Xochimilco was the most important city of the
Xochimilca people, one of the Nahua tribes that migrated to the
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...
region. At the same time it was the name of the
altepetl
The (, plural ''altepeme'' or ''altepemeh'') was the local, ethnically-based political entity, usually translated into English as "city-state," of pre-Columbian Nahuatl-speaking societiesSmith 1997 p. 37 in the Americas. The ''altepetl'' was ...
of this group and historically referred to both interchangebly.
[Lockhart. ''The Nahuas After the Conquest''] The city was founded around 900 AD. It grew to become an important city in the
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico w ...
, until in 1430, the Mexica 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 ...
succeeded in conquering the city.
Etymology
The name “Xochimilco” comes from
Nahuatl and means “flower field.” This referred to the many flowers and other crops that were grown here on
chinampas since the pre-Hispanic period.
History
![Cuahilama petroglifo2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Cuahilama_petroglifo2.JPG)
The first human presence in the area was of hunter gatherers, who eventually settled into farming communities. The first settlements in the Xochimilco area were associated with the
Cuicuilco
Cuicuilco is an important archaeological site located on the southern shore of Lake Texcoco in the southeastern Valley of Mexico, in what is today the borough of Tlalpan in Mexico City. Some historians believe this settlement goes back to 1400 B ...
,
Copilco
Copilco was an important Mesoamerican ceremonial center, southwest of Mexico City, Mexico. Copilco is located approximately four kilometers north of Cuicuilco. Both were covered by lava from several eruptions of the Xitle volcano three thousand ...
and
Tlatilco
Tlatilco was a large pre-Columbian village in the Valley of Mexico situated near the modern-day town of the same name in the Mexican Federal District. It was one of the first chiefdom centers to arise in the Valley, flourishing on the western sho ...
settlements during the
Classic period
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE –&nbs ...
. The
Xochimilca people, considered to be one of the seven Nahua tribes that migrated into the
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico w ...
, first settled around 900 CD in
Cuahilama
Cuahilama is a Hill and an archaeological site located south east of Santa Cruz Acalpixca, in the Cuahilama neighborhood, near the Xochimilco Archaeological Museum, in Mexico City. It was a ceremonial center, in the hill are prehispanic images en ...
, near what is now Santa Cruz Acalpixca. They worshipped sixteen deities, with
Chantico
In Aztec religion, Chantico ("she who dwells in the house") is the deity reigning over the fires in the family hearth. She broke a fast by eating paprika with roasted fish, and was turned into a dog by Tonacatecuhtli as punishment. She was asso ...
, goddess of the hearth and
Cihuacoatl, an earth goddess and
Amimitl, god of chinampas the most important.
The Xochimilcas were farmers and founded their first dominion under a leader named Acatonallo. He is credited for inventing the chinampa system of agriculture in order to increase production. These chinampas eventually became the main producer with crops such as corn, beans,
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s, squash and more. The
city of Xochimilco was founded in 919. Over time, it grew and began to dominate other areas on the south side of the lakes such as
Mixquic,
Tláhuac
Tláhuac is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in the Mexico City, located in the southeastern edge of the entity. Though Tláhuac still contains rural communities within its borders, mostly in the southern and eastern portions, the boroug ...
,
Culhuacan and even parts of what is now the
State of Morelos
Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cue ...
. Xochimilco had one woman ruler, which did not happen anywhere else in
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...
in the pre-Hispanic period. She is credited with adding a number of distinctive dishes to the area’s cuisine, with inclusions such as
necuatolli, chileatolli (
atole
''Atole'' (, from Nahuatl '' ātōlli'' ), also known as ''atolli'' and ''atol de elote'', is a traditional hot corn- and masa-based beverage of Mexican origin. Chocolate ''atole'' is known as ''champurrado'' or ''atole''. It typically accom ...
with chili pepper),
esquites
Esquites (or ezquites) (troles and trolelotes in Northeast Mexico, chasca in Aguascalientes, vasolote in Michoacán, etc.) also known as elote en vaso (corn in a cup) or just simply elote in Southwestern USA is a Mexican snack or antojito. One ca ...
and
tlapiques.
In 1352, then emperor
Caxtoltzin moved the city from the mainland to the island of Tlilan. In this respect it was like another island city in the area,
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 ...
. Although no longer an island, the city center is still in the same spot. In 1376, Tenochtitlan attacked Xochimilco, forcing the city to appeal to
Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco ( nci, Āzcapōtzalco , , from '' āzcapōtzalli'' “anthill” + '' -co'' “place”; literally, “In the place of the anthills”) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern p ...
for help. The conquest was unsuccessful, but Xochimilco was then forced to pay tribute to Azcapotzalco. Tenochtitlan succeeded in conquering Xochimilco in 1430, while it was ruled by Tzalpoyotzin. Shortly thereafter, Aztec emperor
Itzcoatl
Itzcoatl ( nci-IPA, Itzcōhuātl, it͡sˈkoːwaːt͡ɬ, "Obsidian Serpent", ) (1380–1440) was the fourth king of Tenochtitlan, and the founder of the Aztec Empire, ruling from 1427 to 1440. Under Itzcoatl the Mexica of Tenochtitlan threw off t ...
built the
causeway or calzada that would connect the two cities over the lake. During the reign of
Moctezuma Ilhuicamina
Moctezuma I (–1469), also known as Moteuczomatzin Ilhuicamina (), Huehuemoteuczoma or Montezuma I ( nci, Motēuczōma Ilhuicamīna , nci, Huēhuemotēuczōma ), was the second Aztec emperor and fifth king of Tenochtitlan. During his reign, th ...
, the Xochimilcas contributed materials and manpower to construct a temple to
Huitzilopochtli. They also participated in the further conquests of the
Aztec Empire such as in
Cuauhnáhuac (Cuernavaca),
Xalisco
Xalisco () is a city and its surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The city had a population of 21,899 in the 2005 census while the municipality has an area of 290.6 km² (112.2 sq mi) and a populati ...
and the
Metztitlán and
Oaxaca valleys. For their service,
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 ...
, granted the Xochimilcas autonomy in their lands, and the two cities coexisted peacefully. Aztec emperors would pass by here on royal barges on their way to
Chalco/Xico, then an island in
Lake Chalco
Lake Chalco was an endorheic lake formerly located in the Valley of Mexico, and was important for Mesoamerican cultural development in central Mexico. The lake was named after the ancient city of Chalco on its former eastern shore.
Geography
L ...
.
Aztec emperor
Moctezuma Xocoyotzin
Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; oteːkˈsoːmaḁ ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sĩn̥), nci-IPA, Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin, moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecu ...
imposed a new governor, Omácatl, onto Xochimilco due to the arrival of the Spanish, but this governor was forced to return to
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 ...
, when the emperor was taken prisoner. He was then succeeded by Macuilxochitecuhtli, but eighty days later he too went to Tenochtitlan to fight the Spanish alongside
Cuitláhuac. He was followed by Apochquiyautzin, who remained loyal to Tenochtitlan.
For this reason,
Hernán Cortés decided to send armies to subdue Xochimilco before taking Tenochtitlan. This occurred in 1521. During the battle, Cortés was almost killed when he fell off his horse, but he was saved by a soldier named Cristóbal de Olea.
[Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, ]
The battle was fierce and left few Xochimilca warriors alive. According to legend, it was after this battle that
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 ...
came to Xochimilco and planted a juniper tree in the San Juan neighborhood to commemorate the event.
Pre-Hispanic Xochimilco was an island connected to the mainland by three causeways. One of these still exists in the form of Avenida Guadalupe I.Ramirez, one of the city’s main streets. This causeway led to the main ceremonial center of the town, which was called the Quilaztli. The Spanish destroyed the Quilaztli during the Conquest, and replaced it with the
San Bernardino de Siena Church, which would become the social and political center of the colonial city. It became a settlement of Spanish,
criollo
Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to:
People
* Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants)
Animals
* Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...
s and
mestizos, with the indigenous living in rural communities outside of the city proper.
After the Conquest,
Apochquiyauhtzin, the last lord of Xochimilco, was baptized with the name of Luís Cortés Cerón de Alvarado in 1522 and he was allowed to continue governing under the Spanish. Evangelization was undertaken here by
Martín de Valencia
Martín de Valencia was born in Valencia de Don Juan, in the bishopric of Oviedo, Spain, ca. 1474. He died Tlalmanalco, Mexico, 21 March 1534. He was a Spanish Franciscan missionary, leader of the Twelve Apostles of Mexico, the first group of men ...
with a number of others who are known as the
first twelve Franciscans in Mexico. Their monastery was built between 1534 and 1579, along with many chapels and churches in the Xochimilco area, a hospital in Tlacoapa and a school. Xochimilco was made an
encomienda of
Pedro de Alvarado in 1521 and remained such until 1541.
See also
*
Xochimilco
Xochimilco (; nci, Xōchimīlco, ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') of Mexico City. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in th ...
*
Aztec Triple Alliance
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexi ...
References
{{reflist
Aztec sites