In 1519 an arrogant and unscrupulous man sailed from the Caribbean, with orders to find a missing Spanish expedition. He immediately set about carving himself an empire in modern Mexico, while the governor of Cuba sent a force out to kill him. Hernan Cortes explored the coast to Veracruz then struck inland seduced by tales of a great empire rich in gold. He found the largest and best run city on earth and reduced it to rubble. John Harrison followed in his footsteps for four months, finding out the jungle ruins and sophisticated hilltop cities which put the lie to the popular image of the Aztecs and their neighbours as bloodthirsty savages.
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