Mankind: The Story of all of Us (Part 7: New World)

Beginning in 2012 (nearly 10 years ago), the History Channel has released this 12-episode docu-series about some of the most famous events of the 2 million years of the existence of our species.

This is part 7 of this 12 part wiki page series. In this part, we will cover the episode "New World" where the episode talks about some events that happened in the Americas, and how Europeans arrived and what they did.

## New World

### The first Europeans

The Episode goes back to the 10th century AD and to somewhere in Canada where it talks about the first Europeans to set foot in North America.

This is during the time of the Vikings and their many expeditions across Europe and beyond. After they have discovered Iceland and Greenland, they wanted to discover more, and they did during the 10th century AD when they landed what is believed to be modern-day Canada. These Vikings were led by "Thorvald Erickson" who is a skilled warrior and leader. The episode sees them going against the native Inuit people as they arrive in North America.

Thorvald and his men were able to hold off the Inuits in a few battles in their short time in North America, but eventually the Inuits would get to Thorvald and his Viking tribe, in a raid at night the Inuits took the Vikings by surprise and killed several of them, including Thorvald and they become the first Europeans to die in North America.

So there you have it, the very first Europeans to set foot in the Americas, 500 years before Christopher Columbus. But the history of the Americas was as eventful as in Eurasia.

### Ritualistic Torture

The Episode takes a trip to Mexico and one of the cities of the Aztec World; Tenochtitlan.

Tenochtitlan is like New York or Chicago if its time, a very modern and very huge city in the ancient Aztec World. Sometime in the 16th century, just decades before the arrival of the Spanish Armada, a group of warriors calling themselves "Jaguar Knights" are on the hunt for a warrior of a rival tribe named "Tlahuicole", he was eventually captured by the Jaguar Knights. After refusing the leader's offer to be released, he requested to fight against some of his best in a special ritual.

Tlahuicole was then covered in a white powdery material and tied to round, flat platform, surrounded by Jaguar Knights, was given a blunt wooden club with feathers while the Jaguar Knights used their own clubs with a very sharp material called "Obsidian" said to be so sharp that it can slice a person in half, but the Knights' objective is not to cut Tlahuicole in half, but to cut him enough where his strength would eventually fail him, a ritualistic torture. First, Tlahuicole must take a poison drink which is to also sap him of his strength quickly. Aztec Legend does have it that Tlahuicole had killed 8 people in his torture ceremony before he eventually succumbed to his wounds. Then, another ritual was held after Tlahuicole's death as his body was then flayed and his skin worn by the Jaguar Knight that killed him and his heart extracted.

This is because according to Aztec legend that the Aztec gods need human flesh and blood as almost a sacrifice in order to promise the people a good growing season, and in this case it's growing Corn which is the staple diet for the Aztecs, though it would be another few decades before Europeans bring these vegetables back to Europe.

### Constantinople Falls

The episode now goes to Istanbul (known as Constantinople) and to 1453.

The Byzantine Empire has been on the decline in the times leading up to 1453, and why is 1453 so significant? Well, it's because that is when the Ottoman Turks (who were fighting the Byzantines for years) take Constantinople.

The Ottomans' leader; "Mehmet the 1st" is now in charge of the siege of Constantinople, and he has a plan to enter the city (which has some of the highest and toughest walls in Eurasia), constant canon bombardment.

Mehmet's men use their crudely made canons to damage the walls, which the shattered stones on the other side of the wall would act like shrapnel and injure and kill those who are close enough to the blast. This constant barrage of cannonballs would bombard the walls of the city constantly for around 2 months, until eventually the gaps in the walls would be big enough for Mehmet and his men to enter the city, and thus the Byzantine Empire falls.

With Constantinople now a capital of a new Ottoman Empire, it becomes Islamic (as the city once preserved Christianity) and Europe and Asia are virtually cut off from each other, forcing Europeans to find new trade routes.

### Finding New Trade Routes

And to find these new trade routes, the episode goes to the south Atlantic just off the coast of West Africa.

The episode sees one crew from Europe trying to sail along the coast of Africa to try to find a way around the huge continent and to make a new trade route to Asia, but encountered storms, and though they would have a new invention for ships which they use a special sail which can help them better with winds, but what it actually did was take them out to sea.

What they would soon realize that they were moving as they were along an ocean current called a "Gyre" which is an underwater current which works against the rotation of the Earth. This would help them get back on their regular route and then rounded Southern Africa.

These explorers would also find the new trade port of "The Cape of Good Hope" which would be another center for foreign trade of goods between Europe and Asia.

So now, you may be asking "After all this, where's Christopher Columbus?" Well, he's coming up just below this picture.

### Columbus Arrives

The episode now goes to the Bahamas where the native people there would greet Columbus after a long and hard journey.

After 2 weeks of sailing (and close to starvation) Columbus' team of sailors finally reach land, at first they believed it to be Japan, but it was really the Bahamas. The Native tribes greeted him and gave him spices in exchange for their own goods, but Columbus also was on a hunt for riches such as gold and even notices that some of the tribes were wearing it as jewelry. In many of his expeditions, Columbus would search for riches as well as new trade routes to the Americas.

But he wasn't the only European in search for riches. There is also a more ruthless European explorer that was on the hunt for the riches from the Americas.

### Cortez's Hunt

The episode goes back to Tenochtitlan where a very ruthless and evil Spanish Conquistador named Hernan Cortez would plunder the gold of the Aztecs.

Beginning in 1519, the evil Cortez comes to Tenochtitlan and was granted an audience by the Aztec emperor Montezuma the 2nd, but then once the signal wa given, they kidnap Montezuma and take his treasure.

This would spark a conflict against the Conquistadors and the Aztec natives in the city. Cortez than even told Montezuma to tell his people to stop, but when Montezuma tried to, his people turned against him, and inadvertently killed their ruler. A full fledged war would break out. Because of the superior weapons of the conquistadors with their swords and guns they were able to defeat the Aztec natives, and causing the Aztec empire to fall. Cortez would make frequent stops to the now debunked Aztec Empire to plunder more riches.

And that is what would be the new lust for Europeans traveling to the Americas is finding treasure.

That'll do it for this part. In the next part (click here) we will talk about the next episode in the series "Treasure" where it talks about the Europeans' new lust for American treasure. Until Next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.