Tlaxcaltec Nobility

The Tlaxcallans, or Tlaxcaltec, are an indigenous Nahua people who originate from Tlaxcala, Mexico. The Confederacy of Tlaxcala was instrumental in overthrowing the Aztec Empire in 1521, alongside conquistadors from the Kingdom of Spain. The Tlaxcallans remained allies of the Spanish for 300 years until the Independence of Mexico in 1821.

Pre-Colonial history

The Tlaxcaltec were a Nahua group, one of the 7 tribes which migrated from their original homeland in the north alongside the Mexica and 5 other tribes. After settling in what is now called Tlaxcala they formed a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi and Pinome that comprised the four city-states (''Altepetl'') of ''Tlaxcallān'' or Tlaxcala. Each of the four cities supposedly had equal say in this confederation, but eventually, the Nahuatl speakers became the dominant ethnic group. By the time of European contact, the city of Tizatlan was effectively controlling Tlaxcala.

Despite early attempts by the Aztecs, also known as Mexica, the Tlaxcaltec were never conquered by the Triple Alliance. Later wars between the Tlaxcallans and the Aztecs were called ''xochiyaoyatl'' ( flower wars), as their objective was not to conquer but rather to capture enemy warriors for sacrifice.Hassig, Ross (1988). Although they were never made tributaries or subjects of the Mexica, the Aztec Triple Alliance subjected them to many deprivations on account of having Tlaxcala surrounded on all sides. Among these was a prohibition on trading salt and other goods with the Tlaxcaltecs.

In the Meso-American world society was organized around the altepetl, of which the Tlaxcaltec were one of the largest. Because the Aztec Empire did not integrate conquered people but allowed them to retain their state so long as they paid Tribute, the Tlaxcaltec were actively involved with the politics of their neighbors. Often the Tlaxcallans would support regime change and even form alliances with city-states who 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 Tlaxcaltecs to intervene in nearby polities. One such example is the Tlaxcaltec attacking the city of Cholula with their Spanish allies because of their rivalry with the city predating the arrival of Europeans.

Colonial history

Due to their century-long rivalry with the Aztecs, the Tlaxcaltec allied with 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 contingent of the invasion force. This alliance was more than merely a political calculation, Tlaxcallans saw themselves as sacred and made the choice out of self preservation. At the time, their tlatoani (elected leader) was a man named Xicotencatl.

The leaders of the four cities of Tlaxcala agreed to accept Christianity, and in July of 1520 were baptized - a decision that reflected the Tlaxcallans submission to the Spanish Crown and the unified front through which they did so.

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. This reflects the colonial might that the Spanish possessed.

Because of their alliance with the Spanish Crown during the conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Tlaxcaltec enjoyed exclusive privileges among the Indigenous peoples of Mexico, including the right to carry guns, ride horses, hold noble titles, maintain Tlaxcaltec names and govern their settlements autonomously. This privileged treatment ensured Tlaxcallan allegiance to Spain over the centuries, even during the Mexican War of Independence, though Tlaxcala did host a strong pro-independence faction.

Post-conquest Tlaxcala found itself within the Spanish empire forming their own identity with works such as the '' Lienzo de Tlaxcala.'' This work among others presented the Tlaxcallans as co-founders of New Spain rather than subjects of the King. This idea ingrained their privileges and autonomy in the social order.

The Tlaxcaltec were also instrumental in the Spanish conquest of Guatemala, and a significant number of Guatemalan place names, including the name “''Guatemala''” itself, derive from Tlaxcallan Nahuatl. Tlaxcaltec 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 bellicose tribes (known as the Chichimeca) to pacify the local Indigenous groups hostile to the Spanish Crown.

Before going north to colonize hostile territory, the Tlaxcallans negotiated numerous rights and privileges for their service. This ''Capitulacion'' ensured that the Tlaxcallans would be rewarded for doing what the Spanish were not keen on doing themselves.

The Tlaxcaltec colonies in the Chichimeca 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.

Tlaxcaltec 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 their assistance in toppling the Aztec Empire and other conquests, in 1534 the governor of Tlaxcala, Maxixcatzin, demanded and was granted a personal audience with the King of Spain, Charles V. Tlaxcala was given several special privileges, among them being a coat of arms and the right to petition the king directly to address grievances. Charles also declared that Tlaxcala should answer to no one but himself.

Post-Colonial history

Following Mexican independence, from 1885-1911 the Governor of Tlaxcala was Prospero Cahuantzi, himself of native Tlaxcaltec 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 Tlaxcaltec people 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.

Thousands of people, descended from 16th century Tlaxcallan colonists, live in Texas today, as well as a smaller number of recent immigrants from Tlaxcala living in California, the American Southwest and New York City.

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Mesoamerican cultures
History of Tlaxcala
Indigenous peoples in Mexico
Nahua
Ethnic groups in Mexico
Uto-Aztecan peoples