Tenochtitlan's Market: The Aztec Trade Hub That Shocked the Spanish

When the Spanish first entered Tenochtitlan's great market of Tlatelolco, many compared it to Constantinople or Rome. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the daily operation of the Aztec capital's commercial heart: the pochteca merchants who brought goods from as far as Central America, the specialized sections for everything from gold to slaves, and the surprising role of the market as an information hub. They discuss the market's size—estimated at 20,000–60,000 people on a busy day—and the strict regulations enforced by the tlatoani's judges. Listeners learn about the use of cacao beans and cotton cloaks as currency, the ritual aspects of market days tied to the tonalpohualli calendar, and how the market's destruction in 1521 marked a key blow to Aztec resistance. This episode offers a vivid picture of a lost urban wonder. #Tenochtitlan #Tlatelolco #AztecMarket #Pochteca #HernanCortes #BernalDiazdelCastillo #Cacao #FlorentineCodex #CodexMendoza #Mesoamerica #AztecEconomy #Tlatoani #Tonalpohualli #Mexica #AztecTrade #History #FexingoHistory #AncientMarkets Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo