Chalco

Chalco lay beside the lake of the same name in the southeastern Basin of Mexico. Mountains enclosed the region, including the great volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl to the east. Rather than a single town, Chalco was a confederation of lordships, each with its own ruler and communities spread from the lakeshore into the uplands. Among them were Tlalmanalco, Amaquemecan, Tenanco and Chimalhuacan-Chalco.

The Chalca long resisted the growing power of Tenochtitlan, but their lands were conquered by the Mexica in the fifteenth century. Their rulers were displaced, though some later returned. When Spanish forces entered the basin, Chalcan leaders became important allies against the Mexica. The lake and its settlements thus stood at the centre of successive struggles for control of the valley.

The later city of Xico lies here.