WEBVTT 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:05.640 So, you know, brothers for a new 00:00:11.730 --> 00:00:15.937 Mexico, 00:00:15.970 --> 00:00:22.767 Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, a city of canals and causeways. The 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:30.137 venice of the New world Tenochtitlan Located on Lake Texcoco, one of 5 00:00:30.170 --> 00:00:33.307 lakes in the Valley of Mexico 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:38.857 Tenochtitlan In 1500, it was perhaps one of the largest cities in the 00:00:38.890 --> 00:00:44.137 world. A clean city. Much to the amazement of the arriving Spaniards. For 00:00:44.170 --> 00:00:49.107 the cities of 16th century Europe were dirty with plague carrying sewage 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:55.457 running through the streets. Not so Tenochtitlan Today, 00:00:55.490 --> 00:01:01.016 500 years later, little remains of the Aztec Capital, built atop its ruins 00:01:01.049 --> 00:01:07.906 is a thriving metropolis Mexico city And little remains of the five lakes. 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:12.816 Thanks to the erosion of floods and droughts and to human effort. Foreign 00:01:12.849 --> 00:01:18.617 1607 European engineers diverted the water of Lake Texcoco into the Panko 00:01:18.650 --> 00:01:23.926 River. The Spaniards with little regard for the life giving water, saw the 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:29.727 lakes as unattractive swamps to be systematically drained. Only Sochi 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:36.107 Milko, the floating gardens reminds us of the past as it must have been 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:41.566 today. At Xochimilco flowers grow on platforms of earth and aquatic plants 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:47.367 called pampas. We may think of them as pleasant tourist attractions, but 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:52.107 in Aztec times, the china campus were the major source of food for 00:01:52.140 --> 00:01:54.307 Tenochtitlan. 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:59.236 The city of Tenochtitlan needed vast amounts of food to feed its large 00:01:59.269 --> 00:02:03.997 population. The china imposed offered a unique solution to the problem of 00:02:04.030 --> 00:02:08.626 feeding the city, they could yield up to three harvests a year of life 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:12.356 giving corn and other crops out of what normally would have been an 00:02:12.389 --> 00:02:15.406 unproductive swamp 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:19.807 transport was almost non existent in Mexico because there were no large 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:24.647 animals like oxen or horses to pull vehicles, Food could not be brought 00:02:24.680 --> 00:02:29.256 into Tenochtitlan from other regions of Mexico, situated as it was on an 00:02:29.289 --> 00:02:34.106 island linked to the mainland by causeways. The city thus solved its food 00:02:34.139 --> 00:02:38.346 problem by intensive cultivation of what other societies would have 00:02:38.379 --> 00:02:41.106 considered wasteland 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:45.906 scattered throughout Mexico. We see other reminders of Aztec might the 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:50.196 ruins of Tenochtitlan. And in this lesson, we're going to look at the 00:02:50.229 --> 00:02:55.307 people who made up the Aztec state. Unlike the earlier societies of Mexico 00:02:55.340 --> 00:03:01.286 , we know quite a lot about the Aztecs, their history and their way of 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:06.467 life have been preserved for us in picture books called Goddesses. Here 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:11.457 you see a page from a codex in the years following the spanish conquest of 00:03:11.490 --> 00:03:16.467 Mexico, the codus is were drawn by careful indian artists who wanted to 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:21.846 preserve their heritage. We'll use some of the codex pictures to show 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:27.237 their religion How the people of Aztec, Mexico lived and other aspects of 00:03:27.270 --> 00:03:29.416 their society. 00:03:29.449 --> 00:03:35.846 Now in theory, Aztec Society in 1500 was completely democratic and the 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:42.327 people were well off compare this to europe in the same period, european 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:46.686 countries were either ruled by autocratic governments or by week feudal 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:53.666 lords and millions of peasants were starving every year In Mexico, people 00:03:53.699 --> 00:03:58.416 starved only in periods of great famine and people, no matter what their 00:03:58.449 --> 00:04:03.846 status had certain rights and obligations to the society. Of course there 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:08.307 were classes of people in Mexico, just as there have been in all countries 00:04:08.340 --> 00:04:10.606 of the world 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:16.306 at the top level of the society was the nobility, the warriors, the ruling 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:21.346 class. We can equate the Aztec nobility with the wealthy or powerful in 00:04:21.379 --> 00:04:27.056 any society. Their power was reflected in their homes, the fine palaces, 00:04:27.089 --> 00:04:33.036 the elaborate trappings of their position. People with less prestige lived 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:38.327 in cruder homes. There's was the one room thatched roof, adobe house 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:43.596 without doors or windows and furnished with only a few straw mats and low 00:04:43.629 --> 00:04:46.207 wooden stools 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:50.887 below. The nobility in the social structure where the merchants, they 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:56.017 exported the manufactured goods of Tenochtitlan and imported luxury items 00:04:56.050 --> 00:04:58.656 from distant cities. 00:04:58.689 --> 00:05:03.017 The merchants lived in constant danger for in their travels. They were 00:05:03.050 --> 00:05:07.397 frequently attacked by highway robbers, by people who thought they were 00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:12.967 spies, by competitive traders from other city states. But trade was a 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:17.837 lucrative business and the merchants became wealthy. A fact they concealed 00:05:17.870 --> 00:05:20.806 from the jealous nobility 00:05:20.839 --> 00:05:25.437 below. The merchants were craftsman who supplied the goods that the home 00:05:25.470 --> 00:05:30.507 could. Not. Later in this lesson, we'll talk about some of their crafts. 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:35.406 Most of their output went to the emperor and to the ceremonial centers, 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:40.046 but some craftsman did work in their homes. They supplied the merchants 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:44.947 and small markets within the cities. The craftsman enjoyed modest social 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:47.306 standing. 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:51.947 The common people were the largest class in Tenochtitlan. They were the 00:05:51.980 --> 00:05:57.277 workers and the farmers, the backbone of Aztec society, but they could 00:05:57.310 --> 00:06:03.046 move upward if they had courage and intelligence and tenacity, they could 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:08.906 become warriors or priests or craftsman. Mm. But like everybody else, they 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:14.577 had to serve as soldiers in time of war and they had to pay taxes, usually 00:06:14.610 --> 00:06:18.176 in the form of communal labor. 00:06:18.209 --> 00:06:23.906 The lowest class of all were the slaves. They had no rights as citizens, 00:06:23.939 --> 00:06:28.596 but they had no obligations either. Slaves were owned as a piece of 00:06:28.629 --> 00:06:34.926 property, but they were well treated, housed, clothed and fed slavery. And 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:41.337 Aztec Mexico was not an exacting state and many poor people sold 00:06:41.370 --> 00:06:46.656 themselves into slavery to obtain food. A slave lost his eligibility for 00:06:46.689 --> 00:06:52.957 tribal office, but he retained many of his rights. He could still control 00:06:52.990 --> 00:06:58.236 his own family. He could own property and even other slaves and the 00:06:58.269 --> 00:07:03.676 Children of slaves were always free. This is in contrast to slavery in 00:07:03.709 --> 00:07:09.236 ancient Greece Rome and later the United States, where Children of slave 00:07:09.269 --> 00:07:15.176 mothers usually were born into a life of slavery. Mm Most important, 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:21.786 slavery was a temporary thing. Slaves could and did buy their freedom as 00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:27.850 free men. They returned to membership in one of the other social classes. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:37.439 Now, no matter what a person's class. Every individual belonged to a 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:45.866 family. The family was the basic unit of the society. It was the most 00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:50.366 important institution. The family was a source of protection for the young 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:56.726 , a source of learning and moral teaching. A refuge in time of trouble and 00:07:56.759 --> 00:08:02.317 it set a person's standard of conduct throughout his life. Every honor 00:08:02.350 --> 00:08:07.486 which a man sought was less for individual gain than to bring honor to his 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:12.416 family by proving the value of his training in the home and his devotion 00:08:12.449 --> 00:08:14.707 to his parents. 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:20.176 A man's family included not only parents and Children, but aunts, uncles, 00:08:20.209 --> 00:08:24.726 cousins, grandparents. No one would consciously do anything that would 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:29.697 bring dishonor to the family or to disobey the orders of the parents. Any 00:08:29.730 --> 00:08:34.417 failure of the individual was less a failure on his part than a reflection 00:08:34.450 --> 00:08:39.646 of the shortcomings of the family. The family itself was a member of a 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:45.016 larger group of families called a cal poochie at the head of the kalpoe. 00:08:45.049 --> 00:08:51.756 He was a chief in english. We've translated copy to mean clan, but this 00:08:51.789 --> 00:08:55.817 suggests a blood relationship of all the people. More likely it was 00:08:55.850 --> 00:09:01.907 something like a state, a part of a larger nation. A territorial entity 00:09:01.940 --> 00:09:07.976 identified by the section of the city had occupied and the land it owned 00:09:08.009 --> 00:09:14.327 in Mexico, private ownership of land was very rare. Each copy held land 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:19.236 which was considered a gift of the gods. Fields were parceled out fairly 00:09:19.269 --> 00:09:23.736 depending upon the size of the family. If a farmer failed to cultivate his 00:09:23.769 --> 00:09:28.717 land for three years, it was returned to the communal lands. Even today, 00:09:28.750 --> 00:09:32.866 the people of Mexico believed that the land belongs to those who work it 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:38.106 and that everyone who wants to farm should have the opportunity. 00:09:38.139 --> 00:09:43.157 There was some private ownership of land. Warriors were given land grants 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:47.927 in conquered territory In return for distinguished service and some nobles 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:50.707 own private estates. 00:09:50.740 --> 00:09:56.957 Now, according to legend 20 Kalpoe, he made up the Aztec tribe and the 00:09:56.990 --> 00:10:01.907 chief of each Kalpoe, He was a member of the tribal council. four tribal 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:06.717 officials were elected from this body. They served the emperor directly 00:10:06.750 --> 00:10:11.817 and were in charge of various aspects of administration. For example, two 00:10:11.850 --> 00:10:17.817 of the officials acted as the supreme justices of the land. The emperors 00:10:17.850 --> 00:10:22.677 such as Montezuma the second were appointed by the tribal council. He was 00:10:22.710 --> 00:10:27.006 always a member of a royal family which claimed it's descent from the god 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:32.087 Quetzalcoatl, but he was not an absolute ruler. Like contemporary kings in 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:38.276 europe for instance, kings like louis the 14th of France were divine 00:10:38.309 --> 00:10:43.496 rulers. They believe their power came directly from God and they could be 00:10:43.529 --> 00:10:50.077 overthrown only by violence. Revolution. Mm hmm. The Aztec rulers could be 00:10:50.110 --> 00:10:55.106 replaced without violence if the tribal council agreed that an emperor was 00:10:55.139 --> 00:11:00.187 not doing his job well. Its members did not hesitate to dethrone him and 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:05.506 to proclaim another member of the family as ruler of Mexico. 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:10.756 The emperor was the embodiment of the Aztec nation. It was he who stood 00:11:10.789 --> 00:11:16.246 between men and the gods because of his exalted position. He had to be 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:21.766 protected from insult his person was surrounded by ritual similar to that 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:28.006 about the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. His feet could never touch the soil. 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:32.427 He rode in a litter or walked on the capes of his subjects which were 00:11:32.460 --> 00:11:37.307 thrown in his path. He could never eat from the same place twice. Likewise 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:44.807 , each item of his clothing was worn only once in his presence. People 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:49.776 were required to wear very plain clothing and never to look directly into 00:11:49.809 --> 00:11:54.616 the eyes of their ruler. A similar custom prevailed in Japan. Well into 00:11:54.649 --> 00:12:02.649 the 20th century. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:09.457 There was a considerable mystique surrounding the Aztec emperor, but he 00:12:09.490 --> 00:12:14.197 was a very remote figure to the average man and woman. What really 00:12:14.230 --> 00:12:19.636 controlled their lives determine their actions was religion. We talked 00:12:19.669 --> 00:12:24.287 about religion in the last lesson. Now let's see how it affected the 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.606 indians of Mexico. 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:32.457 You'll remember that religion was based on nature worship as sophisticated 00:12:32.490 --> 00:12:37.226 and complex religion. At the time of the spanish conquest, there was a 00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:43.116 trend toward monotheism toward the worship of a chief for supreme God, 00:12:43.149 --> 00:12:49.167 invisible and omnipresent. But the trend was not developed. 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:54.846 Mexican religion had an elaborate hierarchy of gods and goddesses. These 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:59.807 deities were the ultimate power over man. They controlled his crops, his 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:06.756 health, every aspect of his life and every family had a household altar 00:13:06.789 --> 00:13:12.667 where they worship to God or God's chosen for special adoration today in a 00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:17.317 similar fashion. Some christians may choose certain saints for special 00:13:17.350 --> 00:13:21.606 attention in their prayers and in their homes. 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:25.539 Lord you are Yeah!