What were the social classes of the Aztecs like?

Social classes are a basic element of any society, serving to know many of the main characteristics of civilization. To understand one of the most interesting American civilizations, in this lesson from a Professor we must talk about What were the social classes of the Aztecs like?.

In the top of the social pyramid of the aztecs we found the nobility, being the ruling class, wealthy, and controlling both politics and religion. As in European cultures, the nobility of the Aztecs had many more privileges than the rest of the population, and the higher they were in the social pyramid, the greater their powers.

Huey Tlatoani

The tlatoani they were one of the main social classes of the Aztecs. They were great rulers and orators of the Aztec civilizations, being nobles who, due to their ability to govern and lead, were promoted to the position of tlatoani, being the ones who governed in the different cities.

They were considered the top of the social pyramid, being lthe most important people of Aztec society, since it was considered that they were chosen by the

gods to rule over the rest of the population. When the Aztec world became larger, the differentiation between the huey tlatoani and the tlatoani appeared, the former being those who ruled large areas, and the latter the leaders of the cities that formed these places.

Tetecuhtin

The middle class within the Aztec nobility, not possessing the power of the tlatoani, but being the second most powerful in all of Aztec society. The tetecuhtin was a kind of officials, since they held some of the main positions of importance within the cities.

Some of their tasks were being judges, managing farmland, forcing people to pay taxes, or occupying positions of importance in the military and religious world. In certain cases, the tetecuhtin could ascend and occupy the position of the tlatoani, although it is thought that it happened on very few occasions.

Pipiltin

The lowest social group within the nobility, being people who had belonged to the lower classes and who for certain reasons had achieved move up this branch of the nobility Some of the reasons that could lead a commoner to this position was to perform a great military feat, or study to be able to work in important positions such as tax collection or the administration of justice. There is no evidence that anyone rose from pipiltin to tetecuhtin, the difference between the two social classes being great.

To continue this lesson on what the social classes of the Aztecs were like, we must talk about the main lower classes within the structure of the mexica, the not privileged. In the case of Aztec society, it is very interesting to know these classes, since they are much more varied than those that we can find in the European world, existing intermediate classes between freedom and slavery.

pochtecas

the pochtecas They were the merchants of the Aztecs. People who were dedicated to traveling between the different cities of the Mexica and selling all kinds of products there. The Aztec nobles took advantage of the pochtecas' trips, since they hired them as spies to be able to know the movements and troops of other cities. In general we can say that within the lower social classes the pochtecas were the ones who occupied the upper echelon.

Macehualtin

They were the foundation of aztec society, occupying most of the relevant trades within the Mexica system, being able to find this social class especially in the farmers or ranchers. The macehualtin were also members of the armies, but they functioned as ordinary troops, without being able to hold any type of position within the army. They were unprivileged classes, but they were still free and did not depend on the nobles.

Tlacotli or mayeques

They were servants of the Aztecs, people who were neither free nor slaves, since they were Mexica who for some reason crime or debt they went on to serve another Aztec. They were a kind of slave but with the possibility of being free again once their debt was finished. This relationship was similar to that of European servitude, these people being tied to a land or a noble.

Slaves

The lowest class within Aztec society. People who they were not free And they had no rights. The slaves they couldn't get past their social class to a higher one, so they could only stay in this position until death or be sacrificed in the sacrifices used to please the gods. The slaves were usually people from other towns that when they were defeated they became slaves of their colonizers.