TLAXCALA (Tlascala, i.e., " House of Bread "), an historical city of Mexico, capital of the state of Tlaxcala, which nearly coincides with the old native republic of Tlaxcala, occupying the easternmost of the four sections into which the Anahuac plateau is here divided by ranges of hills, between 19 and 20 N. lat. The modern town, standing on the site of the old Indian capital, lies (in 19* 19 N. lat., 98 6 W. long.) on the little river Papagallo (Atoyac, formerly Zahuatl), which flows between two hills at an altitude of considerably over 7000 feet, some 30 miles north of La Puebla and 170 by rail from Vera Cruz. Tlaxcala was founded probably about the close of the 13th century, when the Tlaxcaltecs, a branch of the Nahuatl race closely akin to the Aztecs, withdrew from the western side of the central lacustrine district and established a powerful democratic state in a somewhat secluded, hill -encircled, but highly productive tract, 90 miles in length by 70 in breadth, with a total area of over 1550 square miles. The Tlaxcaltecs, hereditary foes of the Aztecs, became, after a short resistance (September 1519), the firm allies of the Spaniards, their co-operation contributing largely, if not mainly, to the overthrow of the Mexican empire. But the result was the enslavement of Tlaxcala itself, the general decay of the country, and the dispersion of most of the inhabitants by Cortes. Although now reduced to a population of a little over 5000, or, including the commune, to 36,000, and with no monuments beyond a fine church, an old episcopal palace, and a town-hall, the city at the time of the conquest was a very large place, containing nearly as many inhabitants as the whole of the modern state (130,000). When occupied by the Spaniards, its size and splendour excited the admiration of Cortes, who describes it in somewhat exaggerated language as "much larger and much stronger than Granada, with as fine buildings and much more people than Granada had at the time it was captured, also much better supplied with the things of the earth" (Cartas, 67). It was disposed in four distinct quarters separated by high stone walls, each with a palace for the ruling chief, besides temples, and stone buildings for the nobles. But most of the other houses were low mud or adobe structures. In the daily market, which was said to be frequented by 30,000 people, were exposed for sale the products of the surrounding country, maize, maguey (extracted from the aloe), and chilli pepper; to these are now added wheat, barley, pease, lentils, and a great variety of fruits.
A prominent feature of the landscape is the Sierra de Malintzi, or Malinche, that is, "Lord of Marina," a name given to Cortes after his alliance with the "heroine of the conquest." The Sierra (originally Matlacuezatl), which rises grandly (more than 16,000 feet) above the plateau, takes a prominent place in Tlaxcaltecan mythology, owing to the peculiar shape of its summit, representing in rough outline the body of a native woman lying at full length in its grave and partly wrapped in its cerements. There are some woollen manufactures, centred chiefly in the capital, and also a few silver, copper, lead, and coal mines in the San Ambrosio and San Mateo ranges; but the state is essentially agricultural, yielding large annual crops of maize and wheat, the total produce being valued at over 1,000,000.
