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Tribute not only served as a vital source of revenue for the empire but also played a significant role in the political, religious, and cultural frameworks that defined Aztec civilization. To understand the role of tribute in the Aztec Empire, it is crucial to first consider its conception and mechanisms. The Aztec economy was primarily based ...
The Aztec Empire, which flourished in Mesoamerica from the early 14th century until the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century, is renowned for its unique and sophisticated economy. The interwoven systems of trade, tribute, and agriculture were fundamental in sustaining one of the largest and most influential empires of the pre-Columbian Americas.
Definition. The Aztec Tribute System was a complex economic and political framework that required subjugated territories to pay tribute to the Aztec Empire in the form of goods, services, and labor. This system was crucial for maintaining the empire's wealth, power, and social hierarchy, as it provided essential resources for the capital city ...
- The Aztec Empire
- Hernán Cortés & The Conquistadores
- Facing The Enemy - Montezuma
- The Fall of Tenochtitlan
- Conquering The Empire
- Conclusion
By around 1400 CE several small empires had formed in the Valley of Mexico and dominant amongst these were Texcoco, capital of the Acholhua region, and Azcapotzalco, capital of the Tepenec. These two empires came face to face in 1428 CE with the Tepanec War. The Azcapotzalco forces were defeated by an alliance of Texcoco, Tenochtitlan (the capital ...
The Spanish Governor of Cuba, Diego Velasquez, had already sent several expeditions to explore the mainland coast of America starting in 1517 CE, and these had reported strange ancient stone monuments and brightly dressed natives from whom were bartered fine gold objects. Ironically, one group of natives had actually been sent by the Aztec king Mot...
Motecuhzoma, after consulting his council of elders, decided on a strategy of diplomacy. He sent gifts to the Spanish, which included ceremonial costumes, a massive gold disk representing the sun, and an even bigger silver one representing the moon. These were gratefully received and likely made the Spanish even more interested in plundering the la...
The crisis deepened when Cortés was forced to return to Veracruz and face a new force sent from Cuba to arrest him for disobeying his orders to return to Cuba. Some of the remaining Spanish, commanded by Pedro de Alvarado, were then killed at Tenochtitlan after they tried to interrupt a ceremony of human sacrifice. This incident was just what Corté...
With the fall of Tenochtitlan, the Spanish set about pacifying the rest of the empire and discovering what other treasures could be plundered. In this, they were helped enormously by two factors. The first was help from disgruntled subject peoples or traditional enemies of the Aztecs. On the march to Tenochtitlan, Cortés had already enlisted the en...
Montezuma seems to have had some instinct that troubled times were ahead as he gave great importance to omens such as a comet sighted in 1509 CE, and he constantly consulted soothsayers for advice. Aztec mythology foretold that the present era of the 5th sun would eventually fall just as the previous four eras had done, and so it came to pass. The ...
- Mark Cartwright
The Nahuas supervised the tribute collection by the above officials and relied upon the coercive power of the Aztec military, but also upon the cooperation of the pipiltin (the local nobility who were themselves exempt from and recipient to tribute) and the hereditary class of merchants known as pochteca. These pochteca had various gradations of ranks which granted them certain trading rights ...
Oct 18, 2010 · The Aztec empire was composed of at least two kinds of entities, subject states and tribute provinces, and these were administered through at least two separate hierarchies. Imperial tribute, which was extracted from the common people, was not delivered through the same channels as those through which subject rulers interacted with their imperial overlords.
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Recent discussions of central Mexican (especially Aztec) tribute have focused on terminologies and categories, particularly the distinction between tribute and taxes. Both “types” involve the movements of economic resources (including labor) to some centralized authority; in other words, these payments occur within hierarchical political and social systems.
