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 who inhabited the republic of Tlaxcala located in what is now the Mexican state of Tlaxcala.

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.

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.

The Tlaxcaltecs 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.

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

The Tlaxcaltecs 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. 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.

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Wikipedia