Article suitable for Top Juniors and above

Freedom: run for it!

Aztec slaves (Florentine Codex)

‘[An Aztec] slave could always be sure of food and shelter, and - unlike a free man - escaped the twin burdens of military service and taxation. Many slaves rose to positions of responsibility, acting as overseers or estate managers, and Aztec law allowed them to acquire land, property, and even slaves of their own... Itzcóatl, one of the greatest leaders of Tenochtitlan, was elected king even though his mother was a slave... (Written/compiled by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)

‘The principal slave market was in Azcapotzalco where the trade was so well organized that the dealers were among the richest of the merchants... An ordinary slave with no special skills cost about 20 cotton mantles (no mean price, for a poor man could live for almost a year on that sum), but a good dancer could fetch 30 or even 40 mantles...

‘Most of the slaves who reached the markets had come from distant lands, often outside Aztec territory... A slave who got as far as the market had one last chance of regaining his freedom.

‘If he could escape from the market place and reach the sanctuary of the ruler’s palace he became a free man, and the law gave him a sporting chance by forbidding anybody except the owner or the owner’s son to try and catch him. Any other person who interfered in the chase was punished by being enslaved himself.’

(Top Image from the Florentine Codex, info from “Everyday Life of the Aztecs” by Warwick Bray) - follow the link below to read Professor Bray’s contribution to ‘Ask the Experts’ on common Aztec crimes.

The 3 illustrations above, commissioned by Mexicolore from Mexican artist Felipe Dávalos, are available as a free download to teachers: just click on the PDF link below.

Aztec limerick no. 68 (ode to Aztec slaves) -
If a slave could escape from his master
Then run to the Palace, well, faster…
He’d be declared free,
And his owner? Well he
Would declare the whole thing a disaster.

Common Aztec crimes

Comments (1)

Zoe

14th Jan 2011

Itzcoatl’s mother was not just a slave woman but she was of noble and royal birth who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Her name was Matlalxoctzin.

Aztec slaves (Florentine Codex)