Chiapanec

The Chiapanec, who call themselves Soctón, are an Oto-Manguean people of Chiapas' Central Depression in southern Mexico, centred on Chiapa, now Chiapa de Corzo. Manguean speakers may have entered Chiapas as early as 200; the Chiapanec probably seized the Zoque city of Chiapa in the ninth or tenth century, taking their name from it.

Postclassic Chiapa became a leading regional urban centre, capital of a state holding most of the Central Depression; a priestly oligarchy ruled, choosing two political-military leaders every year, and rivalry over the Tehuantepec trade route kept it at odds with the neighbouring Zoque, Tzotzil and others.

Spanish expeditions came in the early 1520s, and in 1528 Diego de Mazariegos set up the colonial province of Chiapa. Excessive tribute and labour demands drove them to revolt and abandon their towns, their communities dwindling under colonial rule.