THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



23 



p. 142) . The initial conquest of southern Totona- 

 capan apparently was enduring. 



AXAYACATL, (1469-81) AND TIZOC (1481-86) 



Moctezuma's successor, Axayacatl, indulged in 

 a series of scattered conquests, some in the Gulf 

 coast area. He quashed a rebellion in Cotaxtla 

 and, apparently toward the end of his reign, an- 

 other in the Huasteca. But southern Totonaca- 

 pan continued under Mexican control and northern 

 Totonacapan still was inviolate. 



Tizoc, the successor of Axayacatl, was not par- 

 ticularly successful as a military leader. He ap- 

 parently subdued Cotaxtla and the southern Huas- 

 teca anew, but there is no evidence that Totonaca- 

 pan was directly concerned. His other campaigns 

 were not directed toward the Gulf. 



AHUIZOTL (1486-15 02) 



Ahuizotl was extremely active, and although he 

 extended Mexican conquests far to the south (map 



17, Appendix B), he still found time to conduct 

 a number of campaigns in the Huasteca. In the 

 course of one of these, the Totonac pueblo of "Tu- 

 zapan" succumbed (p. 275) . 



During his reign, further penetration of Totona- 

 capan seemingly took place, with the conquest of 

 Nautla, on the Gulf coast. However, this victory 

 is mentioned only by Texcocan sources, which 

 claim the conquest for their ruler, Netzahualpilli. 



Cotaxtla appears to have been at peace, but the 

 nearby pueblo of "Mictlanquauhtla" was subju- 

 gated. This conquest, together with those of "Tu- 

 zapan" and Nautla, suggests fairly extensive mili- 

 tary action along the east coast; but the sources 

 give no further details. 



MOCTEZUMA n (1502-2 0) 



The younger Moctezuma continued the program 

 of expansion, especially toward the south (map 



18, Appendix B) . During his reign, the Huasteca 

 appeared to enjoy a respite, but northern Totona- 

 capan suffered in its stead. The Mexican sources 

 list among his conquests, only two Totonac pue- 

 blos, Pantepec and "Jicotepec," on the northern 

 and northwestern limits of the province. But 

 others indicate that it was the younger Moctezuma 

 who subjugated Papantla, as well as a whole series 

 of Totonac pueblos, in a large block north of Ja- 



lapa, and farther west, in the Sierra de Puebla 

 (map 18, Appendix B). 



A few scattered Totonac settlements may have 

 escaped the Mexican yoke — for example, Tuzama- 

 pan and Ayotoxco, near Jonotla (p. 279) . But by 

 and large, before the reign of Moctezuma termi- 

 nated, virtually all of Totonacapan, both northern 

 and southern, was under Mexican control. 



NATURE OF THE CONQUEST 



From early times, Totonacapan seems to have 

 been a province wide open to invasion. Papantla 

 claimed to have given battle to the forces of the 

 younger Moctezuma, as did Chiltoyac (p. 279), 

 and the establishment of Mexican garrisons in 

 Totonacapan implies a certain amount of active 

 opposition. Moreover, Ixtlilxochitl (2:332) 

 speaks of frequent uprisings, particularly in To- 

 tonacapan, during the reign of the younger Moc- 

 tezuma. 



Nevertheless, on the whole, the sources give the 

 impression that the Totonac were far from belli- 

 cose and that they met successive intrusions with 

 little more than passive resistance. Except for 

 the rebellions against Moctezuma II, we find only 

 one reference to aggressive warfare on the part of 

 the Totonac, and, unfortunately, the passage is 

 obscure to us. It refers to Totonac and Huastec 

 who, bearing a white standard, fought naked, in 

 Zumpango, during the reign of the elder Mocte- 

 zuma (Codice Chimalpopoca, p. 54). 



It may be suspected that the relatively late im- 

 pacts with the expanding Mexican Empire left 

 little cultural imprint in Totonacapan. The con- 

 quest appears to have been essentially military 

 and political, with predominant emphasis on the 

 payment of tribute. There is no mention of col- 

 onization from the central highlands at that time; 

 but, in contrast, the earlier intrusions of the Tol- 

 tecs, the Olmeca-Zacateca, the Chichimecs and the 

 Teochichimecs involved actual settlement either 

 on the borders of Totonacapan or within the prov- 

 ince (pp. 16-20). Moreover, in time of famine, 

 the highland folk not only went to Totonacapan 

 for maize, but entire families settled there; and 

 the Totonac took advantage of the situation to 

 acquire slaves from the Valley of Mexico (p. 7). 

 This sort of infiltration involves more intimate 

 contact and presumably has more lasting influence 

 than does a nominal conquest. In other words, 



