Mēxihco-Tlatelōlco | |
|---|---|
| 1337–1473 | |
 The Aztec glyph for Tlatelolco | |
| Common languages | Classical Nahuatl |
| Religion | Aztec religion |
| Government | Monarchy |
| Tlatoani | |
• 1376–1417 | Quaquapitzahuac |
• 1417–1428 | Tlacateotl |
• 1428–1460 | Quauhtlatoa |
• 1460–1473 | Moquihuix |
• 1475–1520 | Itzquauhtzin |
| Historical era | Pre-Columbian |
• Established | 1337 |
| 1473 | |
Tlatelolco (Classical Nahuatl:Mēxihco-Tlatelōlco[tɬateˈloːɬko],modern Nahuatl pronunciationⓘ) (also calledMexico Tlatelolco) was apre-Columbianaltepetl, or city-state, in theValley of Mexico. Its inhabitants, known as theTlatelolca, were part of theMexica, aNahuatl-speaking people who arrived in what is now central Mexico in the 13th century. The Mexica settled on an island inLake Texcoco and founded thealtepetl ofMexico-Tenochtitlan on the southern portion of the island. In 1337, a group of dissident Mexica broke away from the Tenochca leadership in Tenochtitlan and founded Mexico-Tlatelolco on the northern portion of the island. Tenochtitlan was closely tied with Tlatelolco, and was largely dependent on its market, the most important site of commerce in the area.[1]
In 1337, thirteen years after the foundation of Tenochtitlan, the Tlatelolca declared themselves independent from the Tenochca and inaugurated their first independenttlatoani (dynastic ruler). Under the kingQuaquapitzahuac (1376–1417), the first two stages of the Main Pyramid of Tlatelolco were constructed. UnderTlacateotl (1417–1428), the Tlatelolca assisted the Tenochca in the war against theTepanec empire, dominated byAzcapotzalco. Shortly thereafter, the first war between the Tenochca and Tlatelolca erupted. Also during Tlacateotl's reign, the third stage of the Main Pyramid was constructed. UnderQuauhtlatoa (1428–1460), the Tlatelolca conquered the city-state of Ahuilizapan (nowOrizaba, Veracruz), and fought against the people ofChalco along with the Tenochca. The fourth and fifth stages of the Main Pyramid were constructed in this period. The rulerMoquihuix (1460–1473) constructed the sixth stage of the temple, but in 1473, in theBattle of Tlatelolco, he was defeated by the TenochcatlatoaniAxayacatl, and Tlatelolco was made subject to Tenochtitlan.Itzcuauhtzin ruled Tlatelolco during a period in which it was almost completely incorporated into Tenochtitlan.[2]: 65
In hisHistoria verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España,conquistadorBernal Díaz del Castillo made several observations regarding Tlatelolco. He opined that its temple was the greatest in all of Mexico. Regarding its marketplace, he wrote that the Spanish "were astonished at the number of people and the quantity of merchandise that it contained, and at the good order and control that was maintained, for we had never seen such a thing before." Cortes also wrote that 60,000 buyers and sellers congregated daily at the marketplace.[3] The marketplace in Tlatelolco was the largest marketplace in Mexico.
DuringCortés'ssiege of Tenochtitlan, the Mexica's would retreat to Tlatelolco and even achieve a successful ambush against the Spanishconquistadores and their allies but would ultimately fall along with the rest of the island toSpain. After the completion of the two-yearSpanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, the Spanish conquerors established the ruins of Mexico-Tenochtitlan as the Spanish capital ofNew Spain. The remnants of the indigenous populations of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco following the conquest were administered by indigenous elites in the incorporated Indian towns of Santiago Tlatelolco and San Juan Tenochtitlan.
The inhabitants of Tlatelolco viewed themselves as independent from the Mexica and resented the Mexica for losing indigenous territory to the Spanish.[4] Tlatelolco, like other indigenous groups such as the Tlaxcala, resented decades of Mexica domination and sided with the Spanish military in order to dismantle the Mexica Triple Alliance.[4] With Tlatelolco viewing themselves as an independent city state it was easier for them to conform with the Spanish as they took the side of the Spaniards because of their opposition to the Mexica.
Tlatelolco remained an important location in the colonial era, partly because of the foundation there, of the school for elite indigenous men, theColegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, which was the first school of higher learning in the Americas. The foundation of the school was influenced by three powers: The Crown, The Pope and the order of Saint Francis (TheFranciscans).[5] The school was the first major school of translators and interpreters in the New World. The school had requirements to be accepted, and these requirements were that a student was to be "an Indian born of a legitimate marriage, fromCaciques or noble birth and not of 'macehual', despicable or blemished origin, or marked because of their own vulgar behavior or that of their parents."[5] The college is also notable due to the fact that the writers of theFlorentine Codex also attended the College of Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco. Today its remains are located withinMexico City.
In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, archeological excavations have taken place at theTlatelolco (archaeological site) in what is now part ofMexico City. The excavations of theprehispaniccity-state are centered on thePlaza de las Tres Culturas, a square surrounded on three sides by an excavatedAztec site, a 17th-century church calledTemplo de Santiago, and the modern office complex of theMexican foreign ministry. In February 2009, the discovery of amass grave with 49 human bodies was announced by archaeologists. The grave is considered unusual because the bodies are laid out ritually.
19°27′04″N99°08′15″W / 19.4511°N 99.1375°W /19.4511; -99.1375