Aztec society Aztec society Pre-Columbian Aztec society was a highly complex and stratified society that developed among the Aztecs of central Mexico in the centuries prior to the Spanish conquest of Mexico, and which was built on the cultural foundations of the larger region of Mesoamerica. Politically, the society was organized into independent city-states, called altepetls, composed of smaller divisions (calpulli), which were again usually composed of one or more extended kinship groups. Socially, the society depended on a rather strict division between nobles and free commoners, both of which were themselves divided into elaborate hierarchies of social status, responsibilities, and power.
Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries the rest of the world, before experiencing another population boom. The new population boom was a product of the introduction of New World crops into China, mainly sweet potatoes, which could be more easily grown. By this time, the silver mines in Japan were largely depleted and the New World became China's primary source for silver. Initially, Japan served as China's primary source for silver in the 16th Century. In exchange for silver, China would provide Japan with silk and gold. Japan and China did not directly trade with each other, due to political tensions. This meant that European entities