Tlaxcala

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$I n s e r t f o r m u l a h e r e$ This article is about the Mexican state Tlaxcala.

For other uses, see Tlaxcala (disambiguation).

Tlaxcala

Location

Statistics
Capital	Tlaxcala
Area	4,016 km² Ranked 31st
Population (2005 census)	1,068,207 Ranked 27th
HDI (2004)	0.7641 - medium Ranked 24th
Governor (2005-2011)	Héctor Ortiz Ortiz (PAN/PT)
Federal Deputies	PAN: 2 PRD: 1
Federal Senators	PRD: 2 PAN: 1
ISO 3166-2 Postal Abbr.	MX-TLA Tlax.

Tlaxcala (IPA: [tlaksˈkala]) is a state in Mexico, located to the east of Mexico City.

1 Geography and features
2 Cities
3 History
4 Municipalities
5 Major communities
6 External links

[edit] Geography and features

Tlaxcala is bordered to the west by the state of México, to the northwest by Hidalgo, and to the north, east, and south by Puebla. The state consists of 60 municipalities.

It covers an area of 1,037 km² and is thus the smallest of Mexico's states. According to the 2005 census, Tlaxcala had a population of 1,068,207 (51.56% female, 48.44% male).

The state's main exports are textiles, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The current governor is Héctor Ortiz Ortiz, representing a PAN/PT alliance.

[edit] Cities

The state capital is the city of Tlaxcala, a small provincial center that reported a population of 15,777 in the 2005 census. The surrounding municipality of Tlaxcala reported a population of 83,748. The city was founded in 1520 by Hernán Cortés on the site of a pre-existing Native American settlement. It is located at 19.31° N, 98.24° W.

Also in the state of Tlaxcala are the cities of Apizaco, Calpulapán, Chiautempán, Huamantla, and the pre-Columbian ruins of Cacaxtla and Xochitécatl.

[edit] History

The name "Tlaxcala" means "Place of Maize Corn Bread."

Tlaxcala was an independent nation in pre-Columbian times, never conquered by the Aztecs. The assistance of the Tlaxcalans was of instrumental importance to Cortés in his conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.

Independent Tlaxcala in 1519 surrounded by Aztec Empire

Cortés arrived at Tlaxcala, a confederacy of about 200 towns without central government. Their main city was Tlaxcala. After almost a century of fighting the flower wars, a great deal of hate and bitterness had developed between the Tlaxcalans and the Aztecs. The Tlaxcalans knew that eventually the Aztecs would try to conquer them. It was just a matter of time before this tension developed into a real conflict. The Aztecs had already conquered much of the territory around Tlaxcala. [1]

The Tlaxcalans initially greeted the Spanish with hostile action, and the two sides fought a series of battles. After several days, a number of the Tlaxcalan leaders realized that they could not defeat the Spanish, and they made peace. On September 18, 1519, Cortés arrived in Tlaxcala and was greeted with joy by the rulers, who already saw the Spanish as a possible ally against the Aztecs. Due to a commercial blockade by the Aztecs, Tlaxcala was poor, lacking, among other things, both salt and cotton cloth, so they could only offer Cortés and his men food and women. Cortes stayed 20 days in Tlaxcala. It was there that he could appreciate for the first time the way of life of the inhabitants of Mesoamerica. Cortés seems to have won the true friendship of the old leaders of Tlaxcala, among them Maxixcatzín and Xicoténcatl the elder, although he could not win the heart of Xicoténcatl the Younger. The Spaniards agreed to respect parts of the city, like the temples, and only took the things that were offered to them freely.

All that time, Cortés offered to talk about the benefits of Christianity. Legends say that he convinced the four leaders of Tlaxcala to become baptized. Maxixcatzín, Xicoténcatl the elder, Citalpopocatzín, and Temiloltécutl received the names of Don Lorenzo, Don Vicente, Don Bartolomé, and Don Gonzalo.

It's difficult to know if they understood the Catholic faith. In any event, they apparently had no problems in adding the new god "Dios" (in Spanish), the lord of the heavens, to their already complex pantheon.

An exchange of gifts was made and thus began the alliance between Cortés and Tlaxcala (Hugh Tomas, The conquest of Mexico, 1994).