Oztomeca – The Oztomeca, the Trader Spies of the Aztec Empire
https://www.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Oztomeca
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_society
Oztomeca is the crafting instructor in Azteca. He was trained by the legendary Stendill HammerTail.
Prior to the fall of the Aztec, the Aztec people had a stable economy driven by a successful trade market. The markets, which were located in the center of many communities, were well organized and diverse in goods, as noted by the Spanish conquistadors upon their arrival. The regional merchants, known as tlacuilo, would barter utilitarian items and food, which included gold, silver, and other precious stones, cloth and cotton, animal skins, both agriculture and wild game, and woodwork. The trade market of the Aztec people was not only important to commerce, but also to the socialization, as the markets provided a place for the people to exchange information within their regions. This type of trade market was used primarily for locally produced goods, as there was not much traveling needed to exchange goods at the market. With no domestic animals as an effective way to transport goods, the local markets were an essential part of Aztec commerce. However, the Aztec nobility obtained much of their merchandise from neighboring highland basins, distant places within the empire, and from land beyond the empire therefore creating the need for a long-distance trade organization. The long-distance trade was carried out by merchants called pochteca, who were defined by their positions within the system. These professional merchants occupied a high status in Aztec society, below the noble class. The pochteca were responsible for providing the materials that the noble class used to display their wealth. These materials were often obtained from foreign sources. Due to the success of the pochteca, many of the merchants became as wealthy as the noble class, but were obligated to hide this wealth from the public. The pochteca were an advanced group who reported to 12 locations throughout the Empire, where the high officials were located.
The highest officials of the pochteca were the pochteca tlatoque. The pochteca tlatoque were the elder of the pochteca, and were no longer travelers, but rather acted as administrators, overseeing young pochteca and administering the marketplace. The second group of pochteca was the slave traders, known as the tlatoani. These people were often referred to as the richest of merchants, as they played a central role in capturing the slaves used for sacrificial victims.
The third group of long-distance traders was the tencunenenque, who worked for the rulers by carrying out personal trade.
A group of trader spies, known as the natural oztomeca, made up the last group of pochteca. The natural oztomeca were forced to disguise themselves as they traveled, as they sought after rare goods. The natural oztomeca were also used for gathering information at the markets and reporting the information to the higher levels of pochteca.
All trade throughout the Aztec Empire was regulated by officers who patrolled the markets to ensure that the buyers were not being cheated by the merchants. Because markets were so numerous, in large cities reaching upwards of 20,000 people, the organization was crucial, and the Aztecs were able to create a successful market due to the success of enforcing the laws of the empire.
The current list of all the (known) Azteca references are located here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references, I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages.
Oztomeca image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.
Pocheta image is borrowed from Wikipedia. It is in the public domain.
Tlatelolco Marketplace image is borrowed from Wikipedia. It is copyright Joe Ravi, and shared under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Creative Commons License.
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
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