Aztec periodReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented
The Great Market and the Pochteca
On the timeline · around Aztec period ·
What happened
Aztec commerce centred on huge markets, the greatest at Tlatelolco, where every kind of good was traded. Long-distance trade was run by the pochteca, a hereditary merchant class who dealt in luxuries like feathers, gold, turquoise, jade and cacao and also served the state as spies.
Why it matters
The pochteca merchants tied the empire to distant lands and made Tenochtitlan a commercial hub, showing the Aztecs were master traders as well as warriors.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Aztec Society · Reputable source
- World History Encyclopedia. Aztec Food & Agriculture · Reputable source