So, you know, brothers for a new
Mexico,
Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, a city of canals and causeways. The
venice of the New world Tenochtitlan Located on Lake Texcoco, one of 5
lakes in the Valley of Mexico
Tenochtitlan In 1500, it was perhaps one of the largest cities in the
world. A clean city. Much to the amazement of the arriving Spaniards. For
the cities of 16th century Europe were dirty with plague carrying sewage
running through the streets. Not so Tenochtitlan Today,
500 years later, little remains of the Aztec Capital, built atop its ruins
is a thriving metropolis Mexico city And little remains of the five lakes.
Thanks to the erosion of floods and droughts and to human effort. Foreign
1607 European engineers diverted the water of Lake Texcoco into the Panko
River. The Spaniards with little regard for the life giving water, saw the
lakes as unattractive swamps to be systematically drained. Only Sochi
Milko, the floating gardens reminds us of the past as it must have been
today. At Xochimilco flowers grow on platforms of earth and aquatic plants
called pampas. We may think of them as pleasant tourist attractions, but
in Aztec times, the china campus were the major source of food for
Tenochtitlan.
The city of Tenochtitlan needed vast amounts of food to feed its large
population. The china imposed offered a unique solution to the problem of
feeding the city, they could yield up to three harvests a year of life
giving corn and other crops out of what normally would have been an
unproductive swamp
transport was almost non existent in Mexico because there were no large
animals like oxen or horses to pull vehicles, Food could not be brought
into Tenochtitlan from other regions of Mexico, situated as it was on an
island linked to the mainland by causeways. The city thus solved its food
problem by intensive cultivation of what other societies would have
considered wasteland
scattered throughout Mexico. We see other reminders of Aztec might the
ruins of Tenochtitlan. And in this lesson, we're going to look at the
people who made up the Aztec state. Unlike the earlier societies of Mexico
, we know quite a lot about the Aztecs, their history and their way of
life have been preserved for us in picture books called Goddesses. Here
you see a page from a codex in the years following the spanish conquest of
Mexico, the codus is were drawn by careful indian artists who wanted to
preserve their heritage. We'll use some of the codex pictures to show
their religion How the people of Aztec, Mexico lived and other aspects of
their society.
Now in theory, Aztec Society in 1500 was completely democratic and the
people were well off compare this to europe in the same period, european
countries were either ruled by autocratic governments or by week feudal
lords and millions of peasants were starving every year In Mexico, people
starved only in periods of great famine and people, no matter what their
status had certain rights and obligations to the society. Of course there
were classes of people in Mexico, just as there have been in all countries
of the world
at the top level of the society was the nobility, the warriors, the ruling
class. We can equate the Aztec nobility with the wealthy or powerful in
any society. Their power was reflected in their homes, the fine palaces,
the elaborate trappings of their position. People with less prestige lived
in cruder homes. There's was the one room thatched roof, adobe house
without doors or windows and furnished with only a few straw mats and low
wooden stools
below. The nobility in the social structure where the merchants, they
exported the manufactured goods of Tenochtitlan and imported luxury items
from distant cities.
The merchants lived in constant danger for in their travels. They were
frequently attacked by highway robbers, by people who thought they were
spies, by competitive traders from other city states. But trade was a
lucrative business and the merchants became wealthy. A fact they concealed
from the jealous nobility
below. The merchants were craftsman who supplied the goods that the home
could. Not. Later in this lesson, we'll talk about some of their crafts.
Most of their output went to the emperor and to the ceremonial centers,
but some craftsman did work in their homes. They supplied the merchants
and small markets within the cities. The craftsman enjoyed modest social
standing.
The common people were the largest class in Tenochtitlan. They were the
workers and the farmers, the backbone of Aztec society, but they could
move upward if they had courage and intelligence and tenacity, they could
become warriors or priests or craftsman. Mm. But like everybody else, they
had to serve as soldiers in time of war and they had to pay taxes, usually
in the form of communal labor.
The lowest class of all were the slaves. They had no rights as citizens,
but they had no obligations either. Slaves were owned as a piece of
property, but they were well treated, housed, clothed and fed slavery. And
Aztec Mexico was not an exacting state and many poor people sold
themselves into slavery to obtain food. A slave lost his eligibility for
tribal office, but he retained many of his rights. He could still control
his own family. He could own property and even other slaves and the
Children of slaves were always free. This is in contrast to slavery in
ancient Greece Rome and later the United States, where Children of slave
mothers usually were born into a life of slavery. Mm Most important,
slavery was a temporary thing. Slaves could and did buy their freedom as
free men. They returned to membership in one of the other social classes.
Now, no matter what a person's class. Every individual belonged to a
family. The family was the basic unit of the society. It was the most
important institution. The family was a source of protection for the young
, a source of learning and moral teaching. A refuge in time of trouble and
it set a person's standard of conduct throughout his life. Every honor
which a man sought was less for individual gain than to bring honor to his
family by proving the value of his training in the home and his devotion
to his parents.
A man's family included not only parents and Children, but aunts, uncles,
cousins, grandparents. No one would consciously do anything that would
bring dishonor to the family or to disobey the orders of the parents. Any
failure of the individual was less a failure on his part than a reflection
of the shortcomings of the family. The family itself was a member of a
larger group of families called a cal poochie at the head of the kalpoe.
He was a chief in english. We've translated copy to mean clan, but this
suggests a blood relationship of all the people. More likely it was
something like a state, a part of a larger nation. A territorial entity
identified by the section of the city had occupied and the land it owned
in Mexico, private ownership of land was very rare. Each copy held land
which was considered a gift of the gods. Fields were parceled out fairly
depending upon the size of the family. If a farmer failed to cultivate his
land for three years, it was returned to the communal lands. Even today,
the people of Mexico believed that the land belongs to those who work it
and that everyone who wants to farm should have the opportunity.
There was some private ownership of land. Warriors were given land grants
in conquered territory In return for distinguished service and some nobles
own private estates.
Now, according to legend 20 Kalpoe, he made up the Aztec tribe and the
chief of each Kalpoe, He was a member of the tribal council. four tribal
officials were elected from this body. They served the emperor directly
and were in charge of various aspects of administration. For example, two
of the officials acted as the supreme justices of the land. The emperors
such as Montezuma the second were appointed by the tribal council. He was
always a member of a royal family which claimed it's descent from the god
Quetzalcoatl, but he was not an absolute ruler. Like contemporary kings in
europe for instance, kings like louis the 14th of France were divine
rulers. They believe their power came directly from God and they could be
overthrown only by violence. Revolution. Mm hmm. The Aztec rulers could be
replaced without violence if the tribal council agreed that an emperor was
not doing his job well. Its members did not hesitate to dethrone him and
to proclaim another member of the family as ruler of Mexico.
The emperor was the embodiment of the Aztec nation. It was he who stood
between men and the gods because of his exalted position. He had to be
protected from insult his person was surrounded by ritual similar to that
about the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. His feet could never touch the soil.
He rode in a litter or walked on the capes of his subjects which were
thrown in his path. He could never eat from the same place twice. Likewise
, each item of his clothing was worn only once in his presence. People
were required to wear very plain clothing and never to look directly into
the eyes of their ruler. A similar custom prevailed in Japan. Well into
the 20th century.
There was a considerable mystique surrounding the Aztec emperor, but he
was a very remote figure to the average man and woman. What really
controlled their lives determine their actions was religion. We talked
about religion in the last lesson. Now let's see how it affected the
indians of Mexico.
You'll remember that religion was based on nature worship as sophisticated
and complex religion. At the time of the spanish conquest, there was a
trend toward monotheism toward the worship of a chief for supreme God,
invisible and omnipresent. But the trend was not developed.
Mexican religion had an elaborate hierarchy of gods and goddesses. These
deities were the ultimate power over man. They controlled his crops, his
health, every aspect of his life and every family had a household altar
where they worship to God or God's chosen for special adoration today in a
similar fashion. Some christians may choose certain saints for special
attention in their prayers and in their homes.
Lord you are Yeah!