--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a great historical joke that when…" description: "\"It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time, they were the two m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/a-a-gill-3415_astonishing_it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-t_32213.jpg" --- # It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the… ![“It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time, they were the two most unpleasant cultures in the entire world, and richly deserved each other. Still, the story of how stout Cortes blustered, bullied and bludgeoned…” quote by A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/a-a-gill-3415_astonishing_it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-t_32213.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/a-a-gill-3415_astonishing_it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-t_32213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/a-a-gill-3415_astonishing_it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-t_32213.jpg) > “It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time, they were the two most unpleasant cultures in the entire world, and richly deserved each other. Still, the story of how stout Cortes blustered, bullied and bludgeoned his way to collapsing an entire empire with a handful of contagious hoodlums is astonishing.” [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote satizes the brutal conquest of the Aztec Empire by Spanish forces, portraying both societies as morally corrupt and emphasizing the absurdity of their violent clash. **In simple terms:** Satirical critique of colonial conquest Key Takeaway Conquest is a grotesque meeting of two vicious cultures Themes colonialism cultural clash satire historical irony power dynamics Mood cynical wry critical Type historical satirical When to use this quote - history lessons - cultural studies - political commentary - educational podcasts Key Concepts imperialism civilization myth moral relativism Practical Applications - teaching colonial history - illustrating satire in writing Questions to Reflect On - What does labeling both sides as 'unpleasant' reveal about moral judgments in history? - How does satire change our perception of violent events? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astonishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing/) [Aztecs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aztecs/) [Aztecs Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aztecs-blind-430241/) [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Blind date](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-date/) [Bullied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullied/) [Contagious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contagious/) [Cortes Blustered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortes-blustered-430242/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Empires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empires/) [Great historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-historical/) [Handful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handful/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Humour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humour/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Met Aztecs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/met-aztecs-430240/) [Mets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mets/) [Spanish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spanish/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stout/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Unpleasant Cultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpleasant-cultures-430243/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders; no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/everyone-carries-a-part-of-society-on-his-shoulders-no-one-is/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [One belief, more than any other, is responsible for the slaughter of individuals on the alter of the great historical ideas - justice or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/one-belief-more-than-any-other-is-responsible-for-the-slaughter-of/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [I think one of the great historical contributions of science is to weaken the hold of religion. That's a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/i-think-one-of-the-great-historical-contributions-of-science-is-to/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [The truth is that History, with its imposing capital H, is simply the amalgamation of many quotidian lives lived in very ordinary ways. History…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/the-truth-is-that-history-with-its-imposing-capital-h-is-simply-the/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“It’s sometimes a blessing that great historical figures don’t live to see what people do to their visions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/it-s-sometimes-a-blessing-that-great-historical-figures-don-t-live-to/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [Americans must outgrow the unbecoming arrogance that leads us to assert that America somehow owns a monopoly on goodness and truth - a belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feisal-abdul-rauf/americans-must-outgrow-the-unbecoming-arrogance-that-leads-us-to/) [Feisal Abdul Rauf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feisal-abdul-rauf/) > [Boredom and fatigue are great historical forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/boredom-and-fatigue-are-great-historical-forces/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [ Without doubt, President \[Barack\] Obama is a great historical figure. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/without-doubt-president-barack-obama-is-a-great-historical-figure/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [It's so damn hard to write a great historical mystery based on fact. It's not for lack of trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-turteltaub/it-s-so-damn-hard-to-write-a-great-historical-mystery-based-on-fact/) [Jon Turteltaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-turteltaub/) > [What does anyone really know about the impetus to go to war? And so much is uncovered in hindsight. And there are aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/what-does-anyone-really-know-about-the-impetus-to-go-to-war-and-so/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [To have united the purposes of an entire Nation, is the great historical achievement of the man in whose strong hands our President has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-have-united-the-purposes-of-an-entire-nation-is-the-great/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A revolution that is based on the people exercising their creativity in the midst of devastation is one of the great historical contributions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/a-revolution-that-is-based-on-the-people-exercising-their-creativity/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [As much as I care about historical context - I'm very eager to read a really great historical account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/as-much-as-i-care-about-historical-context-i-m-very-eager-to-read-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [Pictures that will live on for years, like 'The Birth of a Nation' and 'Gone With the Wind,' had great historical events in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wyler/pictures-that-will-live-on-for-years-like-the-birth-of-a-nation-and/) [William Wyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wyler/) > [“Aztlán (“The Place of the Reeds”) was the traditional home of the Aztecs, a possibly mythical motherland from which the tribe ventured forth on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/aztl-n-the-place-of-the-reeds-was-the-traditional-home-of-the-aztecs/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) ## More by A. A. Gill > [If New York is a wise guy, Paris a coquette, Rome a gigolo and Berlin a wicked uncle, then London is an old lady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/if-new-york-is-a-wise-guy-paris-a-coquette-rome-a-gigolo-and-berlin-a/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Frightened is the natural state for all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/frightened-is-the-natural-state-for-all-men/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [So, being a good man is not an exam or a qualification, it changes, and it incorporates being a good friend, a good father,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/so-being-a-good-man-is-not-an-exam-or-a-qualification-it-changes-and/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Women's handbags are incredibly heavy. You rarely get to pick one up and, when you do, you wonder why anyone carries so much stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/women-s-handbags-are-incredibly-heavy-you-rarely-get-to-pick-one-up/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Gifts are an important and necessary part of our collective lives. We need to give and we need to allow others to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/gifts-are-an-important-and-necessary-part-of-our-collective-lives-we/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Have you ever wondered why the rich and privileged care about, or even bother with, the gift bag? Because they don't need this stuff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/have-you-ever-wondered-why-the-rich-and-privileged-care-about-or-even/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [London is a city of ghosts; you feel them here. Not just of people, but eras. The ghost of empire, or the blitz, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/london-is-a-city-of-ghosts-you-feel-them-here-not-just-of-people-but/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Television gives us the gift to see ourselves as we'd like to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/television-gives-us-the-gift-to-see-ourselves-as-we-d-like-to-be-seen/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [I walk up a dune to a beach and look out to sea, but it's 100km away. The ships lie askew in their dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/i-walk-up-a-dune-to-a-beach-and-look-out-to-sea-but-it-s-100km-away/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Being able to afford everything you desire is not, by any means, the worst thing that can happen to you. But, depressingly, and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/being-able-to-afford-everything-you-desire-is-not-by-any-means-the/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [If the world were to end tomorrow and we could choose to save only one thing as the explanation and memorial to who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/if-the-world-were-to-end-tomorrow-and-we-could-choose-to-save-only/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [You see, the problem with Dave Cameron is that people know who he is. The less people know about him, the more he's likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/you-see-the-problem-with-dave-cameron-is-that-people-know-who-he-is/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Personal adornment is the only cultural form that everybody in the world takes part in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/personal-adornment-is-the-only-cultural-form-that-everybody-in-the/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [The part that makes you unique is the bit people will like or fear, fall in love with, or try to avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/the-part-that-makes-you-unique-is-the-bit-people-will-like-or-fear/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [The Lib-Dems are sidekicks. They were born to be sidekicks and that's what they should concentrate on being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/the-lib-dems-are-sidekicks-they-were-born-to-be-sidekicks-and-that-s/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) [Explore all 131 A. A. Gill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) ## More Astonishing quotes > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-y-k-lee-2/a-first-novel-of-astonishing-force-craft-and-beauty-the-headmaster-s/) [Janice Y. K. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-y-k-lee-2/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The astonishing thing for me is that I had a career before politics and I never thought about my colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/the-astonishing-thing-for-me-is-that-i-had-a-career-before-politics/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [It's Twitter's combination of simplicity and complexity that is astonishing in the same way that minimalist sculpture was inspiring and enlightening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/it-s-twitter-s-combination-of-simplicity-and-complexity-that-is/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [All that we don't know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/all-that-we-don-t-know-is-astonishing-even-more-astonishing-is-what/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy which we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-which-we/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“No one ever said aloud any of the kinds of things he was so constantly thinking, because no one in the parish, not Alice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/no-one-ever-said-aloud-any-of-the-kinds-of-things-he-was-so/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [If you worry less about what people think of you, you can pick up an astonishing amount of information about them. You no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/if-you-worry-less-about-what-people-think-of-you-you-can-pick-up-an/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [The Bureau of Justice reports that one in three black male babies born this century will go to jail or prison - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/the-bureau-of-justice-reports-that-one-in-three-black-male-babies/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/what-astonishing-changes-a-few-years-are-capable-of-producing-i-am/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) [Browse all 410 Astonishing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time, they were the two most unpleasant cultures in the entire world, and richly deserved each other. Still, the story of how stout Cortes blustered, bullied and bludgeoned his way to collapsing an entire empire with a handful of contagious hoodlums is astonishing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. A. 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