Hegemonic Government Of The Aztec Empire
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Hegemonic Government Of The Aztec Empire
The hegemonic government of the Aztec Empire allowed for many advantages for the
Empire. Firstly, the government controlled large areas of land through hegemony. This
allowed the empire to grow to exponential heights that it is famed to be. Not only the
land but also the emperors and rulers were dedicated to growing the Aztec Empire. In
turn, the Aztec Empire provided protection and many other amenities to the Aztec
government. Secondly, the empire allowed each of the provinces to have their
independence as long as they paid the tribute. This relationship between the city-states
and the emperor allowed both of them to have freedom from each other. Rather than
experiencing regular interference from the emperor, the provinces had the freedom to
rule in their area according to their choice. Thirdly and finally, this freedom allowed for
various ethnic groups to develop freely in the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs were ethnically
diverse because of the ethnicity of the various groups under the control of the empire.
The subsequent result transformed the empire to become an amalgamation of a utopian
state with many cultures living freely. Moreover, with the inclusion of the Aztec god
Huitzilopochtli and their religious practices, the city-states became more diverse and
culturally rich. Overall, the city-states and the Aztec Empire received many advantages
due to their association with each other. These methods are politically empowering but
degenerative to the weaker state or government.
While there are many advantages to the hegemonic power of the Aztecs, there were
some limitations of hegemony in the Aztec Empire. Firstly, while the land conquered was
huge and allowed the Aztecs to gain much power, it was still against the wishes of the
provinces who could not possibly want to lose their freedom and identity against the
bigger culture of the Aztecs. Further, while the Aztec government could have provided
many amenities to the provinces, the emperor was more focused on attaining a higher
tribute from the provinces. Secondly, the condition set by the government was harsh
and culturally pervasive. It was offensive for some of the states to ensure the
continuation of the religious practices for the god, Huitzilopochtli. Some states were also
offended because of these religious practices as they were culturally different from
theirs. Finally, the show-off of the military power was threatening as well as persistent
to the city-states. This left many of the people belonging to smaller provinces feeling
dissatisfied with the treatment of the Aztecs towards them. This is one of the reasons
that the Aztec Empire diminished. After the first Spanish invasion, Cortes collaborated
with local Aztec provinces that wanted to rebel against the tax collectors. The forces of
the Tlaxcalan added their military power of about 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers along with
that of the Spanish forces of 500 Spaniards to defeat and raze the Aztec Empire to the
ground. The hegemony that the Empire was renowned for led to its eventual fall.
To conclude, the Aztec Empire was once the mightiest in Mesoamerica, known for its
government, innovations, art, military, and economical opulence. An important feature
of the empire is its government, which was hegemonic in nature. Hegemony is the type
of government that asserts unfair control over any other state in a cultural, historical,
economical, religious, lingual, and political context. In the Aztec empire, in return of
giving up their control over their land to the empire and the emperor, a certain fee, and
doing the religious practices of the Aztec god, Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec empire left the
provinces alone. However, while this method was influential in increasing the power and
control of the Aztecs along with giving an overall richness to the culture, it also angered
many rulers of those provinces. Therefore, the ultimate fall of the Aztec Empire was
because of the revolt of the smaller provinces.
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