The Aztecs are apprehensive about the arrival of the white men. It is a bad omen. Spanish conqueror Cortés is appointed Captain and will be heading toward new territories.

November 18, 1518... Cortés, the ambitious adventurer, sets out to discover and conquer the unknown empire of Mexico at daybreak before Velasquez has a chance to stop him.

Cortés is negotiating with the friendly natives of Mexico with the help of his interpreter, who had been shipwrecked in a previous expedition and speaks Mayan. They are offered a young woman slave, Malintzin, who speaks Mayan and Aztec.

Cortés exchanges gifts with the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma. An excellent diplomatic move on both sides!

Tension is building between the Aztecs and the Spaniards, not to mention within Cortés's own ranks. Despite this, the conquistador rallies his troops to conquer Mexico.

Cortés sets out to conquer Mexico with his four hundred men, sixteen horses, and seven cannons. He is joined later by native forces, the Totonac warriors.

Il était une fois... ("Once Upon a Time...") takes us back to the origins of Western civilization on the island of Crete. This lively animated series is for French learners of all ages!

Learn about the birth of democracy in ancient Greece and watch a scene from Sophocles's famous tragedy, Antigone, in the next installment of Il était une fois....

In the next installment of Il était une fois..., we meet some of the great thinkers of ancient Greece: Socrates, Euripides, Sophocles, Protagoras, Anaxagoras, and others. You're sure to be enlightened by the end!

In the last segment of this animated series on ancient Greece, we learn about the later years of the empire, filled with endless wars and the ostracism of some of its most famous citizens.

These brief interviews on the streets of Lille were conducted in order to test the waters of the tricky dispute over the banning of burqa-wearing in public.

In this powerful music video, Grand Corps Malade puts a modern twist on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and even gives it a happy ending. You'll find a good amount of argot (slang) in the song lyrics, including some verlan, a form of slang that's very popular among French youth.

In "Les Voyages en train" (Train Rides), the French slam poet Grand Corps Malade creates an extended metaphor comparing love stories to train rides. Just as a successful train ride involves arriving at the station on time and catching the right train, a good love story involves finding the right person at the right moment in one's life. See if you can find some other similarities between the two in this gorgeous video.

In "Inch'Allah" (Arabic for "if God wills" or "God willing"), French slam poet Grand Corps Malade and Algerian singer Reda Taliani team up to promote a message of love and acceptance of people of all cultures and colors. In the video, two people are lucky enough to have the song performed at their wedding!

In "Je suis Charlie" (I Am Charlie), Fabien Marsaud a.k.a. Grand Corps Malade commemorates the victims of the devastating attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. As the slam poet notes, "I prefer to pick up a pen because tonight I am Charlie."