Tlaxcaltec

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. 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. 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. 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. ==Colonial history==

image depicting Tlaxcalan soldiers leading a Spanish soldier to Chalco. As a result of their centuries-long rivalry with the Aztec Empire, the Tlaxcalteca allied with Hernán Cortés and his fellow Spanish conquistadors; they were instrumental in the invasion of Tenochtitlan, helping the Spanish to reach the Valley of Anahuac and providing a key contingent of the invasion force—though this 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 in a decision that reflected both the Tlaxcalan submission to the Spanish Crown, and the unified front with which they did so. At the time, their tlatoani (elected leader) was a man named Xicotencatl. 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. 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. As the Mexican government does not recognize ethnicity by ancestry but by language spoken, the number of Tlaxcalteca in Mexico is difficult to estimate. 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. By 2020, that number had risen to over 27,000. ==References==