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practice, and its internal and external political significanceI have proceeded on the assumption that Aztec practices were as rational as those of any other society, albeit tailored to the social and technological realities of Mesoamerica. |
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In attempting to explain the pattern of Aztec history, I will stress the decision to go to war and the execution of that decision once reached. External political factors were of great importance in the decision when and where to fight, but so, too, were political factors within the ruling elite. The nature of Mesoamerican political integration determined not only which polities might be suitable targets, but also how and to what extent such polities might be integrated into the Aztec imperial system once they were conquered. Technological and organizational constraints placed limits on how far armies could march and on how they functioned in combat; both sets of constraints, in turn, affected the decision to engage in, or refrain from, war. By examining the Aztec Empire in terms of its own goals and objectives (rather than in terms of a theory of empire of questionable appropriateness), we can come to a new understanding of its achievements. |
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