The Economic organization of the Aztecs Developed a very complete and orderly trading system, with great diversity of products in its market.
The economy of the Aztecs was based on three aspects: agricultural goods, trade and taxes. Of these three factors, trade was crucial to the empire, as it allowed the arrival of goods to all Cities , Even if they were not produced in the same territory.
Retrieved image from socialhizo.com.
For example, if a person wanted food, he could buy meat, fish, turkeys, rabbits, birds or any other source of protein. If they wanted vegetables they could buy tomatoes, corn or hot peppers, even spices for seasoning. In addition to this, there was prepared food to buy, such as corn bread, drinks and cakes.
This shows that unlike other ancient economies, the trading system of the Aztecs was not based on barter. The Aztecs had money to acquire all the goods that might be needed.
Monetary system in Aztec economic organization
The money was not as it is conceived today. In the Aztec world, one of the coins used was the cocoa beans.
You could also exchange cotton cloths known as Quachtli , Highly prized for the Aztecs, since cotton could not be grown at the altitude of the Mexico's valley And had to be imported from semi-tropical regions located to the south.
For example, a rabbit could cost 30 grains of cocoa, and an egg 3 cacao beans. But a cotton cloth was in the range between 65 and 300 cacao beans.
Growth of the Aztec economy
From its beginnings, the main city of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlán, could self-sustain. Being a small village, the agriculture was developed through the method chinampa that was used in all Mesoamerica .
Cultivation system: chinampa
In this cultivation system, canes are placed in the most superficial areas of lakes that were then covered with soil. The Chinampa method, although primitive, was effective. The Aztecs did not have sophisticated tools, and used only cuttings to move the soil and plant them.
These floating gardens, which were the backbone of the Aztec farming system, can still be found in Mexico City.
The economy of the Aztecs was heavily supported in agriculture and farming. Aztec farmers grew beans, avocados, tobacco, peppers, squash, hemp, but mainly corn.
Despite their rudimentary cultivation systems, Aztec farmers produced enough food to supply not only the needs of their city, but the entire population. This is why trade with other sectors began to expand, becoming a fundamental activity in the Aztec civilization.
The importance of the market in the Aztec culture
In the Aztec markets, not only were cash crops, but also several other goods and services. These include raw materials such as cotton, feathers, precious and semi-precious stones, coral and pearls.
Also sold finished products, wood, jewelry and even medicines or medicinal plants for healers. Other regular items that were on sale were clothing, obsidian knives, plates, leather work, shoes, baskets and pots. Even in some places they could cut their hair.
However, as the population began to increase, Tenochtitlan's economy began to rely heavily on economic support from surrounding areas.
A large number of people in Tenochtitlan were farmers, who rose at dawn and returned home during the afternoon, after working in the field all day. In this way, agricultural goods were always found in cities.
Also in the main part of the city were a large number of priests and craftsmen, as each Calpulli Which conformed the cities was characterized by developing a technique of exclusive crafts, such as making clothing or pottery in ceramics.
In this way, Tenochtitlán began to become a true urban center, with a permanent population, a large and bustling market and the beginnings of an economic class.
Aztec merchants played an important role in the market economy in the Aztec empire, since they were essential for trade with other surrounding cities. The items were sold by the artisans and the farmers, being the tlamaconi the merchants specialized in daily commerce and of small volume.
Others acted as merchants who traveled from one city to another, buying and selling goods, and helping to disperse the news through the Aztec empire. They are known as pochteca.
In this way, markets were not only places of exchange, but also spaces for information, socializing and doing business.
Each Aztec city had its own market located in the center of the city. The empire's largest market was in Tlatelolco, sister city of Tenochtitlan. In this market every day were 60,000 people.
These regional markets were overseen by government trade officials, who ensured that the goods and prices requested by them were fair. In addition, the officers collected the taxes and taxes in the markets.
There were four levels of regional markets: the largest market was Tlatelolco, followed by the markets of Xochimilco and Texcoco and the daily markets of all other Aztec cities and small towns.
Pochteca or traveling merchants
As we mentioned earlier, commerce was fundamental to the Aztec empire and merchants were in a privileged position in society, even though their social class was inferior to the nobility.
These merchant travelers were known as pochteca, and had control of the markets during the Aztec empire by the exchange of goods and goods from very remote places, which could not be obtained in the same cities.
Their journeys were long and demanding and if they had to cross streams, it was common to use canoes. Some pochteca acted as importers, others as sellers and others as negotiators in the sale of goods.
The pochtecas fulfilled a double or triple roll in the Aztec empire, in addition to playing the role of simple merchants. They used to communicate important information from one area of the empire to another. Some even served as spies of the emperor, sometimes disguised as something other than a salesman.
A special group of pochtecas were called naualoztomeca, who specialized in eccentric goods, such as gems, various types of feathers and even secrets.
References
- Aztec economy and trade. Retrieved from projecthistoryteacher.com.
- Aztec economy trade and currency. Retrieved from legendsandchronicles.com.
- Retrieved from aztec.com.
- Aztec economy: Regional markets and long distance trade. Retrieved from historyonthenet.com.
- Aztec economy. Retrieved from aztec-history.net.
- What was the aztec economy? How did it function? Recovered from quora.com.
- Aztec Civilization. Retrieved from allabouthistory.org.