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Income and inequality in the Aztec Empire on the eve of the Spanish conquest

Nature Human Behaviour volume 7, pages 1265–1274 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Today, Latin American countries are characterized by relatively high levels of economic inequality. This circumstance has often been considered a long-run consequence of the Spanish conquest and of the highly extractive institutions imposed by the colonizers. Here we show that, in the case of the Aztec Empire, high inequality predates the Spanish conquest, also known as the Spanish–Aztec War. We reach this conclusion by estimating levels of income inequality and of imperial extraction across the empire. We find that the richest 1% earned 41.8% of the total income, while the income share of the poorest 50% was just 23.3%. We also argue that those provinces that had resisted the Aztec expansion suffered from relatively harsh conditions, including higher taxes, in the context of the imperial system—and were the first to rebel, allying themselves with the Spaniards. Existing literature suggests that after the Spanish conquest, the colonial elites inherited pre-existing extractive institutions and added additional layers of social and economic inequality.

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Fig. 1: Per capita income and inequality in the Aztec Empire.
Fig. 2: Income distribution in the Aztec Empire compared with modern American states.

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Data availability

All data and replication files used in the analyses have been deposited in the OpenICPSR data repository (https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/186521/version/V2/view) for purposes of reproducing or extending the analysis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank F. Billari and L. Prados de la Escosura for their advice. The research leading to this Article received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program (ERC grant agreement no. 725687, G.A.), SMITE—Social Mobility and Inequality across Italy and Europe, 1300–1800. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dondena Centre and IGIER, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

    Guido Alfani

  2. Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, New York, NY, USA

    Guido Alfani

  3. People & Organisations Department, NEOMA Business School, Reims, France

    Alfonso Carballo

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G.A. and A.C. contributed equally to the work and were involved in all tasks.

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Correspondence to Guido Alfani.

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Alfani, G., Carballo, A. Income and inequality in the Aztec Empire on the eve of the Spanish conquest. Nat Hum Behav 7, 1265–1274 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01636-3

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