Spokansonian Institute

Who Were The Aztecs

The Aztecs were an Empire that controlled most of Mexico from the 1400s - 1521. These people were not a homogeneous group as many people might imagine. There were a variety of ethnic groups under the Aztec Empire. The Empire itself is called The Triple Alliance, because of their alignment with two other cities, Texcoco and Tlacopan. Other cultures besides the Mexica within the Empire for example were Tepanecs, Cholcos, Xochimilcos, Tlaxcalans, as well as many others.
Under the rule from the capital Tenochtitlan, other states had local governments, and paid tribute and followed rules under Tenochtitlan, the most powerful of the cities. The control of the Aztec Empire was large, from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and Central Mexico to Honduras. If it weren't for the Spanish Conquest, who knows how far the Empire may have reached (Cóttrill, 2006).

A small map depicting the Aztec Empire.

The Empire was quite sophisticated, broken down into several smaller groups to manage the Empire's needs. The basic unit of government was called the Capulli, which originally were families but as time went on expanded into regions. The leaders of the Capulli took care of the regions needs, took taxes, and instituted schools for the citizens. The leaders of these Capulli together made a city council, and within that there was an even smaller executive council of only a few members. One of these executive leaders would be assigned as the leader of the city, the tlatcani. The council of the capital controlled the empire, and the tlatcani of this group was the Emperor.

A painting by Mario Flores depicting the Aztec Council.

Human Sacrifice is the one major note that people know about ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. Sacrifice has been a part of the culture since the time of the Olmecs (Allan, Lowenstein, and Baird, 1999, pg. 16). But it was not as exaggerated as history tends to claim. According to Charles Mann, in his book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, he states that:

"The many post-conquest accounts of publict death-spectacles are all racist lies. It was indeed in the Spanish interest to exaggerate the extent of human sacrifice, because ending what Cortés called this "most horrid and abominable custom" became a post hoc rationale for conquest. But the many vividly depicted ceremonies in Mexica art and writing leave little doubt that it occurred..."

During the 15th Century is when a series of natural disasters spurred the reemergence of human sacrifice to the Aztecs (Cóttrill, 2006). While Human Sacrifice may not have been as extreme as history dictates, it was still one of the key factors in the collapse of the Empire. Many neighboring people were outraged in the sacrifices of some of their people, and this helped to fuel the rebellion along side the Spaniards in their conquest.

Aztec Culture was quite interesting. The Aztecs were a sophisticated civilization, who sent their male children to school to study, they had social classes, strict laws, and a large sense of community. Mandatory education was unheard of at the time in other parts of the world, an amazing note in history for the Aztec Empire. Under social class there were two major categories: pilli (nobility), and macehualli (commoners). Slavery was common, but it wasn't racial or permanent, more like an indentured servant situation. These slaves were actually able to buy their own freedom, and slavery was not hereditary. Therefore, their children were free (Cóttrill, 2006).