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The Tlaxcalteca were a Nahua group, one of—alongside the Mexica and five others—the seven tribes which migrated from their original homeland in the north. After settling in (what is now called) Tlaxcala, they formed a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups—speakers of Nahuatl, Otomi, and Pinome—that comprised the four city-states (altepetl) of Tlaxcallān, or Tlaxcala. The Nahuatl-speakers eventually became the dominant ethnic group; and, though the four cities were supposed to have had equal status within the confederation, the city of Tizatlan was effectively controlling Tlaxcala by the time of European contact.[1]
Despite early attempts by the Aztecs (more properly: the Mexica), the Tlaxcalteca were never conquered by the Triple Alliance. Later wars between Tlaxcala and the Aztecs were called xochiyaoyatl (flower wars), as their objective was not to conquer but rather to capture enemy warriors for sacrifice.[2][3] Although they were never made tributaries or subjects of the Mexica, the Tlaxcalteca—surrounded on all sides by Aztec territories—suffered economic as well as military attacks from the same; among the former was an Aztec prohibition on trading salt and other goods with Tlaxcala.[4]
In the Meso-American world, society was organized around the altepetl, of which the Tlaxcalteca were one of the largest. Because the Aztec Empire did not integrate conquered people, but allowed them to retain their former governing apparatus so long as they paid tribute, the Tlaxcalteca were actively involved with the politics of their neighbors. Tlaxcala would often support regime-change in, and form alliances with, city-states which were nominally under the control of the Mexica. Despite paying tribute to the Mexica, the local rivalries of regional powers would often flare up and enable the Tlaxcalteca to intervene in nearby polities. One such example is the Tlaxcalan attack on the city of Cholula with Spanish allies, due to a rivalry between the two that predated the arrival of Europeans.[5][6]
Due to their centuries-long rivalry with the Aztecs, the Tlaxcalteca allied with Hernán Cortés and his fellow Spanish conquistadors and were instrumental in the invasion of Tenochtitlan, helping the Spanish reach the Valley of Anahuac and providing a key contingent of the invasion force—though his alliance was, perhaps, motivated by self-preservation moreso than political calculation.
The leaders of the four cities of Tlaxcala agreed to accept Christianity, and were baptized in July of 1520—a decision that reflected the Tlaxcalan submission to the Spanish Crown and the unified front through which they did so. At the time, their tlatoani (elected leader) was a man named Xicotencatl.[4]
Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo described the younger Xicotencatl as greatly suspicious of the Spanish and repeatedly interfering with their plans. He stated that Cortés eventually had Xicotencatl secretly executed, allowing noblemen from the city of Ocotelolco to assume power over Tlaxcala.
Because of their alliance with the Spanish Crown during the conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Tlaxcalteca enjoyed exclusive privileges among the indigenous peoples of Mexico, including the right to carry guns, ride horses, hold noble titles, maintain Tlaxcalan names, and govern their settlements autonomously. This privileged treatment ensured Tlaxcalan allegiance to Spain over the centuries, and even during the Mexican War of Independence, though Tlaxcala did host a strong pro-independence faction.
Post-conquest Tlaxcala found itself forming its own identity within the Spanish Empire, with works such as the Lienzo de Tlaxcala. This work, among others, presented the Tlaxcalteca as co-founders of New Spain, rather than mere subjects of the king—an idea which helped to solidify their privileges and autonomy within the new social order.
The Tlaxcalteca were also instrumental in the Spanish conquest of Guatemala, and a significant number of Guatemalan place names—including the name “Guatemala” itself—derive from Tlaxcalan Nahuatl. Tlaxcalan colonists also founded a number of settlements in northern Mexico (including parts of present-day southeastern Texas), where conquest of local tribes by the Spaniards had proved unsuccessful. They settled areas inhabited by nomadic and bellicose tribes (known as the Chichimeca) to pacify the local indigenous groups hostile to the Spanish Crown.[7]
Before going north to colonize hostile territory, the Tlaxcalteca negotiated numerous rights and privileges for their service; this Capitulacion ensured that the people of Tlaxcala would be rewarded for doing what the Spanish were not keen on doing themselves.
Number
Capitulacion
1
The Tlaxcalan settlers and their descendants will be Hidalgos (noblemen) in perpetuity, free from tribute, taxes, and personal service for all time.
2
They will not be compelled to settle with Spaniards. They will live in their own districts (barrios).
3
They will live separately from the Chichimecas, and this will apply to their lots, pastures, and fishing rights.
4
No grants of land for the largest livestock (ganado mayor: cattle, horses, mules, oxen) shall be allowed within three leagues (9 miles) of Tlaxcalan settlements.
5
The markets in new settlements shall be free and exempt from sales tax, and all forms of taxation, for 30 years.
6
The chief men (principals) of Tlaxcala who go to new settlements—and their descendants—shall be permitted to carry arms and ride saddled horses without penalty.
7
For two years, the Tlaxcalans going north should be given the necessary provisions and clothing for up to two years.
8
They should receive aid in cultivation of their fields for two years.
The Tlaxcalan colonies in the Chichimeca territories included settlements in the modern states of Coahuila, Durango, Jalisco, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas. The colonies included Nueva Tlaxcala de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Horcasistas—today known as Guadalupe—and Santiago de las Sabinas, today known as Sabinas Hidalgo, in Nuevo León; Villa de Nueva Tlaxcala de Quiahuistlán, today known as Colotlán, in Jalisco; and San Esteban de Nueva Tlaxcala in Coahuila, today part of Saltillo.
Tlaxcalan officers and soldiers also participated in the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, with some permanently settling on the islands and contributing Nahuatl words to the Philippine languages.
In return for Tlaxcalan assistance in toppling the Aztec Empire, and in other conquests, Maxixcatzin—then the governor of Tlaxcala—demanded and was granted a personal audience with the King of Spain, Charles V, in 1534. Tlaxcala was given several special privileges, among them being a coat of arms and the right to petition the king directly for redress of grievances. Charles also declared that Tlaxcala should answer to none but himself.
Post-colonial history
Following Mexican independence, the Governor of Tlaxcala from 1885-1911 was Prospero Cahuantzi, himself of native Tlaxcalan heritage. Cahuantzi promoted the preservation of indigenous Mexican culture and artifacts. He also possessed an indigenous Nahuatl surname—uncommon in post-colonial Mexico, but prevalent in Tlaxcala due to their previous alliance with Spain, which protected them from imposed Spanish baptismal names.[8]
As the Mexican government does not recognize ethnicity by ancestry but by language spoken, the number of Tlaxcalteca in Mexico is difficult to estimate.[9] They are instead broadly grouped with other Nahuatl-speaking people, known as Nahuas. As of the 2010 Mexican census, there were estimated to be more than 23,000 Nahuatl-speakers in Tlaxcala.[10] By 2020, that number had risen to over 27,000.[11]
Thousands of people descended from 16th-century Tlaxcalan colonists live in Texas today; there are, as well, a smaller number of recent immigrants from Tlaxcala living in California, the American Southwest, and New York City.
Notes
↑ Charles Gibson (1952), Tlaxcala in the Sixteenth Century, New Haven:Yale University Press, p. 1.
↑ Muñoz Camargo, Diego (2020). Historia de Tlaxcala. Barcelona: Linkgua Ediciones. ISBN978-84-9953-168-7.
↑ Sahagún, Bernardino de; Sahagún, Bernardino de (1950). Anderson, Arthur James Outram; Dibble, Charles Elliot (eds.). Florentine Codex: general history of the things of New Spain in 13 parts. Monographs of The School of American Research and The Museum of New Mexico. Santa Fé, NM: The School of American Research. ISBN978-0-87480-082-1.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
↑ Lockhart, James (1993). The Nahuas after the conquest: a social and cultural history of the indians of Central Mexico, sixteenth through eighteenth centuries (Repr.ed.). Stanford, Calif: Stanford Univ. Press. ISBN978-0-8047-2317-6.
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