The Smallpox Conquest

Culture Positive: An Infection Prevention Podcast · Sep 1, 2026 · 16m · transcript

Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztecs because of Spanish military power, right? Not quite. See how an infectious disease played a devastating role in the fall of the Aztec Empire.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/smallpox/symptoms-causes/syc-20353027

https://www.indigenousmexico.org/articles/smallpox-comes-to-the-americas-1507-1524

https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/about/history.html

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/how-smallpox-devastated-the-aztecs-and-helped-spain-conquer-an-american-civilization-500-years-ago…