The Inca's last stand against the Spanish

The decline of the Inca Empire

The Inca Empire was awash with gold, and the Spanish knew it. So what happened next? Read this BBC article to learn what happened during the last days of the Inca Empire.

Rediscovering the Inca Empire

In 1991, anthropologist Johan Reinhard was trekking up the snowy face of a dormant volcano when he came face to face with the mummified remains of a teenager who had been sacrificed to the Incan gods centuries earlier. The story of “Juanita the Ice Maiden” is just one of the riveting tales featured in this four-part series from the popular podcast "History Hit".

The Inca Empire: a timeline

When did the Inca Empire solidify into an empire? When was it invaded by the Spanish? What remains of it today? Click through this timeline to learn more.

What was it like to rebel against the Inca Empire?

The Inca Empire grew to its gargantuan size and became the largest empire in ancient Americas through conquest, annexation, and arranged marriage, approaches that didn't always go over well with locals. Watch this five-minute video to experience a...

Why did the Spanish steal the Inca's mummies?

From inside stone palaces and atop sacred mountaintops, the Inca dead continued to wield incredible power over the living. So much so that the Spanish confiscated them. Read more about the afterlife of these mummies here.

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan fell after a brutal 75-day siege.

New research challenges the myth that Montezuma peacefully surrendered to Spain

For centuries, historians claimed Montezuma II willingly ceded control to the conquistadors, and that later Aztec resistance was a rogue uprising. Evidence now shows no peaceful handover occurred, revealing a far more turbulent and contested encounter between the two warring empires.

A riveting retelling of the 1846 Donner Party, the doomed western pioneers

Eighty-one people went with the Donner Party into the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter of 1846 via what they thought would be a shortcut to the West. Only 41 came out. The infamous episode of Western travel is captured in narrative detail in this four-part podcast series. This first episode reveals the motivations that pushed the party on this specific route.

How the great city of Cusco came to be, according to the Inca

The chronicler Inka Garcilaso de la Vega recorded the origin story of the Inka (also spelled Inca) and the founding of Cusco, the capital of the society's great empire. Listen to the Inca origin story in this 4-minute video narrated by a child.

Human sacrifice in the Inca Empire

In the lands ruled by the Incas, mountain deities were well-respected and related summits were often selected as places for making the most important of all offerings — human sacrifices.

Hear about why Europe obeyed the Monroe Doctrine, despite American military weakness

This podcast explores the European background of the Monroe Doctrine, highlighting France's efforts to install aristocratic Bourbon monarchs in the newly independent Latin American republics—and how US opposition, British threats, and Spanish resistance ultimately disrupted those plans.

What was the Great Inca Road?

In little more than 100 years, it grew from a small kingdom in the highlands of Peru to become the largest empire in the Americas. Read about the critical role played by the Great Inca Road.

Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, abandoned for centuries before its rediscovery in 1911.

How did the Inca build Machu Picchu?

How did the Inca, a people without iron or steel, build a city that has withstood hundreds of years of earthquakes and inclement weather? Machu Picchu stands atop steep landslide prone slopes and active fault lines and gets up to 80 inches of rain...

The Aztec Empire ruled over 80,000 square miles of central Mexico for nearly a century—until a small band of Spanish conquistadors brought it down in 1521.

Inca trail interactive map

Machu Picchu gets all the attention, but it’s definitely not the only Inca ruin in the area. Some dedicated trekkers opt to see the sites through a multi-day hike down the Inca Trail, which spans 26 miles from the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu and reaches elevations as high as 13,800 feet above sea level. This 3D tour gives a sneak-preview of the ruins along the route, and the intense topography.

Explore a podcast devoted to uncovering different conspiracy theories

Hear stories of controversial events from all around the world and come to your own conclusions about why they happened—and if someone shaped the narrative around them. From art fraud to the death of a Roman emperor, this Spotify podcast covers it all.

What llama beans can tell us about the Inca Empire

Fun fact: Llama bean is just another term for llama poop. Another fun fact: Scientists are using these beans and related microorganisms to learn more about the Inca Empire. Read this article to learn how.

See the path Spanish conquistadors took to conquer the Aztecs

Spanish expeditions reached central Mexico as the Aztec Empire was expanding its influence. After securing bases in the Caribbean, they advanced west into Aztec territory, triggering a cascading conflict depicted in this interactive map and timeline.

The last Inca grass suspension bridge in Peru

High in the Peruvian Andes, the aging Q’eswachaka bridge sags precariously over the Apurímac River. It has been built and rebuilt continuously for five centuries. Read more about it here.

Listen to a widely lauded historical fiction podcast about the manhunt and power struggle that gripped the US after President Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

A podcast deep dive into the British Empire and India

Season 1 of this acclaimed UK podcast, hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, delves into the East India Company, the Raj, Gandhi, and the forces that shaped—and ultimately unraveled—British rule in India.

Hear about the legacy of the British Empire

This popular history podcast hosts a discussion about the legacy of the British Empire with guest Sathnam Sanghera, a journalist and author of the books "Empireland" and "Empireworld." The conversation contemplates the impact and lasting legacy of the Empire.

How a deadly antarctic expedition turned poisonous

A deadly 1912 scientific expedition to the Antarctic took a turn for the worse when the expedition team's leader turned to man's best friend to fuel their journey. This 21-minute podcast episode provides a glimpse into the real-life dangers of...

Using AI to rewrite and revive Aztec tales

Despite being vanquished by the conquering Spaniards in the 16th century, the Aztecs' culture endured through their descendants and rituals, as well as texts that escaped destruction at the hands of the Europeans. These texts, known as codices and preserved in part by Christian monks, revealed intimate details of life as an Aztec in the Middle Ages. Today, AI programs allow students to learn the Aztec's language, Nahuatl, further preserving their heritage.

Meet Pachacuti, the king who built Machu Picchu

In the 1400s, King Pachacuti of the Inca Empire wanted a summer resort for himself, his family, and his entourage. So he and his builders set out to build Machu Picchu, a feat of engineering, carving, construction, and more. Its 700 terraces remain intact today, while its trapezoidal stones inspire construction efforts around the world. Learn about the fascinating process of building this wonder of the world here.

Explore the social and cultural history of the Mexican-American War

Historian Peter Guardino joins host Don Wildman to explore how the war shaped ordinary lives on both sides of the border. Drawing from The Dead March, the episode reveals how culture, class, and ideology shaped the conflict and its consequences.

Hear the untold colonial backstories of the British Museum’s most famous artifacts

This podcast from VICE’s Unfiltered History Tour visits the British Museum’s prized objects through accounts from experts and communities from which they were taken.

Inti, the Sun God of the Inca

The Incas were polytheistic, worshiping many gods, but Inti was the most powerful one in the pantheon. He was the god of the sun and also ruled over agriculture, fertility, and war. Inti was mainly a benevolent deity, though the Inca believed that solar eclipses meant Inti wasn’t pleased. To appease him, the Inca gave sacrificial offerings including food, white llamas, and even human beings.

The man behind the dark novel abandoned on the floor of the Bastille

As tensions rose in the days before the French Revolution of 1789, Donatien Alphonse François attempted to fan the flames by shouting at passersby about false horrors happening inside the Bastille where he was imprisoned. This 39-minute podcast...

The explorer who re-discovered Machu Picchu

If there was a real-life inspiration for Indiana Jones, it may well have been Hiram Bingham, the Yale University historian who set out to find the rumored “lost city” of the Inca. This short feature from the BBC’s History magazine explains how this son of missionaries brought international renown to the site and to himself. In the process, he sparked an international feud that would last more than a century.

Hear an oral history of the Electoral College and why it still exists

This podcast episode traces how the Electoral College emerged from rushed compromises, slavery-era power politics, and party maneuvering—showing why the system looks the way it does today and why efforts to change it have repeatedly stalled.

How the Inca used threads to communicate

One of the great mysteries of ancient Peru is that the Inca did not have a system of writing, but communicated with a system of strings tied with knots. This 4-minute video explores its possible uses.

Sacsayhuaman, the Inca's largest structure

Less well-known but arguably more impressive than Machu Picchu is Sacsayhuamán, a 15th-century fortress-temple on the outskirts of Cusco. The site also features huge stones—some weighing more than 100 tons—carved into interlocking blocks and joined together through mortarless masonry. Archaeologists estimate it must’ve taken some 20,000 laborers to complete construction. This video offers a clickable 3D virtual-reality tour of the site.

Hear about the US role in the Cuban Revolution—and the blowback it caused

Against long odds, Fidel Castro launched a socialist revolution just 90 miles from the US and kept it alive for decades. This 10-part podcast traces Washington's pivot from early support to an obsessive campaign of sabotage and hundreds of alleged assassination plots.

Is the Inca maiden the world's best-preserved mummy?

Found atop a snowy peak in the Andes, this teen mummy is at least 500 years old. Watch this four-minute video to see the Inca maiden, a mummy so well-preserved that small details, such as her many braids, are clearly defined.

Hear how the first moon landing was saved

This podcast series explores Apollo 11 through firsthand stories from the engineers, mission controllers, and astronauts who made the moon landing possible, culminating in 13 minutes of NASA archive audio leading up to the landing.

Go inside the global effort that led to the Montreal Protocol in this narrative podcast

Nobel laureate Mario Molina and other key voices recount how science and diplomacy converged to develop a plan to close the ozone hole, offering insight into history's most successful environmental treaty.

A virtual reality experience of Machu Picchu

If you can’t make it to the Andes, this virtual-reality experience—created using 360-degree cameras, and 3D modeling and sound design—is the next best thing. It lets you explore all the site’s major landmarks, including the Sun Temple and the Temple of the Condor, while listening to the sound of the wind whipping through the ruins, birdsong, and audio commentaries from expert guides.

What was the Spanish inquisition?

In 1478, Spain's Catholic monarchy launched a campaign tackling heresy throughout the collection of kingdoms that would ultimately become modern-day Spain. This six-minute animated video overviews the Spanish Inquisition, a wave of religious...

Washington's military acumen and political judgment were crucial to the Continental Army's success

In this podcast, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson argues that Washington's endurance, strategic communication, political judgment, and ability to elevate capable subordinates proved decisive, in sharp contrast to the failures of British leadership during the war.

Impact of Brazil's politics on the Amazon rainforest

In this seven-minute podcast, Andrew Limbong speaks with environmental researcher Erika Berenguer about Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s ambitions to save the Amazon Rainforest from deforestation.

What was the impact of the Haitian Revolution of 1791?

This 53-minute podcast explores the context surrounding the Haitian Revolution, a 13-year rebellion led by the then-French colony's enslaved population. The Spanish colonized the Caribbean island after Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492,...

The Corps of Discovery braved wildlife, weather, and near-starvation

Along their 8,000-mile trek through territory populated by tribes suspicious of their intentions, Lewis and Clark’s party faced many dangers—including grizzly bear attacks, freezing winters, treacherous river crossings, and periods of near-starvation. Watch a 30-minute elaboration of their heroic efforts here.

Scientists are still confused how Machu Picchu was built

Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca city high in the Andes, continues to fascinate experts with its mysteries. The methods used to transport and carve its massive stones—some weighing 15 tons—remain unclear. Theories range from hundreds of men dragging the stones to innovative techniques like using expanding wet wooden wedges for precision carving.

The Americans abandoned Philadelphia to the British in 1777.

Explaining the final battle of World War I

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the last battle of the First World War. Beginning in September and ending November 11, 1918, the battle was a tumultuous event and the first time the American Army fought on the world's stage. America simultaneously achieved victory and discovered new methods to fight a war. This Apple History podcast provides the details.

A tense standoff with the Teton Sioux nearly ended the expedition

In 1804, the Teton Sioux seized a Corps of Discovery boat during a Missouri River meeting, sparking a dangerous standoff. The conflict eased only after careful diplomacy.

Learn the history and science of influenza in 'This Podcast Will Kill You'

In their flu episode, cohosts Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke unpack influenza's biology, history, and impact—explaining everything from past pandemics to modern vaccines, all with their trademark mix of science and storytelling.

An Aztec skull whistle discovered in the 1990s was mistaken for a toy

In the late 1990s, archaeologists unearthed a sacrificed man clutching two skull-shaped clay whistles at a Mexico City temple to the wind god Ehecatl (eh-HEH-kahtl). Initially dismissed as toys, the instruments produce a scream-like sound that modern brain scans show triggers fear and urgency responses in listeners. This podcast explores the discovery.