Effects of the Tarascans dominating Mesoamerica?

[Vinization]

The Tarascan State was an empire located roughly on what is now the Mexican state of Michoacán, centered on the city of Tzintzuntzan, on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro. Their government was more centralized than that of the Aztecs, who were their contemporaries and also fierce enemies, and their metallurgy was without equal, since they used bronze as well as precious metals.

However, their territorial expansion came to a screeching halt when they came in contact with and battled the Triple Alliance in the 1470s, losing some of their outer territories to the Aztecs and being forced into the defensive until the Spanish conquistadores arrived.

But WI the Triple Alliance either never came to be or fell apart soon after its creation, with the Valley of Mexico staying a mess of squabbling city-states? Would the Tarascans/Purépecha be able to subjugate them? According to wikipedia they were expanding into Toluca (not that far from Tenochtitlan and co) before the Aztecs stopped them.

Could we see knowledge of how to make bronze tools and maybe weapons spread throughout Mesoamerica? On the opposite direction, could we see the chinampa system being adopted in places like Lake Pátzcuaro and Lake Cuitzeo, which were under Purépecha control?

 

[Bregil]

I would expect the Spanish to have a much more difficult time of it if the dominant power was the Tarascans instead of the Aztecs. They seemed to have been much less enthusiastic regarding human sacrifice than the Aztecs (they still did it, just not on an industrial scale like in Tenochtitlan). It was the resulting Garland Wars and human tributes levied by the Aztecs that provided the Conquistadors with so many eager allies. With a less apocalyptic hegemon, the region may have been more united in their opposition once the Spaniards revealed their intentions. The centralization of the Tarascan State would also help immensely in bringing forces to bear (unless it's decapitated like the Inca were). All in all, I'd be very curious to see what Meso-America would be like in such a scenario.

 

[Vinization]

I would expect the Spanish to have a much more difficult time of it if the dominant power was the Tarascans instead of the Aztecs. They seemed to have been much less enthusiastic regarding human sacrifice than the Aztecs (they still did it, just not on an industrial scale like in Tenochtitlan). It was the resulting Garland Wars and human tributes levied by the Aztecs that provided the Conquistadors with so many eager allies. With a less apocalyptic hegemon, the region may have been more united in their opposition once the Spaniards revealed their intentions. The centralization of the Tarascan State would also help immensely in bringing forces to bear (unless it's decapitated like the Inca were). All in all, I'd be very curious to see what Meso-America would like like in such a scenario.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. However, just as an addition, I'm not sure the Tarascans would be able to conquer all the area occupied by the Aztecs, I don't think they could even keep the Valley of Mexico permanently subdued the place was quite distant from their own heartland as well as heavily populated. At best, I can see this enlarged empire stretching to Toluca and Acapulco.

However, the biggest difference is that the area around the Gulf of Mexico would be divided into multiple statelets that the Spanish would be forced to conquer one by one (unless they want to trade with them instead), giving the Purépecha plenty of time to prepare for their onslaught.

Sadly, diseases would still be a huge problem.

The Purépecha and Aztec empires IOTL.