![Codex Osuna Triple Alliance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Codex_Osuna_Triple_Alliance.JPG)
The (, plural ''altepeme''
or ''altepemeh'') was the local,
ethnically
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
-based political entity, usually translated into English as "
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
," of
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
-speaking societies
[Smith 1997 p. 37] in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. The ''altepetl'' was constituted of smaller units known as
''calpolli'' and was typically led by a single
dynastic ruler known as a ''
tlatoani
''Tlatoani'' ( , "one who speaks, ruler"; plural ' or tlatoque) is the Classical Nahuatl term for the ruler of an , a pre-Hispanic state. It is the noun form of the verb "tlahtoa" meaning "speak, command, rule". As a result, it has been various ...
'', although examples of shared rule between up to five rulers are known.
Each ''altepetl'' had its own jurisdiction, origin story, and served as the center of
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
identity.
Residents referred to themselves by the name of their ''altepetl'' rather than, for instance, as "Mexicas."
"''Altepetl''" was a polyvalent term rooting the social and political order in the creative powers of a ''sacred mountain'' that contained the ancestors, seeds and life-giving forces of the community.
The word is a combination of the
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
words (meaning "water") and (meaning "mountain"). A characteristic
Nahua
The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...
mode was to imagine the totality of the people of a region or of the world as a collection of units and to speak of them on those terms.
The concept is comparable to
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...
and
Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
''ñuu''. ''Altepeme'' formed a vast complex network which predated and outlasted larger empires, such as the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
and
Tarascan state
Tarascan or Tarasca is an exonym and the popular name for the Purépecha culture. It may refer to:
* the Tarascan State, a Mesoamerican empire until the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, located in (present-day) west-central Mexico
* the Purépecha p ...
.
Established ''altepeme'' were characterized by a central temple dedicated to a
patron god
A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety an ...
particular to the identity of the ''altepetl'' and a central market. ''Altepeme'' were typically multiethnic and communal cohesion was often maintained through territorial exclusiveness.
Mesoamerican politics
Local rulers of ''altepeme'' generally retained their authority over taxation and land distribution while under the indirect rule of an empire in exchange for their submission, participation in military campaigns, and tribute payments. However, starting with
Moctezuma Ilhuicamina I in the 1440s, Aztec imperialist efforts over the ''altepetl'' deepened by removing the powers of taxation from local rulers and replacing non-compliant rulers with military governors. These heightened pressures produced unstable conditions in Mesoamerica in which ''altepetl'' frequently rebelled by withholding tributes and pursuing
secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
. Cuauhnahuac, a major ''altepetl'' of the southern Aztec empire, rebelled on three occasions. The Aztecs responded with intense violence, which only fueled more violence in response.
At the time of
Spanish invasion in 1519, the
Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...
alone consisted of approximately 450 ''altepeme''. The Spanish recognized and exploited the preexisting political divisions among the various ''altepeme'' and the Aztecs, inciting dissident city-states to rebel. No "super-altepetl" identity existed to unite against the Spanish. The
Totonac
The Totonac are an indigenous people of Mexico who reside in the states of Veracruz, Puebla, and Hidalgo. They are one of the possible builders of the pre-Columbian city of El Tajín, and further maintained quarters in Teotihuacán (a city wh ...
s of
Cempoala
Cempoala or Zempoala (Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly ...
were among the first to ally with the Spanish, having only recently been brought under Aztec control after many years of resistance. The
Tlaxcaltec
The Tlaxcalans, or Tlaxcaltecs, are a Nahua people who live in 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 that compr ...
of
Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...
initially resisted the Spanish but soon joined the conquest effort as a crucial ally against the Aztec Empire. After the fall of
Tenōchtitlan in 1521, the Spanish increasingly demanded that ''altepetl'' rulers publicly destroy their figures of deities (referred to as idols by the Spanish) and whitewash temple walls. While destroying idols had represented a transfer of sovereignty and tributes to the conquering power in Mesoamerican politics, with the invasion of the Spanish, Indigenous peoples soon realized "that in the Spanish context it implied a far more sweeping, cosmic transformation."
From the inception of contact between the ''altepetl'' and the Spanish conquistadors, submission to Christianity was non-negotiable. As described by historian Ryan Dominic Crewe, "the Spanish offered two clear options: accept Christianity and be saved in this world and in the next, or resist it and face damnation in both." Prior to the fall of Tenōchtitlan, the Spanish could not force compliance because of their heavy dependency on those who they were admonishing. Conquistador
Bernal Diaz del Castillo wrote that "more often than not hungry Spanish soldiers would read their protocol and then promptly settle into a meal prepared by those they had just admonished." After the fall of Tenōchtitlan, the balance of power shifted heavily in favor of the Spanish, who forced
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
upon the various ''altepeme''.
As it became clear to each ''altepetl'' that the Spanish were in Mesoamerica to stay, they quickly learned to use conversion as a means of gaining political capital. By 1523, nobles in Tenōchtitlan had requested baptisms and provided them with properties for their monasteries and churches to assure themselves a place within the new colonial order.
Matlatzinca and
Otomi
The Otomi (; es, Otomí ) are an indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region.
The Otomi are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit a discontinuous territory in central Mexico. They are linguisticall ...
peoples in the
Valley of Toluca
The Toluca Valley is a valley in central Mexico, just west of the Valley of Mexico (Mexico City), the old name was Matlatzinco. The valley runs north–south for about , surrounded by mountains, the most imposing of which is the Nevado de Toluca Vo ...
as well as
Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
s in
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
used baptisms as a means of reclaiming local authority after years of
Mexica
The Mexica (Nahuatl: , ;''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1990). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved August 29, 2012, frolink/ref> singular ) were a Nahuatl-speaking indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico who were the rulers of ...
imperialism in the face of Spanish rule. Throughout the 1520s and 1530s, ''altepeme'' retained their autonomy through Christianization and local rulers now adopted new Spanish Christian names: "the names of local elite began to echo those of the men who were turning out to be their overlords rather than their liberators."
Spanish missionaries imposed forms of symbolic and physical violence in the ''altepetl'' in order to erect "a new universe of meaning" for Indigenous peoples. A coordinated assault was launched by missionaries and conquistadors on Indigenous priests and adherents on January 1, 1525, which resulted in the destruction of the main temples in Tenōchtitlan,
Texcoco, and Tlaxcala, including the Temple of
Huītzilōpōchtli
In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli ( nci-IPA, Huītzilōpōchtli, wiːt͡siloːˈpoːt͡ʃt͡ɬi, ) is the deity of war, sun, human sacrifice, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the tribal god of the Mexicas, also known a ...
, which housed the
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
s of Texcoco. This wave of violence initiated by the Spanish missionaries emanated outward throughout what would soon become
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
. A letter written by Christianized Indigenous nobles to the Spanish crown in 1560 records that "people of many ''altepetl'' were forced and tortured
rwere hanged or burned because they did not want to relinquish idolatry, and unwillingly received the gospel and faith." It further stated that "it was the friars' 'good deed,' they added, to 'teach us to despise, destroy, and burn the stones and wood that we worshiped as gods." As described by historian Ryan Dominic Crewe, "Friars proudly reported the destruction using biblical scales: twenty thousand idols smashed by a single friar in a day, thousands of local deities delivered to the flames, or five hundred major temples dismantled in just five years.
Examples
*
Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco ( nci, Āzcapōtzalco , , from ''wikt:azcapotzalli, āzcapōtzalli'' “anthill” + ''wikt:-co, -co'' “place”; literally, “In the place of the anthills”) is a Boroughs of Mexico City, borough (''demarcación territorial'') i ...
*
Cempoala
Cempoala or Zempoala (Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly ...
*
Chalco
*
Cholula
*
Coixtlahuaca
Coixtlahuaca ( Chocho: ''Nguichee;'' Mixtec: ''Yodzocoo;'' Nahuatl: ''Coaixtlahuacan'') was a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican state in the Mixteca Alta (now in Oaxaca, Mexico). Coixtlahuaca was a multi-ethnic polity, inhabited by both Chochos and ...
*
Cuauhnahuac
Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D.
The n ...
*
Huexotzingo
*
Tenōchtitlan
*
Texcoco
*
Tlatelolco
*
Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...
*
Toluca
Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...
*
Yanhuitlán
References
Further reading
*
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{{refend
Aztec society
Valley of Mexico
nah:Āltepētl