Pochteca Courts

An internal system of justice that regulates both the marketplace and all criminal activity relating to pochteca members.

Structure

Pochteca guilds at every level are staffed with 16 judges.
Pochteca market inspectors also impassively move through crowds to monitor that quality items are being sold at the dictated exchange rates and no one is being cheated.
Pochteca scribes accompany every judge and inspector to record the goings on for later reviews and investing purposes.

Public Agenda

1. Creating Contracts
   • Pochteca recognize a number of different types of contracts created orally and witnessed by four people, including:
     • Sales Contracts
     • Lease Contracts
     • Commission Sales Contracts

     • Work Contracts
     • Loan Contracts
2. Maintaining Fairness
   • They are responsible for maintaining fairness by correcting number or length measurements to what the inspector determines to be right and confiscating faux merchandise.
3. Enforcing Sang Laws
   • They have jurisdiction over all commercial disputes and enforcement powers up to and including summary capital punishment.

Territories

There is usually one pochteca neighbourhood per campan where that campans' pocteca court is based and trusted to carryout and enforce city's laws and standards.

Sangsalgu Proper

Atzacualco Campan

• Motecuzoma Pochteca Court

Cuepopan Campan

• Palast Pochteca Court

Moyotlan Campan

• Axayacatl Pochteca Court

Zoquiapan Campan

• Mixiuhca Pochteca Court

Outer Sangsalgu

Chinampa Campans

Tetamozolco Campan

• Feather Work Pochteca Court

Tetzcotzinco Campan

• Zacahuitzco Pochteca Court

Acatitlan Campan

• Mazatzintamalco Pochteca Court

Teopanzolco Campan

• Ticomac Pochteca Court

Tepoztlan Campan

• Acolco Pochteca Court

Coast Campans

Ocumtit Campan

• Ocumtit Pochteca Court

Coltonco Campan

• Atepehucan Pochteca Court

Huexotla Campan

• Iztacaco Pochteca Court

Malinalco Campan

• Mexicaltzinco Pochteca Court

Peninsula Campans

Calixtlahuaca Campan

• Coyo Pochteca Court

Coatetelco Campan

• Tizapan Pochteca Court

Tenayuca Campan

• Tenula Pochteca Court

Military

The economic power of the pochteca is strongly tied to the military power of the nobility. It cannot be denied.

Pochteca Naualoztomeca

Spies or disguised-merchants who travel with great wealth and resources to pose as potential buyers to sniff out embezzlers, poor products and generally other bad actors.

Pochteca Teyahualonime

Warrior Merchants are those who do double duty and guard those markets and the court areas themselves led by the direction of a retired merchant-general known as the Acxotecatl.

Infrastructure

These courts are to be found in the major marketplaces of every district in Sangsalgu. Depending on the level of development in a district, to say nothing of the Strategic and Tributary provinces, the physical court can be of stone construction or a pitched tent.

Ethics

Pochteca courts enforces a number of state laws and financial ethical standards. These include:

Prudent Man Statute

A legal maxim restricting the discretion allowed to non-familial accountants managing a client's finances.

Sale of Substandard Goods

To prevent counterfeiting, the punishment for which is forfeiture of the vendor’s property and a "beating to death" in the market center.

Soft Feather

Protection laws for investors outside the principle pochteca group when sponsoring financial ventures.

Usury

Illegal action of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest. Of specific concern are the unscrupulous dealer who charge with compound interest, which the usury laws specifically ban.

Law of War

The directive given only by the Great Speaker to create a pretext to attack against another state.

Worship

There are three predominant gods the pochteca guilds worship.

Malinalxochitl

Sorceress of snakes, scorpions, insects and all who ambush.

Yacatecuhtli

Nose Lord of commerce and travelers.

Zacatzontli

God of roads and protector of merchants.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Pochteca Teucnenenque

Professional diplomats who carry the missives of their lord or patron to other far-flung districts, cities or neigbouring regions.

Pochteca Tlanamacani

Judges

Settle cases of disputes and theft at a district's market corner.

Scribes

Record administrative actions for lawmakers and ensure sales are conducted at the proper exchange rates.

Lawmakers

Normalize industry prices and taxes to the fairness of the vendors and profit of the state and pochteca neighbourhood.

Type

Court System

Alternative Names

• Market Court
• Sales Court
• Slave Court

Parent Organization

Triple Alignment

Location

Sangsalgu

Related Ranks & Titles

• Snake Woman

Related Professions

• Pochteca
• Ppolom

Controlled Territories

• House of Pochtéca

Manufactured Items

• Ahuauhtle
• Charms
• Quachtli
• Quetzals

Related Items

• Charms

Notable Members

• Cahuāyoh
• Conētl

Related Ethnicities

• Sang
• Teek
• Teiks

Related Plots

• Under the Floating Manse

Side Services

Functions only loosely associated with pochteca groups.

Auction House

An alternate means of selling products in bulk with promissory notes or special contracts.

Gambler's Den

A place for the aggregation of buyers and sellers of the profits in future endeavours and for placing bets on those efforts.

Tlacotin Registry

Slavery was not a station one was born into, but a state entered into as a form of punishment, out of financial desperation, or as a captive. It exist in one of two forms:

• Strict Servitude
• Indentured Servitude

It is the responsibility of the elders and judges to:

• track a person's indebtedness
• oversee the ceremony of enslavement
• monitor the slave's treatment under their master
• determine if a slave can be classed as 'incorrigible'
• hear cases for freedom