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Fig. 27.
Ahuitzotl ("Otter."). Tovar erroneously recorded Ahuitzotl as the fifth king
rather than the eighth. (Tovar 105; courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library
of Brown University) |
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presented for social advancement. Thus, even though their gains were less than those of the elites, the lower classes probably favored the imperial expansion. |
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The elites and commoners of the other Triple Alliance cities also shared many of the benefits enjoyed by the people of Tenochtitlan. This was less true of other allies, who shared in the booty of successful campaigns but not in the control of vanquished peoples or in their annual tribute. The allied elites still benefited more than the commoners, whose potential rewards were small while their risks were great. Allied towns were required to supply a specified number of troops for specific campaigns, but since neither the local calpolli leaders nor the commoners benefited from the conquests the way their Aztec counterparts did, there were fewer positive incentives for commoner soldiers to remain in the field once the campaign was under way. Differences in allegiance and rewards were common, but their impact depended largely on the perception of the armythe |
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