Cocollan

Cocollan, later called Cocula, lay in the valleys of western Mexico. Its name has been interpreted as a place of undulations. Before the Spanish conquest it was an independent lordship, with several neighbouring settlements owing it tribute, among them Santa Ana Acatlán, Tizapanito and Tecolotlán. Its ruler Citlali took part in the War of Saltpeter in 1510.

According to local accounts, Alonso de Ávalos brought Cocollan under Spanish rule in 1521, after which it was incorporated into the province bearing his name. Francisco Cortés de San Buenaventura visited in 1524 and registered its ruler and inhabitants. Franciscan friars later moved the community down from its former mountain site; the ruins of the older settlement became known as Cocula Vieja, a reminder of the earlier hilltop town.