Compare And Contrast Inca And Mexica

At the time of their collapse, the Mexica and the Inca empire were two of the largest empires in the world. The Mexica, located in Mesoamerica, was the largest city state in a group of warring city states competing for power. Whereas, the Inca empire was a hegemon of control and power in the Andes. Another pronounced difference in these two empires was the landscape and crops produced. The Mexica had fertile flat land that made growing a variety of crops, the largest being maize, easy and bountiful. The Inca consisted of three distinct regions, each producing a crop or resource specific to that region. The Mexica built their empire on military alliances to form an even larger city state while the Inca used a system of taxation and cunning politics …show more content…
Empires as vast and complex as the Mexica and the Inca needed precise administration or the empire would collapse into chaos. The Inca used a hierarchical system, much like today’s society, where control was passed down a chain of command. Each curacas, or government official, was given fewer households to manage, the smallest unite being 100 and the largest unit being 10,000 (Malpass). This detailed systematic organization allowed the Inca to properly manage and collect tribute and workers for the central Inca empire. The Inca also had system to establish privilege between those conquered and those loyal to the Inca empire. The term Inca only referred to those specific to the originating from the valley that the descendants of the Inca came from, while the term Inca-by-privilege refers to the city states closest and most loyal to the Inca empire. Every other conquered group had fewer privileges and rights than the Incas or the Inca by privileges (Malpass). The Mexica were just as organized and systematical as the Inca in terms of their administration. As Carrasco describes the Mexica commons, “…various inspectors and magistrates who mediated disputes and kept order among the bustling crowds.” (5) This illustrates how the Mexica also kept strict control over their people. Priest and family members of the king held much power, …show more content…
While the Inca used tactical politics, the Mexica often sought a more aggressive forms of control. The Inca would separate rebellious people or groups thousands of miles away from their native lands in an attempt to stop the rebellion quickly. The rebellious people were placed near a loyal group as a way to convert them into loyal Inca supporters as well. The Inca would also remove the shrine of conquered people’s gods and place them in their capital, Cuzco. This forced the non Incans to obey the Inca or else they risk destruction of their gods. Another brilliant political move by the Inca involved taking the local leader’s son to Cuzco. At Cuzco, this son was trained and taught the ways to the Inca until it was his time to return home and lead, but this time as a loyal Incan supporter. Unlike the Inca, the Mexica used violence and other aggressive forms of control. Ritualistic killings and sacrifices of captured warriors on top of great temples demonstrated the strength of the Mexica empire. The Mexica would proudly display their greatness for all to see; intimidating and scaring any city states thinking of rebellion. The Mexica would also simply send an army to any smaller city state that was forming a rebellion in order to stop them. Again this shows the physical dominance that the Mexica empire conveyed to the world. This is not to say that the Mexica were not in fact political. As