The Great Market of Tlatelolco and Its Hidden Power

This episode zeroes in on the great market at Tlatelolco, the beating commercial heart of the Aztec Empire — a place that stunned the Spanish with its order, size, and wealth. Lucas and Luna explore how this daily market of tens of thousands operated without currency, relying on cacao beans, cotton cloaks, and intricate barter. They uncover the market's role as a hub for the pochteca long-distance traders, its strict legal codes overseen by twelve judges, and the infamous moment when Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Hernán Cortés climbed the great pyramid to gaze down at the scene below. The episode also reveals how the market's structure mirrored the Mexica social order, and how its destruction in 1521 marked the end of an economic world. Along the way, listeners meet the market goddess Chiucōātl, the tribute system that fed the city, and the special courts that handled disputes in the shadow of the Templo Mayor. #Tlatelolco #AztecMarket #Tenochtitlan #Pochteca #CacaoBeans #BernalDíaz #HernánCortés #Chiucōātl #Nahuatl #Mesoamerica #AztecEmpire #Trade #AztecEconomy #Mexica #History #FexingoHistory #Market #Tribute Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo