The Aztecs collected taxes from subjects living within about a hundred miles of the capital. Conquered peoples farther away paid tribute, which replaced the free exchanges of goods formerly carried on with neighbors. Trade beyond the Aztec domain was conducted by pochteca, traders who traveled in armed caravans. The pochteca sought salt, cacao, jewelry, feathers, jaguar pelts, cotton, and precious stones and metals, including gold and turquoise, the latter obtained from the American Southwest.
