What is the Aztec economy?

The Aztec economy was based on agriculture and trade. Agriculture provided a great variety of fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, chili peppers, pumpkins, and beans, necessary to feed the high number of inhabitants in the empire.

What was the Aztec labor system?

The Aztecs additionally had landless serfs and slaves. Serfs worked land that was owned by nobles and did not live in the calpulli. Individuals became slaves (tlacotin) as a form of punishment for certain crimes or for failure to pay tribute. Prisoners of war who were not used as human sacrifices became slaves.

How did farming help the Aztecs?

Terraced, irrigated fields added another layer of farmland for the hungry Aztecs. To bring water to these fields, Aztecs farmers dug irrigation canals in the soil. The terraces also grew the Aztecs major crops, providing an extra layer of protection for its vital agricultural production, on which the empire depended.

How did the Aztecs produce wealth?

The Aztecs gained the majority of their wealth through trade and taxation. Each land conquered by the Aztecs were charged taxes in the form of goods…

Was the Aztec economy successful?

The Aztec Empire had a strong and thriving economy before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in 1519. Due to its island location the Aztec economy was based primarily on agriculture in the form of chinampas.

What did the Aztecs value the most?

One thing that Aztec valued most was their religion. They worshipped hundreds of divinities and devoted much of their time to religious activities. They held many religious ceremonies. Many of these ceremonies involved human sacrifice.

How did the Aztecs generate revenue?

A strong system of laws governed the economic operations of the Aztec Empire. The main sources of income for the empire were tribute and taxation. The conquered regions paid tribute to the emperor and the Aztec citizenry paid taxes (with the exception of priests, nobles, minors, orphans, invalids, and beggars).

What items were most valuable in the Aztec economy?

Aztecs traded for what most peoples and tribes wanted knifes, tools, cloth, fur, food, clothing, pots and crafting materials and metals. Merchants also traveled far and wide for luxury items like gold and bird feathers and in the market place a wide variety of items all in different price.

How did the Aztec economy grow without money?

Bartering, or trading goods for other things you need, drove the Aztec economy. Not only did the Aztec people barter with cocoa beans, they also used agriculture. For example, in the market you would see people trading avocado, beans, tobacco, squash, hemp, corn, and even rabbits or chickens for things they needed.

Did the Aztec have money?

This copper tajadero (Spanish for chopping knife) was a form of money used in central Mexico and parts of Central America. Also known as Aztec hoe or axe money, this standardized, unstamped currency had a fixed worth of 8,000 cacao seeds – the other common unit of exchange in Mesoamerica.

Why was the Aztec so successful?

Their relatively sophisticated system of agriculture (including intensive cultivation of land and irrigation methods) and a powerful military tradition would enable the Aztecs to build a successful state, and later an empire.

How did the Aztecs gain their wealth?

Why did the Aztecs have so much gold?

The Source of Their Gold The Aztec gold originated from parts of Oaxaca and Guerrero that were under Aztec control. The raw gold imported as dust and ingots to the Aztec kingdom. In addition, the rulers of these areas gave gifts of gold items to the Aztec Emperor as a tribute.

Did the Aztecs have money?

What did the Aztecs sell in their markets?

What did Aztecs sell?

Aztec merchants were called pochteca and they traveled all over Mesoamerica, carrying their goods on their backs. They walked through the empire and beyond, buying and selling luxury goods like turquoise, quetzal feathers, cacao, obsidian, and jade. Pochteca also carried information.

Did Aztecs smoke?

Tobacco (iyetl, in Classic Nahuatl) was absolutely present and used among the Aztecs.

How did the craftsmen contribute to the Aztec economy?

Craftsmen contributed toward Aztec economy since the Aztec culture highly valued crafts and arts. While the nobility, as would be expected, collected works of art and crafts, even the common people did the same. Thus Aztec craftspeople and their works were in high demand in Aztec economy.

How did the Aztecs sustain the wealth of their empire?

The wealth of Aztec Empire was sustained through tribute and trade, other than its agriculture. Tribute was very important for Aztec economy and thus the empire constantly waged battles against the neighbouring city-states in order to ensure a steady supply of tribute and war captives.

What did members of the lower Aztec classes mainly indulge in?

Members of the lower Aztec classes mainly indulged in farming. Trading was a very important element of the Aztec economy in the capital city of Tenochtitlan. According to the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, the sister city of Tenochtitlan, Tlatelolco, had a central marketplace where over 60,000 people…