forge the closest thing the Maya ever had to an empire. ibid.
Nicaragua: this central-American country has had more than its fair share of violence … In July 1979 Ortega had been the hero: a dashing Marxist revolutionary whose Sandinista guerrillas had overthrown the Fascistic Samosa regime and entered Managua in triumph. Secret Wars Uncovered s1e7: Cold War in Central America
American president Ronald Reagan funnels money to right-wing Contra rebels fighting an insurgency against the Sandinista government, leading to one of the greatest scandals ever to hit the White House. ibid.
1932 El Salvador: an army of peasants and indigenous people rise up against the ruling classes: they want a socialist society. El Salvador’s president, Maximiliano Martinez, suppresses this rebellion … In six days they [army] kill tens of thousands of people. ibid.
US commercial interests have taken control of Nicaragua’s national rail company, and US marines remain in the country. They first landed in her beaches in 1909. ibid.
The Samosa dynasty had ruled Nicaragua for 44 years. From the outset they consolidated their power. ibid.
By the 1970s Central America was pulled into the Cold War. ibid.
By 1977 El Salvador has seen right-wing governments replaced by military juntas. ibid.
1982: Left-wing rebels fight against the ruling military junta. ibid.