Although banditry was certainly a thing in Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica, the militarization of the pochteca is not necessarily indicative of the extent problem. There are several reasons for this, relating to their social and political position within the Mexica Empire. The pochteca were not simply merchants, they were also an arm of the state, and were used by the Mexica government to carry out espionage in frontier states. Essentially, they were the vanguard of a later Mexica conquest. They may have also interfered directly with the politics of these groups, by backing a local, pro-Mexica faction, at the expense of other political groups. So, the threat they faced was not really banditry (although that could still be a problem), but a potential attack from rival powers who were looking to forestall conquest by the Mexica Empire. An example of this may be the merchants who reached K’iche territory by the 16th century. The Mexica army never made it that far into Guatemala, but their armed merchants did, and were able to get (nominal) concessions from the K’iche lords, essentially allowing them to trade in K’iche territory. They may have also carried out similar functions within Mexica territory. The Mexica did not maintain standing forces in most of their conquered provinces. This left merchants vulnerable to attack by rebelling altepeme, which was often the first step during a revolt. Having armed troops accompany their merchants would have helped to dissuade this from happening, while re-enforcing Mexica control of subject peoples.

However, there was another reason. This has to do with the Mexica Empire’s class system and social values. Now, to the Aztecs (including the Mexica) there was nothing wrong with being rich. Nor was there anything wrong with trading. Some non-pochteca traders could be quite wealthy. However, the pochteca were in the odd position of being both very rich, and being exclusively traders, and also being politically influential. That was a problem. Aztec, and especially Mexica, leaders were warriors, and military experience highly valued. To these soldier-rulers, the pochteca were seen as undeserving of their social powers and wealth, as they had not earned them through battle or service to the state. Yet, their influence posed a threat to the military nobility. As a consequence, the pochteca were effectively subject to bullying and threats of death. To combat this, the pochteca adopted two, mutually supporting, strategies. The first was performative poverty and generosity. They never made public displays of their wealth. Instead, their goods were hidden in warehouses. After successful merchant ventures, elite warriors were invited to lavish banquets, where the merchant ‘gave away all his goods,’ in a show of generosity. Note, that it probably wasn’t all his goods, just enough to make the fiction seem credible. This generosity also included the donation of goods and sacrificial victims to temples. The second strategy was militarization. Pochteca adopted military language, styles, and narratives in order to portray themselves as warriors. Their trading expeditions became military campaigns, and in doing so, the pochteca became deserving of their wealth and status. This also explains why the pochteca were so willing to work as spies and agents for the Mexica state. It was part of their strategy of legitimizing their social status to the warrior elite. As a consequence, it is difficult to know how much of their stories of violence and conquest along the Mexica frontier is real, and how much is performative exaggeration.

Sources:

Davies, Nigel: The Aztec Empire: The Toltec Resurgence, (Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987

Durán, Diego: History of the Indies of New Spain, tr. Doris Heyden, (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994)

Hassig, Ross: Trade, Tribute, and Transportation: The Sixteenth-Century Political Economy of the Valley of Mexico, (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985)

Restall, Matthew and Asselbergs, Florine: Invading Guatemala: Spanish, Nahua, and Maya Accounts of the Conquest Wars, (Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007)

Sahagún, Bernardino de: General History of the things of New Spain Book 9: The Merchants, tr. by Arthur O.J. Anderson, and Charles E. Dibble, (Santa Fe: University of Utah, 1979)

Voorhies, Barbara: Ancient Trade and Tribute: Economies of the Soconusco Region of Mesoamerica, (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1989)