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What "people" say or write the one-dimensional stories you repeat? Not Diamond. He discusses the pre-existing conflicts among the Aztec groups, and how some all

What "people" say or write the one-dimensional stories you repeat? Not Diamond. He discusses the pre-existing conflicts among the Aztec groups, and how some allied with the Spaniards. No one who studies the Spanish conquest says a small band of mercenaries and fortune-seekers could have conquered a united Aztec empire. The article these comments refer to also explicitly mentions that. Maybe people ignorant of history, who only know about Thermopylae from watching 300, repeat these stories, but historians don't, and Diamond doesn't. The fact of rebellious locals allying with the Spaniards, possibly because they saw the significant advantages of the Conquistador technology and how it could help their cause, doesn't change Diamond's thesis. Nor does the fact that introduced diseases killed allies and enemies alike.

YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
Never said it did. Just felt like making a little historical aside. >> What "people" say or write the one-dimensional stories you repeat? Lots and lots of people throughout my life. Sorry I don't have any references and so on. I've heard people say variously that it was gunpowder, horses, or steel. I've heard this from teachers at school, from friends at casual conversations, from fellow wargamers when discussing history, by people in the TV, read comics and watched movies where that was the theme, and so on. As to Thermopylae, it definitely wasn't 300 that made people think that was the number of soldiers on the Greek side. 300 was made because that was the number people knew, as a bit of folklore. And btw, I'm Greek myself which should, I hope, suffice as evidence for my claim. Everybody always forgets the Thespians. If you are aware that those are misconceptions, why do you mind a comment that doesn't suffer from them?
- gregjor 3y ago
  We can agree that too many regular people don't know much about history, and what they do know comes from movies and story books. I thought you meant to refer to historians or scholars, who should know better.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
    Thanks for clarifying. I was speaking about lay people, like me (I'm not a historian, except only as an amateur of mainly ancient history).

YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago

Never said it did. Just felt like making a little historical aside. >> What "people" say or write the one-dimensional stories you repeat? Lots and lots of people throughout my life. Sorry I don't have any references and so on. I've heard people say variously that it was gunpowder, horses, or steel. I've heard this from teachers at school, from friends at casual conversations, from fellow wargamers when discussing history, by people in the TV, read comics and watched movies where that was the theme, and so on. As to Thermopylae, it definitely wasn't 300 that made people think that was the number of soldiers on the Greek side. 300 was made because that was the number people knew, as a bit of folklore. And btw, I'm Greek myself which should, I hope, suffice as evidence for my claim. Everybody always forgets the Thespians. If you are aware that those are misconceptions, why do you mind a comment that doesn't suffer from them?

gregjor 3y ago
We can agree that too many regular people don't know much about history, and what they do know comes from movies and story books. I thought you meant to refer to historians or scholars, who should know better.
- YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
  Thanks for clarifying. I was speaking about lay people, like me (I'm not a historian, except only as an amateur of mainly ancient history).