WHI-Chap6/21-Obj10

Explain the political and economic operation of both the Aztec and Inca societies

Aztecs

The Aztecs did not have an elaborate bureaucracy. The ruler obviously ruled over the land. The priests and nobles got special privileges and the commoners were just your everyday peasant. a commoner could work his way up by proving himself on the battlefield. The Aztecs also did not trade very much, so a merchant class was not needed. They got all the things that they needed as tribute from their "subjects", who were little kingdoms who got bullied into paying tribute to the Aztecs.

Inca

The Inca were quite a bit more structured than the Aztecs. Their ruler was the sappa Inca, meaning "king of the Inca". Whenever the Inca negotiated terms with a kingdom, they took some family members of the king as hostages so that he would not do anything erratic. The Inca had records stored by Quipu, the record keepers, on pieces of rope. The rope was tied in knots to signify different meanings. People also owned the government a certain amount of labor a year, which served as tax for the Inca.

By Clay Eckman