Tlaxcaltec

Tlaxcalteca
Regions with significant populations
Mexico (Tlaxcala)
Languages
Nahuatl, Spanish
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Nahua, Otomi

The Tlaxcalans, or Talaxcaltecs, were an indigenous group of Nahua ethnicity that inhabited the republic of Tlaxcala located in what is now the Mexican state of Tlaxcala.

Pre-Columbian history

The Tlaxcaltecs were originally a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi, and Pinome. Eventually, the Nahuatl speakers became the dominant ethnic group.^[1]

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.^[2]

Spanish colonial history

Lienzo de Tlaxcala image depicting Tlaxcaltec soldiers leading a Spanish soldier to Chalco

The Tlaxcalteca 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 contingent of the invasion force.^[3]

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.^[4] 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).

Notes

↑ Charles Gibson, Tlaxcala in the Sixteenth Century
↑ Diego Muñoz, Historia de Tlaxcala
↑ Bernal Díaz del Castillo, The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico
↑ Manuel Orozco y Berra, Historia antigua y de la conquista de México

Pre-Columbian civilizations and cultures
Americas	Paleo-Indians · Genetic history · Archaeology of the Americas · Indigenous peoples of the Americas
North America	North American pre-Columbian cultures – Caddoan Mississippian – Chichimeca –Hopewell tradition – Coles Creek – Fremont – Marksville – Mississippian – Mogollon – Plaquemine – Plum Bayou – Poverty Point – Troyville – Weeden Island –
Mesoamerica	Mesoamerican pre-Columbian chronology – Capacha – Cholula – Coclé – Epi-Olmec – Huastec – Izapa – Mezcala – Mixtec – Olmec – Pipil – Quelepa – Shaft tomb tradition – Teuchitlan – Tarascan – Teotihuacan – Tlatilco – Tlaxcaltec – Toltec – Totonac – Veracruz – Xochipala – Zapotec
South America	South American Indigenous people – pre-Columbian chronology – Cañaris – Chachapoya – Chancay – Chavín – Chimú – El Abra – Hydraulic culture of mounds (Bolivia) – Las Vegas – Lima – La Tolita (Tumaco) – Manteño-Guancavilca – Mapuche – Moche – Mollo – Muisca (Chibchas) – Nariño – Nazca – Norte Chico – Quimbaya – San Agustín – Shuar – Sican – Taino – Tairona – Tiwanaku – Tierradentro – Valdivia – Wari
	Aztec	Maya civilization	Inca Empire – Andean civilizations
Language	Nahuatl	Mayan languages	Quechua
Writing	Aztec writing	Maya script	Quipu
Religion	Aztec religion	Maya religion	Inca religion
Mythology	Aztec mythology	Maya mythology	Inca mythology
Calendar	Aztec calendar	Maya calendar
Society	Aztec society	Maya society	Inca society
Infrastructure	Chinampas	Maya architecture	Inca architecture (road system) Incan agriculture
History	Aztec history		Inca history
People	Moctezuma I Moctezuma II Cuitláhuac Cuauhtémoc	K'inich Janaab' Pakal Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil Jasaw Chan K'awiil I	Manco Cápac Pachacuti Atahualpa Manco Inca Yupanqui Túpac Amaru II
Conquest	Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (Hernán Cortés)	Spanish conquest of the Maya Spanish conquest of Yucatán (Francisco de Montejo) Spanish conquest of Guatemala (Pedro de Alvarado)	Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire (Francisco Pizarro)
See also
Portal:Indigenous peoples of North America – Portal:Mesoamerica – Columbian Exchange – Mesoamerican writing systems – Native American cuisine – Native American pottery – Population history of the indigenous peoples of the Americas – Pre-Columbian art – Painting in the Americas before Colonization