The Tenochca Empire of ancient Mexico : the triple alliance of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan / by Pedro Carrasco.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carrasco Pizana, Pedro, 1921-2012.

Contributor:

Carrasco Pizana, Pedro, 1921-2012.

Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Series:

Civilization of the American Indian series ; v. 234.

The civilization of the American Indian series ; v. 234

Language:

English

Spanish

Subjects (All):

Aztecs--Politics and government.

Aztecs.

Tezcucan Indians--Politics and government.

Tezcucan Indians.

Tepanecas--Politics and government.

Tepanecas.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xviii, 542 pages : maps ; 24 cm.

Edition:

[English edition].

Place of Publication:

Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, [1999]

Summary:

The most important political entity in pre-Spanish Mesoamerica was the Tenochca Empire, founded in 1428 when the three kingdoms of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan formed an alliance that controlled the Basin of Mexico and other extensive areas of Mesoamerica.

In a unique political structure, each of the three allies headed a group of kingdoms in the core of the Empire. Each capital possessed settlements of peasants both in its own domain and in those of the other two capitals; in conquered areas nearby, the three capitals had their separate tributaries. Beyond the core, the Tenochca Empire conquered extensive regions from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific.

The Empire imposed a system of political control and tribute collection, with set amounts of the tribute going to each of the three great kingdoms. Though local rulers usually remained in the conquered areas, the empirical tribute collectors and other envoys frequently intervened in local affairs. The Empire also sent settlers to establish military colonies in the newly conquered regions.

In The Tenochca Empire Pedro Carrasco incorporates years of research in the archives of Mexico and Spain and compares primary sources, some not yet published, from all three of the great kingdoms. Carrasco goes beyond cataloging and locating conquests and tributary towns. He takes in the total tripartite structure of the Empire, defining its component entities and determining how they were organized and how they functioned.

Contents:

The tripartite structure

Historical development of the imperial structure

The political-territorial categories in the sources

The Colhu-Mexica kingdom of Tenochtitlan

The Acolhua-Chichimec kingdom of Tetzcoco

The Tepanec kingdom of Tlacopan

Types of territorial units

The Northwestern sector of the empire

The southern sector of the empire

The northeastern sector of the empire

Garrisons and military colonies

The role of the territorial entities in the imperial enterprises.

Notes:

"This edition is a close translation of the Spanish original, Estructura político-territorial del Imperio tenochca: La Triple Alianza de Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco y Tlacopan"--P. [xv].

Includes bibliographical references (pages [503]-521) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Related Work:

Carrasco Pizana, Pedro, 1921-2012. Estructura político territorial del Imperio tenochca.

ISBN:

0806131446

OCLC:

41108580