Discuss the role of warfare in maintaining and expanding the political organization of one pre-Columbian society.

Candidates will offer a considered and balanced review of the role of warfare in maintaining and expanding the political organization of one society in pre-Columbian America during, although not necessarily spanning, the period from c750 to 1500. Both beneficial and detrimental effects are relevant. Candidates will refer to maintenance and expansion in their responses; however, the treatment of each does not need to be equal. Candidates may argue that some societies were organized into independent city-states that fought against each other to maintain and extend their territory. They may also claim that success in war led to territorial expansion, increased the resources and contributed to the maintenance of the dominant society. Some societies, such as the Aztecs, exacted tributes and forced unequal trade relations upon the conquered territories. It may be suggested that wars weakened the political organization of a society and contributed to their defeat by the Spanish.