By Julie Etra

Triple Alliance
Before addressing the subject of this article, the Pochteca, some background information about the Mexica Empire helps explain the setting within which this particular social class existed. Commonly known as the Aztec Empire, a sort of misnomer, the Empire was governed by the Triple Alliance (Alliance) from 1428-1521. On August 13, 1521, it fell to the conquering Spaniards, accompanied by the indigenous enemies of the Alliance. The Alliance was a military, political, and social agreement among three city-states who shared lands in the Basin of Mexico and joined forces for their mutual benefit. The city-states consisted of Tenochtitlan, now known as Mexico City, which was settled by the Mexica/Aztec; Texcoco, home of the Acolhua tribe who settled in the Valley 100 years before the Mexica; and Tlacopan, where the Tepaneca preceded the Acolhua by about a century. The three tribes shared the same Nahua language and a number of customs. The Alliance replaced the previously dominant Tepaneca.

Social Classes of the Empire
Within this empire/alliance existed a highly structured class system with eight more or less distinct classes. At the top was the sovereign ruler or Emperor, called the Tlatoani, (for example the last Tlatoani ruler prior to the Spanish conquest was Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin aka Moctezuma II). The word is derived from the nahuatl verb tlahtoa, which means “to speak”, The Tlatoani was followed by the nobility, warrior class (guerreros) the high priests and priestesses, the middle class (commoners), the free poor, servants, and slaves.

Nobility

The nobility included the wealthy families within the same bloodline and lineage to which they were born. Following the leadership of the Tlatoani they ran the government, including the army, and oversaw the other classes. Their great wealth was accrued through management of the land, slavery, and tributes from outlying towns to the central government in the ever-expanding empire. Following the top-ranking Tlatoani were the Tetecuhtin, the high lords and the Pipiltin who were the regular lords.

Warriors
The soldiers were essential to the defense and expansion of the empire, conquering and subjugating surrounding territories. All Aztec males were required to serve in one capacity or another and received military training at a young age. The military offered an opportunity for upward class mobility for commoners and free/poor citizens (not unlike the contemporary volunteer military of the USA), in particular for taking captives for sacrifices and slavery. Also, somewhat similar to the contemporary USA, warfare was a major component of the Aztec economy, and innately entwined with religion (unlike the USA). Warriors were between 15 and 20 years old. To be eligible for battle recruits had to pass a physical test of carrying very heavy burdens for a predetermined duration. The warriors were also called on to provide additional protection of the Pochteca, and to keep an eye on the neighboring untrustworthy Tlaxcalans.

The Priests
The priests, next in rank, had an enormous amount of responsibility, respect, and power. They were the prophets of the society, observing and interpreting the movements of the heavens (planets and stars) and tracking planetary events such as eclipses. They had a direct line of communication with the gods, maintained the temples and organized all the religious festivities and associated gods, which were many. The priests oversaw and implemented human sacrifices to the gods over the sacrificial stones. They were responsible for the education of children as well as the general population in matters of religion and traditions, thereby wielding power and influence over society. There were female priests, known as cihuatlamacazqui, but they were much less common than their male counterparts.

The Middle Class
The middle class, or the commoners, made up the largest component of the population. This class was responsible for many of the skilled trades and included stone cutters, masons, feather workers, potters, weavers, sculptors, painters, boatsmiths, goldsmiths, and silversmiths. This class also included accountants and arbitrators for business and personal matters.

Poor/Free
This class could work their way up through the ranks through bravery in the military service or marriage. They included hunters (fowlers, who hunted the abundant waterfowl), fishermen, and the farmers who cultivated the chinampas of Tenochtitlan.

Servants
This class was similar to the serfs of Medieval Europe. They were owned by the nobility but had a higher status than slaves as they were allowed to marry, and their children were not automatically considered property of their owners. Unlike serfs, they could have side trades and additional income as well as their own slaves and servants. Like slaves, they could be sold but could also be freed with the proper documentation.

Slaves
The obvious does not need to be repeated. Many of these were captives of war, and subject to human sacrifice.

The Pochteca
And finally, the Pochteca. They were a powerful and elite class or guild of professional soldier – traders, ranking just below the nobility. The guilds were restricted, highly controlled, and membership was hereditary, passing from father to son. Being secretive, the guild did not share information about trade routes, source of goods, and third-party local merchants and suppliers. Although they served multiple purposes the Pochteca were primarily long-distance traveling merchants, particularly in luxury and exotic items, traveling from Tenochtitlan to Nicaragua and as far north as what is now New Mexico in the United States.

Trips could last months The trade or commerce was known as pochtecayotl in their Nahuatl language, derived from pochtecatl, which was one of the neighborhoods of Tlatelolco (now within modern Mexico City) that housed the Pochteca, and where the market, called a Pochtlan, sometimes spelled Puxtla or Puxtlan, was located.

The guild had their own internal structure which included another class of servants, tlamemeh or tamemes who were porters, as there were no beasts of burden until the arrival of the Spaniards with their horses. The word is derived from the Nahuatl word tlamama, which means to carry. Like other classes, they were born into this system and trained as children to carry heavy loads. The Pochteca sometimes received protection from the warrior class as they had to cross into foreign and potentially hostile territory outside the control of the Empire, including modern day Guatemala and other countries in Central America in order to obtain unique treasure such as quetzal feathers and birds (Chiapas, Guatemala, Costa Rica) and jade (Guatemala), for example. They had their own god, Yacatecuhtli, the patron saint of commerce, their own ceremonies, and their own laws and courts, overseen by Pochteca elders. They were allowed to keep merchandise, but public display was not permitted as to not outshine or offend the nobility. Hence, they were able to quietly self-enrich and organize elaborate feasts and rituals for their own community.
Some of the more exotic goods they brought to the Capital for the Tlatoani and the nobility included the aforementioned quetzal feathers and birds (check the penacho of Moctezuma II; a replica is on display in the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. The original is on display at the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna, Austria) and other exotic and colorful birds such as scarlet macaws (Moctezuma II had an aviary), marine shells, turquoise, other gemstones, jaguar pelts, coca, and polychrome pottery. Many of these luxury items are on display at the Templo Mayor Museum just off the Zócalo in Mexico City.

Since they had license to unconstrained travel, they were well positioned for another role as spies and informants, relaying information about subordinate states, especially the aforementioned Tlaxcalans (who indeed betrayed the Mexica and sided with the Spaniards) to the central government in Tenochtitlan.

Although there were other merchant guilds in Mayan society called ppolom, compared to the Aztec Pochteca, they lacked the complex structure and unique characteristics of the Pochteca.