Pre-Columbian Societies: Politics Citizenship and Reform

Tiana Golding 

History-10D

9-15-12

Pre-Columbian Societies: Politics Citizenship and Reform 

Iroquois Confederacy:

Politics in the Pre-Columbian societies were different depending on the civilization. The Iroquois for example, were very politically structured. The population growth of the Iroquois civilization soon lead to the development of the five different nations. Once these Iroquois nations were created this caused mayhem, violence and conflict over the land. To avoid this the Iroquois created a confederacy which was an alliance or league between the 5 nations. The confederacy was their government. Each nation would have multiple male representatives that would be in the Iroquois council so each nation had a say and could agree and disagree on things peacefully. The confederacy was founded around 1451. Meanwhile the political center of the Aztec civilization was the great city of Tenochtitlán ruled by a dictator. This city was the capital of the empire and an estimated 200,00 people lived there. At this time it was one of the largest cities in the world. One of the strengths that the established  government of Tenochtitlán was that they kept the people safe. The Aztecs also had a lot of military power. The political systems in the Aztec and Iroquois civilizations demonstrate the differences in government structures in Pre-Columbian societies 

Aztec Tenochtitlán