The Economy of the Aztec empire (Mexia)
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General Information
- Mesoamerica had entered a period of war as well as conquest during the 8th century
- Most of the wealth has been spread a lot towards the city of Teotihuacan
- When this prominent city had declined it left an open chance for becoming the target for the organized forces from the country side as well as northern Mexico
- Even though the surrounding areas had the same religious and cultural traditions they still fought
- The capital cities were most prominent on the well defended hill sites
- The most important of the people that were competing for power in the mesoamerica were the Mexica
- Mexica = architects that were from the Aztec empire
Toltecs
- It was first the Toltecs and then came the Mexica, but under both of their "rules" Mexico had came, ounce again, under one united rule
- The Toltecs had migrated in the 9th century to Mexico
- They had came from very arid land from the northwestern side of Mexico but settled in a land that had even little rain fall, which was Tula 50 Km from modern Mexico city
- Because of having little to no rainfall, they often tapped into the water of the nearby river of Tula, which also played a major role in their economy/society
- By tapping into the waters of the lake they were able to start crops of maize, peppers, beans, chilies, tomatoes, and cotton
- This helped support a urban population that reached almost 60,000 people and maybe even another 60,000 that had lived in the surrounding
- The Toltecs were very good at maintaining a very big and powerful army that influenced/campaigned the people throughout all of central Mexico
- It was a very compact and regional empire, that even had fortresses that went as far as the northwest to protect their state from being invaded by nomadic people
- Starting from the Mid-tenth all the way to the Mid-twelfth centuries the Toltecs had asked for tribute from their people which played a major role in transforming the capital to a very wealthy city
- The residents had lived in very big houses that were made from stone, adobe/mud, and sometimes they would even cover their earth floors with plaster
Tula
- It became a very importen center for pottery, weaving and obsidian work, they also maintained very close relationships with the socilites that were on the Gulf coast as well for example the Maya of Yucatan
- The Maya of Yucatan had influenced a lot of the architectural designs in Tula
- The residents had imported very large quantities of turquoise, animal skins, exotic bird feathers, jade and other various luxury goods all around mesoamerica
- The very serious difficulties had led to conflicts between the ethnic groups that also led to civil strife-->destroyed Toltec state
- Large # of migrants were the nomadic people from northwestern Mexico
- Studies have shown that fire had destroyed much of Tula
Tenochtitlan
- The Mexica had settled on a island on a marshy region at Lake Texcoco that later became their capital Tenochtitlan
- The lake offered a lot of advantages such as plenty of fish, frogs, and waterfowl
- This also influenced the Mexica to develop the Chinampa system of agriculture
- They took the dredged and rich/fertile muck from the bottom of the lake and then took it to the top to make small plots of land called Chinampas
- When the dry season came, the cultivators would take water from the canals that were connected to the lake all the way to their plots
- In their temperate climate they grew: Maize, beans, squashes, tomatoes, peppers, and chilies all year around
- The lake also helped serve as a natural defense system as it surrounded all sides of the Mexica and worriers could patroll all three of the ways that linked to their capital which helped it keep safe from invasions
- During the early 15th century the Mexica became a very powerful that they could eve take over their neighbors, and they did. The Mexica asked for tribute payment from the new subjects that they had conquered. The military that they newly made lunched very ambiguous campaign to expand
- They populated Oaxaca with colonists which became burwark for the upcoming empire
- Gulf coast---> tropical products that made tribute payment in Tenochtitlan
- Mexica joined two other cities, Texcoco and Tlacop to create the triple alliance that made the Aztec empire
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The Tribute and Trade
- The triple alliance was made to get tribute from their subjects, where nearby people, the Mexica and their allies got food crops and also manufactured goods such as textiles, rabbit fur blankets, obsidian knives and embroidered cloths
- For example the tribute owed by Tochtepec was 9,600 cloaks, 1,600 garments for women and, two 100 loads of cocoa and 16,000 rubber balls
- Sometime elites would entrust these tribute payments to Mexica merchants who took these to far away lands and exchanged them for local products such as: Translucent jade, emeralds, tortoise shells, jaguar skins, parrot feathers, sea shells and game animals
- The tropical lowlands--> Cocoa and chocolate which were used to make beverages
- The Aztec empire had no bureaucracy, after Mexica and their allies had conquered their new people all they expected was tributes but left government for themselves
- Allies did not maintain the government for the conquered subjects
- They also did not have a permanent military but only got together when needed for expansion
- They reached a high point as 489 subject terriotires that payed tribute
- The higher market had different dealings for merchants such as gold, sliver, slaves, shoes, cotton cloth, animal skin etc...
This video talks about how their geographic position helped them achieve what they are today and also how the Maxia/Aztec people economically survived! It also talks about Tenochtitlan and what made it the economic center of the empire
Analysis
Many of the conquests that were made by the Mexia people were for more of a economic control then having a political control over the empires. Because of this the triple alliance was born, is the tribute payment where the new subject people pay to their conquistadors, but the people who conquered them never controlled any of their political control or the government. The Mexia left that for the people that originally cultivated the land, as they only excepted that they pay tribute with either money or manufactured goods such as translucent jade, emeralds, tortoise shells. This dynamic is one that is very similar to the Mongols as all they also wanted was tribute and let the conquered lands to rule for themselves. This was because they did not want any political power of the lands just economic control. But the Mongols were different in the fact that they did not work with anyone for their subjects to pay tribute as the Aztec empire made alliance between two other cities. Both the Aztec empire and the Mongol empire did not have the responsibility of taking care of the new subject people but wanted what they could offer.
Many of the conquests that were made by the Mexia people were for more of a economic control then having a political control over the empires. Because of this the triple alliance was born, is the tribute payment where the new subject people pay to their conquistadors, but the people who conquered them never controlled any of their political control or the government. The Mexia left that for the people that originally cultivated the land, as they only excepted that they pay tribute with either money or manufactured goods such as translucent jade, emeralds, tortoise shells. This dynamic is one that is very similar to the Mongols as all they also wanted was tribute and let the conquered lands to rule for themselves. This was because they did not want any political power of the lands just economic control. But the Mongols were different in the fact that they did not work with anyone for their subjects to pay tribute as the Aztec empire made alliance between two other cities. Both the Aztec empire and the Mongol empire did not have the responsibility of taking care of the new subject people but wanted what they could offer.
The Economy of the Inca empire
General Information
- Until the arrival of Spanish invaders the South American people did not have a script or even a way of writing
- Because of this, the experiences of the early societies are more hard to recover then the ones that happened during the Mesoamerica
- In Mesoamerica the cities and also secular government had began to become more important then the centers for ceremony and also priestly regimes
- Like the Mexica the Incas also built a very powerful state that made their territory over a very vast region
The Inca Empire
- After migrating all over the place in the highland the Incas had finally established their settlement in the region which is around Lake Titicaca
- In the beginning they blended into the rest of the people that lived in the same area
- That was that until the Inca ruler called Pachacuti had made many of the military campaigns which had the purpose of expanding the Incas authority
- They first spread the Inca control to the Southern and Northern highlands and then turned their attention to the Coastal kingdom of Chimu
- The Chimu were the first to submit to the Incas even though they defended them selves. This was because of the fact that when the Pachacuti had gained control of the irrigation system they also captured their source of water
- Incas had a large empire that went from modern Quito to Santiago
- It also had control of what today is of modern Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia and also little parts of Chile/ Argentina
- The only thing that they did not capture were the tropical rain-forests of the Amazon as well as the river valleys that limited their expedition to the east
- They made armies composed of conquered people and they did have a bureaucracy that did manage political affairs
- To encourage obedience in their capital they would capture hostages to and force them to live at the capital
- When someone rebelled they would have to lave their houses and then move to the distant parts of the empire secluded from everyone else
- Quipu----> It was used to keep track of their responsibility
- Most of the Quipu kept records of the statistical information which has to do with the population, taxes, state property, and also the labor services that people owed to central government
- Also helped experts keep track of historical information about the establishment of the empire
Cuzco
- The Inca capital was called Cuzco, which commonly served as the very religious, administrative and also commercial center of the Inca empire
- The population of the capital reached almost 100,000 and maybe even 300,000 at one point in time of the empire
- The highly regraded people of the empire were the Inca rulers and also the high nobility, priests (they were often from different religious cults) and it also included the hostages and their families
- Had beautiful buildings made out of red stone and when they had a very important temple they would often place gold facings in it
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Inca Roads
- A very important and big road system had connected the central of the government which was Cuzco to all parts of the Inca empire
- This also helped send military to the problematic areas much quicker
- There were 2 roads in the Inca empire, one went trough the mountainous regions of the empire and another went along the coast of the empire
- They were approximately 16,000 kilometers long
- When the Spanish conquerors made the roads with paved stones and also with tree that shaded that were wide enough for 8 horsemen alongside each other
- Official runners carried all of the messages and information up and down the road with a few days
- If the Inca rulers wanted fresh fish to eat the runners would go from Cuzco to all the way to the coast within two days
- The Inca roads helped create a centralized empire
- The roads also spread the Quechua language and also their religion which focused on the sun both which were prominent throughout the empire
Trade
- Even though they had roads to trade with, they did not create a lot of merchants and skilled craftsmen
- On a local level they traded agricultural production and handcrafted goods among themselves
- If even long-distance trade had occurred the central government had supervision over it
- Sometimes administration would organize exchange of textiles, pottery, agricultural products, jewelry and even craft goods
- The Inca state did not allow anyone to become merchants on their own
- No market economy----> No opportunity for craftsmen to emerge
- Individuals produced textiles, pottery, and also tools for the local market and also luxury products for the higher people in the society
- Skilled craftsmen were less prominent in the Incas then in was in the Mexica and the rest of the people from the eastern hemisphere