Aztec History: A Captivating Guide to the Aztec Empire, Mythology, and Civilization by Captivating History

Author:Captivating History [History, Captivating]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History
ISBN: 9781722964054
Google: kvo1uQEACAAJ
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2018-07-11T00:30:53+00:00

Landless Peasants

In between the commoners and the lowest rank in Aztec society, the slaves, was yet another social class worth mentioning: the landless peasants. How one became landless is hard to discern, especially since it was part of Aztec custom that each person be granted a tract of land to work so that they could pay the necessary taxes and tributes required by the local lord. However, with warfare a near constant threat and with people being displaced as their towns and cities were conquered, this landless class did indeed grow as the empire advanced.

These individuals were essentially destined to a nomadic lifestyle; that is until they could find a noble willing to take them in. Nobles were nearly always looking for extra hands to work their often highly-productive land. A noble could take in a landless peasant and allow them to work in exchange for a rent, which was usually a portion of the goods they produced, or additional labor.

It is, however, important to note that being taken in by a noble did not bestow upon a landless peasant the same rights that others in the tribe had. For example, they were not allowed to vote in any of the town’s elections. But there was some justice in this arrangement. Although he couldn’t vote, the landless owed nothing to the town. He paid no taxes and was exempt from service and military obligations. Essentially, he was beholden only to the noble who had taken him in and given him a place to live and work.

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