Chachalacas Coast

The Chachalacas coast faces the Gulf of Mexico in the Veracruz region, where the Actopan River reaches the coastal plain. Inland stood Cempoala, an important Totonac political and religious centre in the Late Postclassic period. Its people managed river water with channels and structures that guarded against floods, and the coastal plain supported farms and fishing villages. In 1519 Spanish expeditionaries reached the Gulf coast, and Cempoala's leaders allied with Hernán Cortés against Mexica rule. Canoes and coastal vessels carried goods along this shore, and the sea off the plain became part of the route that brought Spanish shipping to the new settlement at Veracruz.