Si Sheppard on how a few hundred Spanish soldiers toppled the Aztec and Inca empires
Original titleSi Sheppard – How did a few hundred Spanish soldiers topple two empires?
AISummary
Dwarkesh Patel interviews military historian Si Sheppard about how a few hundred Spanish conquistadors defeated the Aztec and Inca empires in the 1500s. The episode covers Cortés's conquest of the Aztecs, Pizarro's conquest of the Inca, and the role of horses, steel, diplomacy, and disease. It is a history episode, with the AI takeover comparison raised only as a framing.
Source: Dwarkesh Podcast · dwarkesh.comPublished · added here