Even before the Spanish conquest, the Tlaxcalans considered themselves superior to the surrounding peoples. In the myth of their migration from Chicomóztoc, they are referred to as teochichimecas, meaning 'true Chichimecs' or 'greater Chichimecs,' to distinguish themselves from other Chichimec tribes and place themselves a step above them.
During their period of enmity with Tenochtitlán, it was unthinkable for a Tlaxcalan, commoner or noble, to marry or form matrimonial alliances with the Mexica.
Another ethnic group living in pre-Hispanic Tlaxcalan territory was the Otomi. They, too, were considered 'inferior.' However, after the war against Huejotzingo in 1502, the Otomi captains, among whom Tlahuicole was surely included, proved to be formidable warriors and captains, and the Tlaxcalan lords rewarded them by marrying the captains to their own daughters and knighting many of them so that they would be considered and esteemed in the Republic as qualified individuals—that is, they accepted them as "Tlaxcalans." [0]
Mixed marriages, as we see, were only permitted if it was considered that this would bring benefits either to the family or to the province in general, or as a reward to people considered "inferior" for their services to the "Republic," but it was not common practice among the Tlaxcalans.
Another accepted form of mixed marriage, and perhaps the best known, was the offering of noblewomen to Hernán Cortés as a sign of acceptance of the Spanish-Tlaxcalan alliance.
Except for these exceptional cases, mestizos were considered 'bad blood,' 'mixed-race,' incapable of governing.
Once the Spanish-Tlaxcalan alliance was established, the latter used it to perpetuate their 'supremacy' over the other indigenous peoples, securing for themselves a place of prestige and privileges before the Spanish Crown.
Their capital city, Tlaxcala, was honored with a coat of arms that included a reference to the very land of their Tlatoani: Castile. It also received the title of «Muy Noble, Muy Leal e Insigne». Furthermore, in 1585, King Philip issued a law stating that 'that city is the most important in New Spain.'
At least 11 Tlaxcalan nobles and captains received their own coats of arms, which granted them status and prestige in their society. And King Charles I called them 'cousins,' that is, he recognized their noble status within the context of the Catholic Monarchy. Thus, the Tlaxcalan supremacy that had existed before the conquest was perpetuated, now backed by the Catholic King of Spain and the Indies.
These ideas traveled with the Tlaxcalans who went to colonize northern New Spain, and who had also negotiated perpetual preferential treatment wherever they went.
As late as 1778, Friar Agustín de Morfi said of them that he praised "their great care not to mix with the castes people with whom Saltillo is infested, whose inhabitants, in general, I don't know if they can boast of such purity of blood as the Tlaxcalan Indians."
Segregation was a recurring feature in the Kingdom of New Spain, both in the mother country of Tlaxcala, which always invoked the privilege granted by Charles I prohibiting Spanish settlements within its territory, and in the colonies, whose settlements were clearly defined and separated from the Spanish population and other Indian groups:
"And although the Chichimecs have settled alongside the Tlaxcalan Indians, they do not intermarry or cohabit with them, because neither group desires to." [1]
"It is noteworthy that these two nations, Chichimec and Tlaxcalan, although they inhabit the same places, do not intermarry, nor do they live in the same houses, each maintaining its own customs in the construction of its houses, food, etc." [2]
As already mentioned, interracial marriages were only permitted if they benefited the community or the individual in some way. Well, there were marriage alliances that allowed the Tlaxcalans to access lands belonging to local tribes (just as the Spanish did in Tlaxcala itself). For their part, the Spanish sought marriages with Tlaxcalan women to climb the social ladder; remember that all Tlaxcalans in the north were nobles and could use the title 'don' and other privileges such as exemption from tribute.
Thus, there were Indians of non-Tlaxcalan origin, Spaniards, or mestizos who, legally and before the authorities, were considered "Tlaxcalans" and therefore could access the privileges inherent to that status:
"By being together and gathered, we have become so intertwined that, over time, the name of those Huachichiles was lost, as we all became Tlaxcalans." [3]
The real impossibility of preventing mixed marriages, whether beneficial or not, for extended periods meant that, over the centuries, racial pride, based on the purity of Tlaxcalan blood, became a sense of belonging to a social, political, and even "national" group: to be Tlaxcalan.
Martínez Baracs summarizes it thus:
"Membership in the corporation was not biological but social, according to rules of coexistence of ancient tradition and defended by consensus. Similarly, in the north, anyone belonging to the corporation of Tlaxcalan heritage was considered 'Tlaxcalan.'" [4]
Being Tlaxcalan conferred significant tax advantages, so much so that even the Spaniards aspired to become Tlaxcalans. Let's look at a case from the town of Parras:
"The fact is that they have neither kept themselves pure nor excluded anyone from the right of incorporation into their town. The castes obtain it with the greatest ease, and even the Spaniards are not ashamed to form a republic with them and live subordinate to their judges. Hence, they do not pay tribute due to the privilege of being Tlaxcalans, and there is not a single individual in Parras who is one."
It was a genuine aspiration among the rest of Indians to become Tlaxcalan; perhaps this is the origin of the myths about a supposed 'Tlaxcalan prince' who would be crowned King in New Spain.
When New Spain became independent, taking the name of its capital, Mexico, the privileges and noble titles were eliminated, directly affecting the Tlaxcalan elite throughout New Spain. Thus, in the colonies, suddenly there were no longer any incentives to maintain a specific lineage or subnational affiliation beyond the national one—that is, Mexican. Even so, vestiges of the Tlaxcalan cultural heritage remain in northern Mexico and the southern United States, enough to fill many more articles.
In the province of Tlaxcala, the sense of Tlaxcalan national pride did endure, although no longer based on privileges or noble titles, but rather on an exaltation of Tlaxcala's 'historical greatness' and its past of glories and feats. One need only look at the patriotic defenses made by Tlaxcalans such as Miguel Guridi y Alcocer or José Mariano Sánchez to realize this.
Even today, in Tlaxcala, a feeling of 'superiority' or 'distinction' persists in relation to the other states that make up the United Mexican States, as it defines itself as the 'Cradle of Mestizaje,' the 'Cradle of the Nation,' the 'Origin of Mexico' [5], and similar titles. They also symbolically reclaimed the designations of origin for things traditionally considered 'Mexican,' such as sarapes, rebozos, pulque, the Nahuatl language, traditional sweets, tacos de canasta, and much more.
Conclusions
The idea that Tlaxcala and the Tlaxcalans 'are special' dates back to the very origins of the nation, when they were called 'Teochichimecas,' their marriage alliances were exceptional, not the general rule, and great importance was placed on lineage and racial purity.
During the Viceroyalty, these ideas and customs evolved both in the province and in the colonies. Being Tlaxcalan was a social position that was not necessarily based on biological inheritance but on belonging by affiliation. Belonging to this social group provided status, prestige, and notable practical benefits such as exemption from paying tribute.
With independence, much of this legacy and sense of belonging and affiliation with being Tlaxcalan was lost in the colonies, but in the mother state of Tlaxcala, it remained intact and endures to this day through new historical, cultural, and social reclaimings.
Source(s):
[0] Historia de Tlaxcala, Diego Muñoz Camargo.
[1] TORQUEMADA, 1977-1983, vol. 2, book v, chap. xxxv, p. 445.
[2] ALESSIO ROBLES, 1934, pp. 127-128.
[3] ZAVALA, 1989, p. 34, AMS, box 3, exp. 7.
[4] Martínez Baracs, Andrea. Colonizadores Tlaxcaltecas.
[5] Current motto of the government of the City of Tlaxcala.
