Central Mexico at European Contact: The Aztec Empire Dominates

When Europeans arrived (Cortés, 1519), **Central Mexico was dominated by the Aztec (Mexica) Empire**—a tribute state centered on **Tenochtitlan** (modern Mexico City) controlling much of Mesoamerica.

The Aztec Empire (1428–1521)

• Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan + Texcoco + Tlacopan.
• Population: ~5–6M in core; ~10–15M in sphere.
• Economy: Intensive agriculture (chinampas), long-distance trade (pochteca), tribute system.
• Urbanism: Tenochtitlan = 200K–300K (larger than Paris/London). Causeways, aqueducts, markets (Tlatelolco).
• Culture: Writing (codices), calendar, mathematics, theology, poetry, featherwork, sculpture.

Other Central Mexican Peoples

• Tlaxcalans: Nahua republic, **enemies of Aztecs**, allied with Cortés—decisive.
• Purépecha (Tarascans): West (Michoacán) — rival empire, metallurgy, never conquered by Aztecs.
• Mixtecs & Zapotecs: Oaxaca — codices, goldwork, Monte Albán, Mitla.
• Otomi, Matlatzinca, Chichimecs: Northern frontiers.

Why It Mattered

The Aztec Empire's scale, wealth, and political fragmentation (subject peoples ready to rebel) **enabled Cortés' 600 men to topple it in 2 years**—with Indigenous allies, steel, horses, guns, and smallpox.