Rogue History

- In Ancient Mesoamerica, a vast network of traveling merchant spies were essential to the expansion of the legendary Aztec Empire.

These agents were known as pochteca, and while their empire grew, so did their personal wealth and status.

But these cushy benefits could be deadly.

I'm Joel Cook, and this is "Rogue History."

[dramatic music] As these Aztec agents trekked across Central and South America, gathering intelligence, they made enemies far and wide.

But before we get into the spying tactics of pochteca, it's important to understand the culture they come from.

The name Aztecs comes from the legendary land of Aztlan, which is now understood to be around what is now Northern Mexico, and the Southwestern United States.

But the people of Aztlan referred to themselves as the Mexica.

According to their origin story, they began a centuries-long nomadic journey sometime in the 1100s, at the urging of their patron god, Huitzilopochtli.

Unfortunately, for the Mexica, they weren't welcomed in the communities they passed through.

For 200 years, they were forced to be nomadic, serving as mercenaries for established city-states like Culhuacan, and Azcapotzalco.

Their skills and power grew until 1428, when the Mexica, based in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, joined forces with two other city-states in the Valley of Mexico.

When this triple alliance united, their army could be as large as 400,000 soldiers, and marched hundreds of miles in pursuit of imperial goals.

They covered a maximum distance of 20 miles a day, and forced captured cities to maintain permanent supply depots to extend its range.

Out in front of this army, spearheading the alliance's evolution into an empire, were pochteca.

For towns and cities already under the control of the triple alliance, pochteca were sponsored by Mexica rulers to serve as traditional traveling merchants.

Their job was to collect tribute, establish marketplaces, and trade for highly sought after items like jaguar pelts, jade, and cacao.

But when a Mexica emperor wanted to conquer new territory, pochteca used their work to hide a far more important job, imperial spying.

Like any military intelligence organization, pochteca responsibilities were divided based on the type of intelligence work needed.

Quimichin, or mice, worked undercover in rival city-states for weeks at a time.

Their name came from their ability to sneak into places completely unnoticed.

To hide their Mexica origins, they disguised themselves as local merchants by cutting their hair, changing their clothes, and adapting local dialects.

They often collected information at night, focusing on the strength of the city's defenses, and possible traitors they could flip.

After they collected what they needed, they quietly disappeared from the city to report back to their leaders.

Oztomeca, or traveling lords, were more visible in their infiltration.

Their travel groups consisted of at least a dozen people, and they, unlike quimichin, waltzed into enemy cities in broad daylight.

They served as a warning to any city-state they entered that the eyes of the triple alliance were now upon them.

But doing this put them in grave danger.

Sometimes, Mexica emperors sent pochteca into hostile territory, knowing that they would be seen as a threat that needed to be dealt with.

In 1458, 160 oztomeca were intentionally sent to encroach on the territory of Calixtlahuaca, becoming imperial martyrs.

The Triple Alliance army used their deaths as a reason to march 300,000 soldiers south from Tenochtitlan, and attack.

After besieging the capital, they captured and killed Calixtlahuaca's leader, bringing the state and its resources under the control of the empire.

But without the sacrifice of those pochteca, there would've been little justification for the invasion.

Pochteca were acutely aware of how dangerous their work was, but these spies were also skilled enough to fight their way out of a jam.

In the 1490s, a group of oztomeca successfully fought off a four year siege in a province near the Gulf Coast, capturing many soldiers to bring back to the Mexica capital.

And honestly, I can't think of any other spies who could pull something like that off.

Pochteca developed this willingness to scout ahead and fight from their patron god, Yacatecuhtli, which translated means, "Nose-Lord."

Hear me out, for the Mexica, nose was a metaphor for something that leads.

So while the translation may sound funny to us, Yacatecuhtli and his followers were considered the vanguard of the Mexica empire.

After a successful journey, pochteca were awarded regalia, which served the same purpose as medals do for soldiers today.

They also conducted worship ceremonies with materials symbolizing pochteca and their god.

Cacao, tobacco, copal, and rubber came from the tropical lowlands, away from Tenochtitlan, and were only acquired when pochteca traveled there.

Tlaloc, the god of rain, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun, were the primary gods of the Mexica.

They combined their power into Atl-tlachinolli, or burnt water, which symbolized war.

When you put all this together, it indicates that pochteca were the leading elements in the expansion of this warrior society.

This made their culture not just highly revered, but highly exclusive.

The vital role of pochteca in the military operations of the Mexica gave them an elevated status, and potential to become wealthy.

But the only way to join the profession was to be born into it, or on rare occasions, be granted permission by the emperor.

They lived in separate districts from other Mexica citizens, and married within their class, creating a close-knit community.

Training in the profession was handed down from parents to their children.

The main reason for their separation from the rest of society was money.

Pochteca accumulated huge amounts of wealth in their travels, which made them targets.

To avoid being robbed by their own countrymen, it was pochteca custom to depart and return to the capital, Tenochtitlan, at night.

They disguised their wealth by wearing plain humble clothes to avoid unwanted attention.

Because pochteca faced so many hazards in their day-to-day lives, they were granted the funeral rites of a warrior.

For revered members of society, Mexica burial rites began first with time for family to gather and grieve before the remains were cremated alongside the tools of their trade.

Jaguar skins, quetzal feathers, and fine jewelry were sent to accompany the deceased into the afterlife.

They would then be buried in elevated places, like mountain peaks, where their position, close to the sun, indicated that they were warriors who dedicated their lives to their people.

In addition to their valuable work as a merchant class, pochteca mastered the arts of trade, disguise, and when necessary, martyrdom.

Their lifelong training, cultivated over generations, places them among some of the most elite spies to ever take up the profession.

And their dedication to their people transformed the Mexica from nomadic mercenaries into one of the most revered empires in world history.

[gentle music]