Tamazunchale is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the state of San Luis Potosí, central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 2010 the area of the municipality was and the population was 96,820. The population of the town was 24,562.

Etymology

The name Tamazunchale (Tam-uxum-tzalle) comes from the

Huastec language The Huastec (or Wasteko or Huasteco) language of Mexico is spoken by the Huastecos living in rural areas of San Luis Potosí and northern Veracruz. Though relatively isolated from them, it is related to the Mayan languages spoken further south ...

, and means "Place of the Government"; it was the Huastec capital around the 15th century.

History

The area of the State of San Luis Potosí including: Tamazunchale,

Jacala Jacala, officially Jacala de Ledezma is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Jacala de Ledezma (municipality) Jacala, officially Jacala de Ledezma is a town and one of the 84 ...

, Coxcatlan, Tamacuil, Xatxapala, Tacetuco and Huahuatla along the

Moctezuma River The Moctezuma River (Río Moctezuma) is a river in Mexico that drains the eastern side of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Sierra Nevada). It is a tributary of the Pánuco River and flows through the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Querétaro, and Sa ...

, was the Huastec Indian territory. In 1454, Montezuma, the ruler of the city of

Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...

, sent his troops to dominate the Huastec nation, and won the war. The Huastec had no choice but to give in and pay

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

to 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 ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

capital. In 1485, the three chiefs of the Huastec nation, Chicontepec, Temapache, and Molango, led several rebellions and were free for a time from the Aztecs. In 1487, the new ruler of Tenochtitlan,

Ahuizotl Ahuitzotl ( nah, āhuitzotl, ) was the eighth Aztec ruler, the ''Huey Tlatoani'' of the city of Tenochtitlan, son of princess Atotoztli II. His name literally means "Water Thorny" and was also applied to the otter. It is also theorized that mor ...

sent troops to end the rebellion and subjugate the Huastec nation. They did so, and to ensure they remained loyal, sent many Aztec families to live there, to the extent that 55% of the population of Tamazunchale were Aztecs. The Huastecs continued to pay tribute to the Aztec nation.

Cortes invasion

Cerro de la Cruz, Tamazunchale, San Luis Potosí

In 1522 Hernán Cortés left from

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispani ...

, where he lived after the Conquest of Tenochtitlan, and headed up the Moctezuma river to the Huastec nation and arrived with his troops and Indian allies headed by a nephew of

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle ...

, the last ruler of the Aztecs. They attacked and conquered Tamazunchale. Then they went up river to Panuco and helped Fransico de Garay, who had been on an earlier expedition to that area; 100 of his men had been killed by the Huastecs there, and 200 more elsewhere. With the help of Cortez' 100 Spanish soldiers and 15 thousand Acolhua warriors under the leadership of Yoyotzin and the younger brother of Ixtlixochitl, and 15 thousand Aztec warriors under the command of a nephew of Cuauhtemoc, they conquered Panuco and Xatxapala. They then burned to death 400 Huastec noblemen, despite the protest from the nobles of Tamanzunchale, Tacetuco, and Huahutla, The Huastec culture dispersed and left Tamanzunchale for other areas. Much later the Agustin Religious order came in 1539 under the leadership of Fr. Antonio de la Roa and Fr. Juan de Sevilla. Shortly after came Father and Gran Minister of the Huasteca, Juan Eustacio. The Agustin Order established the first Church in Xilitla.

Independence from Spain

During the insurrections of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the leader for the Huastecan region was Francisco Pena.

Modern times

For tourists driving from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Tamazunchale has long been a prominent overnight stop en route to Mexico City. English speaking tourists call the town Thomas-and-Charley.Terry, Thomas Philip ''Terry's Guide to Mexico'' New York: Doubleday, 1965, pp. 129, 186

References

External links

Tamazunchale at the Municipalities Encyclopedia of Mexico (Spanish)

Tamazunchale official website

"El sur", local newspaper

"Canal 30", local TV

XEGI radio
{{Authority control Municipalities of San Luis Potosí