“Conquista de Tenochititlan, Mexico” (Photo: Diego rivera , via Wikimedia Commons)
The Aztec Empire
Doctor Who has actually done a story focused on this particular time period before. First Doctor William Hartnell and his original companions Ian and Barbara found themselves in Aztec Mexico, where Barbara was mistaken for the goddess Yetaxa. She goes along with this misconception in the hopes of turning the Aztecs away from human sacrifice, and it’s basically our first lesson about the dangers of trying to change established history.
Historical figures we might meet: To what is probably the surprise of no one, 1960s Doctor Who didn’t exactly present Aztec history and culture in any sort of nuanced way. Nor, sadly, did it handle its female characters particularly well. (Though, to be fair, this is a systemic issue for a show in the 1960s, and for the most part Barbara is an intelligent and capable woman. There’s just also a lot of unnecessary screaming.) A more modern day presentation of this civilization and culture – whether through recognizable historical figures or everyday people – would be enough of a reason to do another story in this time period.
Potential adventures: There’s something kind of appealing about doing a remake of the original First Doctor tale, particularly now that the Doctor is a woman and traveling with several companions of color. But since we have done that before, perhaps Team TARDIS could simply visit Tenochtitlan, the capital city that is now the site of modern day Mexico City. A story could be set around the building of the Templo Mayor, which would become the famous site of the city’s human sacrifices. Or we could have a tale focused on deities Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, who could turn out to be anything from aliens to long-lost Time Lords to our companions themselves. There’s lots of options!