Abstract

This thesis examines the strategies Tlaxcalan leaders employed to maintain their autonomy directly with the Spanish colonizers and administrative officials in their province in the 16th century. Previous scholarship has portrayed the Tlaxcalans as insignificant collaborators or willful allies of Spanish colonizers. This thesis, by contrast, shows that they maintained their autonomy through their strategic appeals to various colonial authorities, integration of Catholicism into native culture, and the use of both prestige and alliance to emphasize the importance of the province. This thesis uses contemporary annals, government records, literature, artwork, and letters created by the Tlaxcalans, and Spaniards, to analyze the methods and reasonings behind their adaptations.

Keywords: Altepetl, Colonial Mexico, Indigenous Agency, Mexico, New Spain, Nahua, Social Reform, Tlaxcala, Colonial Mexico, Indigenous Agency, Mexico, New Spain, Nahua, Social Reform, Tlaxcala

How to Cite:

Ocon, D., (2024) “La República de Los Indios:  Tlaxcala, Survival, and the Struggle for Autonomy within New Spain,  1519-1558.”, Iowa Historical Review 11(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/2373-1842.33759