pochteca

The pochteca were the professional long-distance merchants of the Aztec Empire, flourishing from the 14th through the early 16th century. They formed a distinct social and economic group, known collectively as the pochtecayotl, and operated within the imperial systems of Tenochtitlan and allied city-states. Their trade networks connected central Mexico with distant markets across Mesoamerica, including the Gulf Coast, the Maya lowlands, and Central America.

Economically, the pochteca controlled and facilitated the exchange of a wide range of goods. They traded luxury items such as cacao, textiles, quetzal and other feathers, jade, obsidian, shells, gold, copper bells, and exotic stones, as well as more common commodities. They organized long-distance caravans and relay networks that moved goods efficiently, often functioning as middlemen for tribute and commercial exchange between distant regions and the capital.

Politically and diplomatically, the pochteca served as imperial agents. They carried messages, negotiated with foreign polities, and sometimes undertook reconnaissance or intelligence gathering for the state. In some contexts they acted as ambassadors or negotiators on behalf of Tenochtitlan, linking commerce with political influence.

Culturally, the pochteca appear in Aztec codices such as the Codex Mendoza and the Florentine Codex, where they are depicted as a legally recognized and privileged sector of society with defined rights and responsibilities. Their wealth and networks gave them influence within certain urban institutions, though their status was tied to the ruler’s and the state’s needs.

After the Spanish conquest, the traditional pochteca networks persisted in altered forms, but the imperial system that sustained their prominence dissolved, reducing the role of the pochteca in the new colonial economy.