2 Cities in the Aztec Empire Commerce, Imperialism, and Urbanization Michael E. Smith he Late Postclassic period in Mesoamerica was a time of rapid social change. Populations grew in most regions, and long-distance connec- tions, including commerce, expanded greatly. City-states lourished in most regions, and the Aztec empire expanded by conquering large parts of Mesoamerica. Wealth lowed into central Mexico, fueling the growth of Tenochtitlan and contributing to an expansion of artistic, intellec- tual, and religious activity. hese processes of change have been targets of continuing research by archaeologists, ethnohistorians, and art histo- rians, and our knowledge has advanced greatly in the past two decades. he Late Postclassic period also saw a major expansion of urbanization, not just in the imperial capital but throughout Mesoamerica. But apart from Tenochtitlan, research on cities and urban growth has lagged be- hind studies of commerce, imperialism, and other topics. In this chapter I examine Late Postclassic urbanization in central Mexico and its linkages with commerce and imperialism. I argue that cities and urban growth were crucial components of society in the Aztec empire and beyond. Processes of urbanization and city growth inlu- enced—and were inluenced by—imperial expansion and commerce. I relate these processes to debates in the ield of urban history about the historical and causal relationships between urbanization and economic growth. Taking a cue from that literature (Woods 2003; Wrigley 1990), I argue for a two-stage process in Middle and Late Postclassic Meso- america. Initially, population growth, coupled with processes of politi- cal and economic expansion, led to the founding and early growth of cities. Once cities were established, however, urban dynamics assumed an increasingly important generative role, contributing signiicantly to broader processes of economic and political growth (see discussion be- In: Rethinking the Aztec Economy, 2017, ed. Nichols, Berdan, Smith. Univ Arizona Press. Uncorrected proof