Tochtepec

Tochtepec, later called Tuxtepec, was an important centre of the Papaloapan basin. Its Nahuatl name means “hill of rabbits.” The town headed a wealthy and diverse tributary province in the Gulf lowlands, where the Mexica maintained a garrison and collected goods from communities along the river. Among the goods sent from the basin were cotton cloth, cacao, feathers and ornaments of amber and jade.

Mexica rule brought the Papaloapan lordships into the networks of tribute and military control centred on Tenochtitlan. In 1521 Gonzalo de Sandoval defeated the garrison at Tochtepec, opening the way for Spanish control of the basin. The conquerors distributed its towns in encomiendas, and the indigenous communities subsequently faced the changes brought by colonial government and the congregation of populations into settlements.