Tlaxcaltec

Infobox ethnic group
group=Tlaxcalteca
poptime=
popplace=Mexico (Tlaxcala)
rels= Catholicism
langs=Nahuatl, Spanish,
related-c=Nahua, OtomiThe Tlaxcalteca (also Tlaxcalans, Tlaxcallans) were an indigenous group of Nahua ethnicity that inhabited the Kingdom of Tlaxcala located in what is now the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. Tlaxcala means "place of the tortillas"Fact|date=January 2008 .

Pre-Hispanic History

The Tlaxcalteca were originally a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi and Pinome, respectively. Eventually, the Nahuatl speakers became the dominant ethnic group. [Charles Gibson, Tlaxcala in the Sixteenth Century]

Despite early attempts by the Mexica, the Tlaxcalteca were never conquered by the Aztec Triple Alliance. The Aztecs allowed them to maintain their independence so that they could participate in the xochiyaoyatl (flower wars) with them to facilitate human sacrifice. [Diego Muñoz, "Historia de Tlaxcala"]

panish Colonial History

The Tlaxcaltecas served as allies to Hernán Cortés and his fellow Spanish conquistadors, and were instrumental in the invasion of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec empire, helping the Spanish reach the Valley of Anahuac and providing a key contingency of the invasion force. [Bernal Díaz del Castillo, "The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico"]

Due to their alliance with the Spanish Crown in the conquest of Mexico, the Tlaxcalteca enjoyed some privileges among the indigenous peoples of Mexico, including the right to carry firearms, ride horses, hold noble title and to rule their settlements autonomously.

The Tlaxcalteca were also instrumental in the establishment of a number of settlements in Northern Mexico (including parts of present-day southeastern Texas), where conquest of local tribes by the Spaniards had proved unfruitful. [Manuel Orozco y Berra, "Historia antigua y de la conquista de México"] They were taken to areas inhabited by nomadic bellicose tribes (known as the Chichimeca) to serve as examples for the local indigenous groups of sedentary model subjects of the Spanish Crown and to work in mines and haciendas.

The Tlaxcaltec colonies in the Chichimeca included settlements in the modern states of San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo León — Nueva Tlaxcala de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Horcasistas, today known as Guadalupe, and Santiago de las Sabinas, today known as Sabinas Hidalgo — and Jalisco (Villa de Nueva Tlaxcala de Quiahuistlán, today known as Colotlán).

References