History House

The story of Malintzin/La Malinche. Her life, role in the Conquest of the Mexica (Aztecs) and her evolving legacy in Mexico and beyond across centuries. 

Episode Icon: Lámina del Lienzo de Tlaxcala donde se demuestra qué hizo Hernán Cortés, 1581, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. 

Recommended further reading…

Lyall, Victoria I. Romo, Terezita (eds.), Traitor, Survivor, Icon, The Legacy of La Malinche, (New Haven and London, 2022).

Restall, Matthew, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, (Oxford, 2003). 

Restall, Matthew, When Montezuma Met Cortés, The True Story of the Meeting that Changed History, (New York, 2018).

Townsend, Camilla, Fifth Sun, A New History of the Aztecs, (Oxford, 2019).

Townsend, Camilla, Malintzin's Choices, An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico (Albuquerque, 2006).

Break audio: 'Mother Moon' by Soul Driver from PremiumBeat.com (Purchased with Standard License on the 25/02/2026).

Opening and closing theme, 'Classical Orchestral Dvorak Serenade Waltz Strings Music, provided by mrgwertz on https://www.pond5.com (Purchased with license on the 01/06/2024).

The story of Bartolomé de Las Casas, regarded by some as the first human rights defender and the wider efforts to end the Spanish exploitation of the Indigenous People of Americas.

Episode Icon: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, "Fray Bartolomé de las Casas" by Felix Parra (1845-1919) done in 1875 on display at the Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-S.A. 4.0., https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ , By using this image, the creator does not endorse History House or its use, no changes have been made.

Recommended further reading…

Castro, Daniel, ‘Another Face of Empire: Bartolomé de Las Casas, Indigenous Rights, and Eclesiastical Imperialism’, (Durham, North Carolina, 2007).

Clayton, A. Lawrence, ‘Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biography’, (Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2012).

de Las Casas, Bartolomé, ‘A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies’, (London, 2004, Reprint).

Hanke, Lewis, ‘All Mankind is One: Study of the Disputation Between Bartolomé de Las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda in 1550 on the Intellectual and Religious Capacity of the American Indians’, (DeKalb, Illinois, 1974).

Hanke, Lewis, ‘Pope Paul III and the American Indians’, in ‘The Harvard Theological Review’, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Apr., 1937), pp. 65-102.

Hanke, Lewis, ’The Spanish Struggle for Justice in the Conquest of Ameirca’, (Philadelphia, 1949).

MacNutt, Francis Augustus, ‘Bartholomew de Las Casas; his life, apostolate, and writings’, (Cleveland, United States, 1909).

Parker, Geoffrey, ‘Emperor: A New Life of Charles V’, (New Haven and London, 2020).

Thomas, Hugh, ’The Golden Age: The Spanish Empire of Charles V, (London, 2011).

Thomas, Hugh, ‘Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire’, (London, 2010).

van Deusen, Nancy E. ‘Why Indigenous Slavery Continued in Spanish America after the New Laws of 1542’, in ‘The Americas’, Vol. 80 No. 3, (2023), pp. 395-432.

Nahuatl Reading of Florentine Codex, 21:12-26:08.

English Reading of Florentine Codex, 26:09-28:42.

Break audio: ‘Song of Summoning’ by Lost Harmonies from PremiumBeat.com (Purchased with Standard License on the 25/01/2026).

Ending and closing theme, 'Classical Orchestral Dvorak Serenade Waltz Strings Music, provided by mrgwertz on https://www.pond5.com (Purchased with license on the 01/06/2024).

The story of Celtic Ireland and the Roman Empire. Trade, religion and possible invasion.

Episode Icon: Ptolemy Cosmographia 1467 - Ireland, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

Recommended further reading...

Di Martino, Vittorio, 'Roman Ireland', (Cork, 2003).

Freeman, Philip, 'Ireland and the Classical World', (Austin, Texas, 2001).

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Break audio: 'Celtic Journey' by Vinny Falcone from PremiumBeat.com (Purchased with Standard License on the 27/12/2025).

Ending and closing theme, 'Classical Orchestral Dvorak Serenade Waltz Strings Music, provided by mrgwertz on https://www.pond5.com (Purchased with license on the 01/06/2024).

The story of the time when the Dutch “ate” their “Prime Minister”. Why it happened, who did it and what effect did it have on the Dutch Republic?

Episode Icon: Adriaen Hanneman, Johan de Witt, 1652, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. 

Recommended further reading…

DeSanto, Ingrid Frederika, ‘Righteous Citizens: The Lynching of Johan and Cornelis DeWitt, The Hague, Collective Violence, and the Myth of Tolerance in the Dutch Golden Age, 1650-1672’, University of California, Los Angeles, 2018.

Israel, Jonathan I. ’The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness and Fall, 1477-1806’, (Oxford, UK, 1998).

Rowen, Herbert H. ‘John de Witt True Freedom: Statesman of the "True Freedom” ’, (Cambridge, UK, 1986).

Schama, Simon, ’The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age’, (New York City, 1997). 

History House Newsletter Sign Up Form: https://2fi43x.share-eu1.hsforms.com/2ra1UsFX7SXuZqtGTVUKXNg 

Break audio: 'A Stormy Spirit by Tiny Music from PremiumBeat.com (Purchased with Standard License on the 29/11/2025). 

Ending and closing theme, 'Classical Orchestral Dvorak Serenade Waltz Strings Music, provided by mrgwertz on https://www.pond5.com (Purchased with license on the 01/06/2024).

The traditions, history and celebrations of Day of the Dead, (Dia de Los Muertos).

Episode Icon: 1. Posada's La Calavera Catrina, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

Recommended Further Reading...

Brandes, Stanley H. ‘Iconography in Mexico's Day of the Dead: Origins and Meaning’, Ethnohistory, Volume 45 No. 2, (Spring, 1998), pp. 181-218.

‘Is There a Mexican View of Death?’, Ethos, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Mar., 2003), pp. 127-144.

‘Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead: The Day of the Dead in Mexico and Beyond’, (Hoboken, New Jersey, 2007).

Miliotes, Diana, ‘José Guadalupe Posada and the Mexican Broadside’, (New Haven and London, 2006).

History House Newsletter Sign Up Form: https://2fi43x.share-eu1.hsforms.com/2ra1UsFX7SXuZqtGTVUKXNg

Beginning and closing theme 'Classical Orchestral Dvorak Serenade Waltz Strings Music, provided by mrgwertz on https://www.pond5.com (Purchased with license on the
01/06/2024).