Aztec (Mexica) · 1428-1519

The Aztec Empire: tribute and the Triple Alliance

In 1428 three lake cities joined forces and built an empire on tribute. Students explore how the Triple Alliance controlled hundreds of towns without governing them directly, what tribute lists reveal, and which neighbours were never conquered.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1500
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 1428 three lake cities joined forces and built an empire on tribute. Students explore how the Triple Alliance controlled hundreds of towns without governing them directly, what tribute lists reveal, and which neighbours were never conquered.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Name the three cities of the Triple Alliance and locate them on the map.
  • Explain how a tribute empire worked and which goods it collected.
  • Identify two peoples who resisted Aztec rule and explain why that mattered in 1519.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1500

Three cities

Open the map in 1500 and zoom into the Valley of Mexico. Find Tenochtitlan on its island, Texcoco on the eastern shore and Tlacopan on the western shore. Why would three lake cities become allies?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1500

The empire at its height

Zoom out until you see the whole Aztec Empire in 1500. Which two coasts does it reach? The map shows one block, but in reality it was a patchwork of towns paying tribute.

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1500

Never conquered

Find Tlaxcala east of Tenochtitlan and the Purépecha capital Tzintzuntzan to the west. The border on the map is simplified: the Aztecs never conquered either. Why might an empire leave enemies so close?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Aztec Empire left local rulers in place as long as they paid tribute. What are the advantages and risks of ruling like that?
  2. The Codex Mendoza, made around 1541, lists tribute such as cotton cloaks, cacao beans and feathers. Why would an empire want these goods?
  3. Cacao beans were used as money. Why does a valuable, easy-to-carry good make good money?
  4. Tlaxcala stayed independent, surrounded by Aztec lands. How might the Tlaxcalans have felt about the Mexica?
  5. In the late 1470s the Purépecha defeated a large Aztec army. What does that tell us about the limits of Aztec power?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Moctezuma II, the last great ruler of the Triple Alliance. Afterwards, discuss: how did the tribute system, which made many towns resent the Mexica, affect his choices when strangers arrived in 1519?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.