Tecoaque facts for kids
Tecoaque is a Mesoamerican archaeological site, located in western Tlaxcala state, central Mexico, close to Calpulalpan. The site was inhabited by the Acolhua, one of the three ethnic groups making up the Aztec Empire (their capital being Tetzcohco, one of the three seats of Aztec power). Tecoaque had many white-stucco temples and was the home to approximately 5,000 people, mostly priests and farmers.
Site description
Tecoaque includes a prominent circular structure dedicated to Ehecatl. Parts of this primary three-tiered structure, which has an eastern facing stairway, were restored in 1992. Nearby archaeological features include residential structures and an important rectangular plaza.
World Heritage status
This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 6 December 2004 in the Cultural category.
1520 capture of Spanish civilians
Initially, the Aztecs emperor Moctezuma allowed the Spaniards, led by Hernán Cortés into Tenochtitlan. Cortés turned on the Aztecs, taking Montezuma hostage, in order to control the empire through him. In the midst of this strategy, Pánfilo de Narváez arrived in Mexico from Cuba to arrest Cortés. The conquistador left Tenochtitlan in the hands of Pedro de Alvarado, who ordered the massacre of nearly 1000 Mexica who were participating in the festival of Toxcatl. After dealing with Narváez, Cortés prepared to return to Tenochtitlan with a bigger force, having taken control of Narváez's crews. But first he sent ahead a caravan of supplies and people, including "Spanish women and children, enslaved Africans, and other servants carrying burdens and leading livestock."
Learning of Alvarado's massacre, Cortés then rushed to Tenochtitlan to try to quell the violent reaction to the Spaniards' cruelty. Not longer after he arrived, however, he and his men were expelled, resulting in the deaths of nearly all the soldiers and horses Narváez had brought. Before being completely routed, the Spaniards killed Cacamatzin, king of the Acolhua capital of Texcoco. Not long afterward, the slow caravan that Cortés had sent first came through a mountain pass just north of Iztaccihuatl. A recent archaeological expedition revealed that Acolhua warriors captured this group of Spanish civilians as they traveled to Tenochtitlan. The Acolhua were part of the Aztec Empire, and acted in response to the murder of Cacamatzin, their king. This expedition reveals that the Aztecs did resist the Spanish Conquest.
The Aztecs imprisoned the Spanish caravan and over the course of six months, several hundred Spaniards and their slaves were killed.
When Cortés found out much later what had been done to his people in Zōltepēc, he sent an army to destroy the town.
See also
In Spanish: Tecoaque para niños
