A closer look
Before you decided to shortchange a customer on cacao beans in Tenochtitlan, you had to ask yourself if you were ready to die for it. The grand market of Tlatelolco accommodated up to 60,000 people daily and was strictly regulated by a tribunal of elite merchants known as the Pochteca. These judges held absolute authority over commerce. If you were caught selling stolen goods or using fake measuring cups, the verdict was swift, brutal, and often resulted in the offender being clubbed to death in front of the very stall where they cheated.
