The Tarascan-Mexica Wars, 1476-1521 (2023)

The Tarascan-Mexica Wars, 1476-15211 Ricardo Carvajal Medina Translation by Alejandro Alva and Carla Naranjo The Tarascan-Mexica wars were a series of armed battles between the two most powerful political entities in Mesoamerica, from 1476/77 until the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. On one hand there was the Tzintzuntzan Irechecua (“Kingdom of Tzintzuntzan”) that covered a large part of the current State of Michoacán and portions of Colima, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro, State of Mexico and Guerrero; and the Triple Alliance or Excan Tlatoloyan mexica, which managed to spread throughout most of central Mexico, the Gulf How to cite this text: CARVAJAL MEDINA, RICARDO. “The Tarascan-Mexica Wars, 1476-1521”, in: https://mechoacantarascorumblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/22/the-tarascan-mexica-wars-1476-15211/, (Retrieved February 23, 2021). This work was originally published in Spanish. To consult it, you can access the following link: https://mechoacantarascorumblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/las-guerras-tarasco-mexicas-1476-1521/, (Retrieved February 23, 2021). PDF: https://www.academia.edu/60458017/Las_guerras_tarasco_mexicas_1476_1521_2021_ 1 1 coast, Oaxaca, and some areas of Chiapas and Guatemala. Thanks to recent research on these conflicts that lasted more than 40 years, it is possible to have a more complete vision supported by documentary and archaeological sources. In this text we present some of the most important points of these wars, which influenced the lives of millions of human beings in the second decade of the 16th century. The Chichimecas of the lakes of Pátzcuaro and Texcoco: 13th and 16th centuries The stories of the Tarascans and the Mexica share some similarities, since both peoples claimed to originate from the northern regions inhabited by Chichimeca indigenous people. The most powerful “Chichimeca” lineage that settled on Lake Pátzcuaro in the 13th century was that of the Uacúsecha (“eagles”), whose patron god was Curícaueri. After several marriage alliances, intrigues and wars with the islanders and other “Chichimeca” lineages, the Uacúsecha managed to gain control of the Pátzcuaro basin during the last years of Taríacuri's life (ca. 1420), and defeat their enemies and more powerful relatives of Taríaran and Curínguaro. Taríacuri would inherit power to his nephews Hirepan, Tangáxoan and a son, Hiquíngaje, who would establish the Ihuatzio-Pátzcuaro-Tzintzuntzan Triumvirate, realizing many conquers in Michoacan between the years 1420-1450. The Mexica according to their stories came from a place to the north called Aztlán, guided by their patron god Huitzilopochtli (Tzintzu-uiquixo in Tarascan), and after pilgrimage for decades (supposedly together with other groups, including the Tarascans), they settled on an islet in the lake of Texcoco during the fourteenth century, where they lived for many years as subjects to the alredy stablished manors, striving to relate with the lineages of “Toltec” bloodline. After conspiring with several allies, Itzcóatl and Moctezuma Ilhuicamina started a revolt against the Tepanecas, managing to defeat Maxtla and gain independence from Azcapotzalco in 1428. They established the Excan Tlatoloyan or Triple Alliance, made up of México-Tenochtitlán, Texcoco and Tlacopan. Under the government of the Huey Tlatoani Itzcóatl, the first objective was to reconquer the dominions of the Tepanecas, starting the conquest of the Toluca valley in 1430. 2 Image 1. The patron gods of the Tarascans and Mexicas dressed as “chichimecas”. Left: The god Tiripeme Curícaueri (“Precious that is Fire”) according to plate XIX of the Relación de Michoacán (Detail). Right: the god Zinzuvquixo (Tzintzuni=“hummingbird”, Uquixo=“left, left-handed”, “Left-handed Hummingbird”), Tarascan name of Huitzilopochtli. Codex Telleriano-Remensis, f. 25 (Detail). Tense calm on the lakes (1420-1476) These conflicts in central Mexico would be felt heavily among the Otomí, Matlatzinca and Mazahua peoples, this is because their dominions were in the between mountains valleys in the middle of the two basins of Pátzcuaro and Texcoco. Due to the advance of the Mexica, these peoples began to migrate to Michoacán, seeking refuge with the Tarascans. It is known that a group of 70 Otomí from Hueychiapan and guided by four chiefs, settled in Guayangareo (currently Morelia city), but they did not like it, and they moved to Acámbaro, being vassals of the Cazonci (Tarascan supreme ruler), while the Códice de Huichapan mentions that an Otomí town was destroyed, and they migrated to Michoacán in 1436; this type of migrations dates from earlier times, and they were constant during the following decades; the same codex mentions another migration of Otomís in 1460, and one of 3 Mazahuas in 1467. For the year 1440 Moctezuma Ilhuicamina ascended to the throne of Mexico-Tenochtitlán, conquering in the following decades the populations of Xilotepec, Taxco, Nochtepec, Teticpac, Tepecoacuilco, Tlacozauhtitlan, Coatepec, Tenetzlan, Cocollan, Coatpec, Tenetzlaninco, Cocollan, and the Chontal populations of Acapetlahuayaca, Oztuma, Chuapan and Ixcateopan. With these conquests, the Mexica managed to seize an extremely valuable part of the Balsas river basin. A fundamental event occurred in the Pátzcuaro basin, around 1450, and under circumstances not mentioned in the sources. Tangáxoan's son called Tzitzíspandácuare (in Nahua sources he was named Camacoyáhuac), centralized power in Tzintzuntzan, relegating the importance of Pátzcuaro and Ihuatzio, and ending with the Triunvirate period; Therefore, a new phase of territorial expansion began, now as Tzintzuntzan Irechecua, which would lead the Tarascans to conquer Zacatula, Colima and part of Jalisco. In the Relación de Michoacón, allusion was briefly made to the movements of Tarascan troops to the East: “Zizíspandáquare made some entrances towards Tuluca and Xocotitlan and they killed him twice, ten and six thousand men. Other times he brought catives.” (Alcalá, 2008 [1542], II, Chap. XXXV, f. 138v). The Codex Telleriano-Remensis mentions a campaign undertaken during the reign of the Cazonci Tzitzíspandácuare towards the west in 1462, and other sources mention expeditions to distant places such as Xichú in Guanajuato. This shows the attempts made by the Tarascans to conquer the territories located to the East, especially the Toluca Valley, before it fell into the orbit of Mexica control. 4 Image 2. “Year of nine rabbits and 1462 according to our [account], those from Mechuacan and Xiquipilco had a battle, which is in the Matalcingo valley. This year there was an earthquake.” Codex Telleriano-Remensis, f. 33v. A reference that Diego Durán gave allows us to know that the Mexica already feared the Tarascan power at that time, as he narrated an episode where Tlacaélel told Axayácatl years later, when they were preparing for war to conquer Matlatzinco: “Son, don't get upset; You must know that before now I was of the opinion, in the time of my Brother Motecuhzoma [he reigned between 1440-1469], that that province was subjected by war, fearing that it 5 would not become (one) with those of Mechoacan and give us some shock and dismay one day.” (Durán, 1984 [1579], T. II, Chap. XXXV, Pp. 268-269). In 1469 Moctezuma Ilhuicamina died, and the Huey Tlatoani Axayácatl (called Hacángari in the Relación de Michoacón) ascended to the throne of Tenochtitlán, who continued with the attempts to definitively dominate the Toluca valley. The opportunity presented itself in 1475, when the Matlatzincas rebelled against the Mexica, so warriors were sent to quell the insurrection. Alonso de Zorita mentioned that the Matlatzincas “wanted to rise up against him [Chimaltecutli, a lord who bowed to the Mexica] because he tired them too much to serve and please Mexico, he came a second time against them, and gave them war and destroyed them, and some went out of their native land, especially those from Zinacantepec, who migrated to Michoacán, where they now call Tlaulan…” (Zorita, 1993 [1584], P. 197). At this point of circumstances, the conflict between the Tarascans and the Mexica was unavoidable, since both sought peoples to conquer and appropriate their surpluses through tribute. The victory of the armies of Tzitzíspandácuare over those of Axayácatl (1476/1477) One of the most famous wars in Mexica history is undoubtedly the attempted conquest that Axayácatl undertook against Michoacán, where the Mexica were crushed at the hands of the Cazonci warriors, and Axayácatl himself fled disastrously with the survivors. Much has been said about this historic event, but few had analyzed the available information. The most reliable sources are the chronicles of Diego Durán and Hernando Alvarado Tezozomoc, along with other brief references, which can be combined, despite contradictions in the sources, to illustrate the scale of this campaign. Domingo Chimalpahin, wrote in his Tercera Relación the year this battle occurred: “5 Ácatl, 1471. […] After defeating those from Tepetícpac and the Mazahuas, Axayacatzin went to Michhuacan to fight those from Tlaximaloyan; Axayacatzin said: “very soon we will arrive at Michhuacan.” But [many] old Mexica fell to the enemy; there these eagle warriors perished: Yaotzin, Cuauhhue Huetzin and Huitzáhuatl, old chiefs. [The Mexica] were defeated in the time of Camacoyáhuac [Tzitzíspandácuare], tlatohuani of Mechhuacan.” (Chimalpahin, 2003, T. I, Tercera Relación, 1471-1474, Pp. 267 and 269. Our brackets). 6 Carlos Herrerón Peredo suggests that the year 1471 is an imprecise calculation, since at that time the Mexica did not yet effectively dominate the matlatzincas. The testimonies of Diego Durán and Hernando de Alvarado Tezozomoc provide geographical and military data, but not chronological data, and with some important variations; in both, the Matlatzincas appear as reinforcements of the Axayácatl army, for which Herrerón Peredo suggests that the battle occurred between 1476-1477, I calculate that it appears correct, since other sources refer to the consequences of this battle, located after 1477 (Herrejón Peredo, 1978, Pp. 1922.). Image 3. Theater of operations and movement of armies, during the battle between the Tarascans and the Mexicas in 1476/77. Map made by Carla E. Naranjo Trejo (Carvajal Medina, 2019, P. 772). The aggressors were the Mexica, who wanted to test the value of the Tarascans and experiment with their forces, capture prisoners to use for the first time the Aztec sun stone, consecrate their temple, and subjugate them to pay tribute to them. Axayácatl's army was composed of Mexica and their vassals Texcocanos, Tlacopanecas, Tepanecas, Tlatelolcas, Chalcas, Xochimilcas, people of the Chinampaneca and highlanders, Otomíes, Huastecos, and Matlatzincas. The number of warriors varies according to the source: Durán mentioned 7 an army of 24,000 combatants, while Tezozomoc gave the number of 32,300 combatants. The Mexica advanced and destroyed the border town of Taximaroa (currently Ciudad Hidalgo) in Tarascan territory; in the Relación de Michoacán it was mentioned: “Once again the Mexicas came to Taximaroa and destroyed it in the time of Motezumas’s father named Hacangari [Axayácatl], and Zizispandaquare repopulated it…” (Alcala, 2008 [1542], II, Chap. XXXV, ff. 138v- 139). From there they moved near Zinapécuaro, where two Matlatzincas spies informed Axayácatl that the Tarascans were armed with “slings and roasted throwing rods, bows and arrows, and clubs, with razor knives, truncheons, and other offensive weapons, with many and galanas rodelas and gold badges, and feathers”; and that they were outnumbered, 40,000 warriors according to Durán; 50,000 men of war according to Tezozomoc. The army of the Tzitzíspandácuare Cazonci was composed of Tarascans, Pinomes, Xilotlatzincas, Tecos, Sayultecos, Escomaecha, Nahuas, Chichimecas, Guachichiles, Guamares, Pames, Otomies, Ocumecha, Mazahuas, Pirinda-Matlatzincas, Huetamaecha, Chontales, Cuitlatecos, Chumbias, Tolimecas and Pantecas. Upon hearing the information from the spies, Axayácatl was not happy, and his advisers, seeing the weakness that the huey tlatoani showed, gave him a “bestial” advice, in Durán's words: they told him that the Mexica had never feared any enemy or They had retired without fighting, and they implied that if they did retreat, they were going to lose prestige before the other peoples, so that they could only die or win, in addition their reputation before their enemies and subjugated peoples would be in danger, since “having come without to be called or provoked that what other peoples would say.” (Durán, 1984 [1579], T. II, Chap. XXXVII, Pp. 282-283). Upon seeing the Tarascan army, Axayácatl repented, but had already given the order to advance, he ordered harangues to be delivered to the army to encourage the warriors. The Cuauhhuehuetque warriors or “old eagles” and the Cuachicqueh or “shaved ones”, were leading the Mexica warriors. On the other side of the battlefield, the kuangáriecha warriors or “brave men” must have been leading, noble warriors belonging to that Tarascan military order (Carvajal Medina, 2017). Before giving the signal to attack, an embassy of leading Tarascans arrived with a message for Axayácatl; According to Diego Durán's version, the Tarascans told him: 8 “Great lord, who brought you here? What was your coming to? Weren't you still in your land? Who called you and tricked you? “Trujéronte” [were you brought] by the matlatzinca, by any chance, kill him, whom you have recently destroyed? Look, lord, what you do, you have been badly advised” (Durán, 1984 [1579], T. II, Chap. XXXVII, Pp. 282-283). Axayácatl thanked the embassy, and asked them to leave, because he wanted to prove the value of the Tarascans, and that is why he had come. In Tezozomoc's version, it was mentioned that before starting the combat, four Tarascan “Nahuatlatos” [translators] arrived shouting and saying: “Mexicas, what was this coming about and with so many armed men on our land?” The Mexicas replied: “our coming was to see your lands and you.” Those of Mechoacan said: “since from your will you came to look for your deaths, here will all of you perish.” The Mexicas responded: “Well, by then it's late” (Tezozomoc, 1987 [1598], Chap. LII, P. 421. We have modified the punctuation and placed quotation marks where we consider pertinent). Apparently there was a first confrontation with the Tarascans; in Duran's version it is mentioned that the battle was in a plain near Zinapécuaro.After the embassy withdrew, the Tarascan army took the initiative and attacked the Mexica with such fury that the Mexica army began to retreat. Axayácatl, seeing this, reinforced his armies with the warriors who came from his subdued provinces, with which he was able to sustain the battle all day until sunset, without the Tarascans showing weakness, on the contrary, they showed superiority. At dusk, the Mexica returned to the camp; the lords and knights appeared before Axayácatl, and “The story goes that their faces and noses, mouth and eyes brought with the sweat and dust that had stuck to them from fighting all day, that they hardly knew who they were, so that they could be called by their names, especially those who had the profession not to turn back [cuachicqueh]. Among whom came many very badly wounded, some with arrows, others with stones, others with the blow of swords, others passed with throwing rods, that the king had great pity and commiseration on them; no great multitude left, of all peoples, slain in the field. And so he ordered them all to be called, and to give to drink a concoction that they used for the relief of wars, which they called yolatl, which in our romance means “earnest broth” (Durán, 1984 [1579], T. II, Chap. XXXVII, P. 283). During the night what was left of the army rested, rearming itself with offensive and defensive weapons. In the morning the lord of Matlatzinco, with a talk to console Axayácatl, and offered him reinforcement warriors and 1000 “loads of arrows and rodelas and swords and slings and other types of weapons that they used.” These weapons were distributed among the needy, and he harangued them so that, despite the battle of the previous day, they would have courage and bravery against the enemies. Here Durán refers that the initiative 9 was taken by the Mexica against “the Tarascans, and the onslaught was so unprofitable that, like flies - says the story - that fall into the water, so they all fell into the hands of the Tarascans.” (Ibid., P. 284). Image 4. Representation of Tarascan warriors according to Heath (1999, T. II, Pp. 72-75). The description is taken from Heath and the origin of the source by Carvajal Medina (2019, p. 768): Fig. 103. Tarascan Cazonci Tzintzincha Tangáxoan [Relación de Michoacán, plate XLIV] Fig. 104. Noble Tarascan warrior [Codex Telleriano-Remensis f. 25v] Fig. 105. Noble Tarascan warrior [Codex Telleriano-Remensis f. 33v] Fig. 106. Noble Tarascan warrior [Relación de Michoacán, plate XLI] Fig. 107. Noble Tarascan warrior [Relación de Michoacán, plate X] Fig. 108. Noble Tarascan warrior [Lienzo de Tlaxcala, P. 52] Fig. 109. Purépecha Tarascan warrior [Descriptions of the Relaciones geográficas del siglo XVI: Michoacán] Fig. 110. Purépecha Tarascan warrior [Descriptions of the Relaciones geográficas del siglo XVI: Michoacán] Fig. 111. Purépecha Tarascan porter [Relación de Michoacán, plate XLIV] Fig. 112. Curitiecha Tarascan priest [Relación de Michoacán, plate XXIV] 10 In Tezozomoc's version, it is mentioned that the Mexica managed to make the Tarascans retreat to Charo, where 80,000 warriors had gathered, who started a powerful counteroffensive that definitively defeated the Mexica army, chasing them to the mountains of Toluca. Axayácatl, seeing the impossibility of victory, gave the order to retreat, fleeing and leaving behind more than 20,000 dead warriors or prisoners, who would later be enslaved or sacrificed in honor of Curícaueri. It is mentioned that one of the four lords of the council who elected the huey tlatoani died, and in a dramatic way it was narrated: “In this the captains Tlacochcalcatl, Cuauhnochtli and Huitznahuacatl, surnamed saying: we are going; you will bring our memory to Tenuchtitlan: we will die here at the hands of our enemies; and when they arrived in the field, they had not just arrived, when eighty thousand Tarascans attacked and killed the Mexicas. Ticocyahuacatl said to King Axayaca: “you have already seen with your eyes the cruel deaths of all the brave Mexicas: we can no longer do it, for the few of us here who are guarding your royal person: I beg and admonish you to go back.” King Axayaca obeyed the old captain and they turned their backs.” (Tezozomoc, 1987 [1598], Chap. LII, P. 423). The meeting point for the remains of Axayácatl's army varies according to the version: Durán affirmed that they regrouped in Ecatepec, while Tezozomoc mentioned that it was in Tzinacantepec. After having made the count of survivors, they sent messengers to MexicoTenochtitlán to give the bad news to Tlacaélel, who when he found out, feared a Tarascan counteroffensive, since “he put guards to the city and ordered to play drums and snails”, to put the city into mourning (Durán, 1984 [1579], T. II, Chap. XXXVII, P. 284). 11 Image 5. Representation in the Durán Codex of the defeat of Axayácatl at the hands of the Tarascans in 1476-1477. As far as we know, it is the only pictographic representation in the sources about this battle (Durán, 1984 [1579], T. II, plate 25, Chap. XXXVIII, P. 287 [in appendix]). Among the surviving Nahua poetry, there is a song attributed to Axayácatl, entitled “Song of the elderly”, where the bitterness of the defeat in Michoacán is mentioned. Before beginning the song, it is said that “Lord Axayácatl made it sing, who could not conquer the Michhuaques because that is how he returned from Tlaximaloyan. And there were not only a few princes, the strong ones, those who died there, some fled because of their old age, they were no longer strong, for that reason they apologize. Thus the song rebukes them. The Lord Chinchicha was already an old ruler”; the song itself begins like this: “Tico tico tico tico tico tico tico tico tico tico They called us to get drunk / in Michoacán, in (with) Camacoyáhuac. / We went to make an offering of spikes, / we Mexica, we get drunk / when we leave the old eagle, / the enemy. [the name of the ruler (tlatoani) there] [the names of the brave men who died there] How did the Mexica elders got / drunk? / There is no longer anyone who says / that we oppress old women, / Chimalpopoca, Axayácatl. / We have already abandoned our grandfather, / the little Cacama. In the place of drunkenness I am listening, / I your grandfather. / The old eagles are speaking, / Tlacaélel, Cahualtzin, / they say their captains drank, / they left, abandoning the Lord of Michoacán. 12 There in the hands of the enemy / the Huaxtecos, / the Tlatelolcas, / my grandsons, Zaquatzin, / Tepantzin, Cihuacuecueltzin ended. / With his head, with his chest / they exclaim, listen to him. Cototi, cototi cototi, cototi cototi cototi cototi. What do the earnest warriors do? / Are they no longer asking for death? / Don't you want to take captives anymore? / They saw their enemies, / in front of them they flee, / the precious metal is reverberating, / the precious flags green, / do not take you prisoners, / hurry. Not to the young, / to those who want to make an offering, / if this happens we will cry like eagles, / if we will cry like jaguars, / we old eagles, do not take you prisoners, / hurry up. Poor me, Axayácatl, / perhaps in my old age / will my princes eagles flee? That is not him, my grandson, / only I would leave you, / the flower is spreading, / with it the Huitznahuatl warrior is liberated. Tico, and so on, on one side. I am like a bird, / I am spitting, / I am your grandfather, Axayácatl. Sit down, you strong, / you who hunt. / That not in his vessel of fire, / you who flee, / get burned; / That the baton of your grandfather Axayácatl does not fall with this. Over and over again it causes laughter of sadness / what the Mexica do, / my grandchildren, those who shaved their heads, / four by four they grow old. / The flower of the shield is in our hands. And in truth the Mexica, my grandchildren, / are lined up one by one, / are ordered, / they will grow old, / The flower of the shield is in our hands. In the other side; tico and so on. On the eagle's mat, on the jaguar's mat, / your grandfather Axayácatl is sitting, / he is blowing war / into his vessel of fire / that indeed smokes a lot. It will never go out, / with shields, with a fan, with darts, / it is enlivened in its vessel of fire / that indeed smokes a lot. Your grandparents are still alive, / our shuttles are wide, / our darts, with this we rejoice / those who are next to us. In truth, with fatigue one becomes old, / in truth with fatigue is old age. / This is why I cry for myself here. / I, your grandfather Axayácatl, / I remember my old friends, / Cuepanáhuaz, Tecale, Xochitlahuan / those who are settled. / That some here could go out, / each of the lords / who felt good in Chalco. How many take the bells in haste, / How many intertwine with the dust. Only of you I laugh, / I your grandfather, / of you with women's insignia, / of you with women's shields, / struggling warriors, / this is how you should live.” (León-Portilla, 2011, Vol. II, T. II, Chant LXXXVI, Pp. 1064-1075. Information in parentheses ours, information in brackets of the footnotes, but outside the original manuscript, P, 1222.) 13 This battle was also remembered by the Texcocans, who fought in the ranks of Axayácatl. In the Relación Geográfica of that city, drawn up in 1579, it was mentioned about the Mexica wars that: “The other wars and conquests they had before the Spanish came were few, because, as has been said, they had almost all the land subject, except Michhuacan, because, as a courageous nation and of great province, they could not hold it, before they came from there broken once they tried to enter it; but, all the rest of New Spain, even near Guatemala, had plain and subject.” (Acuña, 1986, T. III, no. 8, P. 92). Cervera Obregón has mentioned that in academic and neophyte debates, the use of copper weapons by the Tarascans has been overemphasized as a decisive factor in obtaining victory. Copper was used to make certain types of weapons, but as Cervera Obregón points out, the Tarascans did not have the material capacity to arm an army of 40,000 warriors with weapons of this metal. Two fundamental aspects to understand the Tarascan victory over the Mexica are: 1) the numerical superiority mentioned in the sources, and 2) the knowledge and use of the land by the Tarascans as a defender (Cervera Obregón, 2011, Pp. 203- 209). With this in mind, we can see how this Mexica campaign was a hasty venture on the part of the Mexica ruling class, which as a result tripped the balance in favor of the Tarascans from the beginning of the Tarascan-Mexica wars. 14 Image 6. “Pre-Hispanic bronze artifacts with tin alloy: two axes, perhaps also used for war, laminated spearhead with holes for hand-to-hand combat and tarequa or “coa or stick for digging earth” […]”, State Museum, Morelia, Ministry of Culture of Michoacán” (Paredes Martínez, 2017, 193). The consequences after the campaign With the Mexica army annihilated and the myth of its invincibility finished, the prestige of Tzitzíspandácuare rose to the skies. After the confrontation, the migratory movements of Otomí, Matlatzincas and Mazahuas peoples increased. Several towns in the Toluca valley migrated en masse to the Tzintzuntzan Irechecua by 1479, fleeing from the mistreatment and excesses of Mexica tribute: the Matlatzincas populated places like Charo, Guayangareo and Huetamo; a group of Otomi whose lord was called “Timax”, fled from the Mexica yoke and offered himself as a vassal of the Cazonci, who gave them land in Taimeo; Another group of Otomi under the command of the lord “Ucelo Apanze” offered himself as a vassal of the Cazonci, settling in Necotlán, today Santiago Undameo (See the Relaciones Geográficas of those places in Acuña, 1987). These peoples sought the military protection of the Tarascans in exchanges for paying tributes, increasing Curicaueri’s arrows (that is, the number of their 15 armies), and fighting against the Mexica and their allies, including their relatives on the other side of the border. The formation of a war frontier began and extended more than 240 km., from Acámbaro in the State of Guanajuato to Tetela del Río in the State of Guerrero, erecting a series of fortresses and garrisons, whose materialization was the use of the mountainous terrain between the Pátzcuaro and Texcoco basins. A chain of fortresses was erected that extended to both sides of the border in the following decades. Carlos Herrejón Peredo mentioned that on the Tarascan side, the main settlements with garrisons or fortifications were, from North to South: Yuririapúndaro, Acámbaro, Maravatío, Taximaroa, Zitácuaro, Jungapeo, Susupuato, Tuzantla, Tiquicheo, Huetamo, Cutzamala, Pungarabato, Tlalchapa, and Ajuchitlán. From the Mexica side and from North to South, the most important garrisons and fortifications were established in Jilotepec, Timilpan, Xocotitlán, Ixtlahuaca, Villa Victoria, Valle de Bravo, Santo Tomás, Zacazonapan, Temascaltepec, Tejupilco, Amatepepec, Tlatlaya, Alahuixtlán, Ixcateopan, Teloloapan, Oztuma and Tetela del Río (Herrejón Peredo, 1978, Pp. 29-30). Both Tarascans and Mexica, reinforced the borders by populating them with peoples of different ethnic and linguistic origin, such as the Guamares, Pames, Otomís, Mazahuas, Pirinda-Matlatzincas, Chontales, Cuitlatecos, Chumbias, Tolimecas and Pantecas, so that they would protect the borders and have the mattress manors function. 16 Image 7. Main fortresses and garrisons on the Tarasco-Mexica border (Hernández Rivero, 2004), our modification. One of the most recent archaeological discoveries in eastern Michoacan is the El Jazmín site, in the municipality of Tuxpan. There is a rocky shelter where there is a unique cave painting palimpsest in Michoacán; Its investigation and interpretation is a great challenge, since there is a great cultural and temporal distance between its authors and us. Two pyramidal bases stand out, in one of them there is red pigment on the stairs and what seems to be a body falling from them; between both pyramidal bases there are more than 40 anthropomorphic representations armed with truncheons, spears, bows, shields, and other objects. There is a possibility that the paintings predate the Tarascan era, but the border character of the region, which was formed during the Tarascan-Mexica wars, should not be forgotten. The image is likely to represent a historical or mythical battle; Remember that war, ritual, and sacrifice went hand in hand in Mesoamerica. (Punzo; Martínez; Carvajal, 2021). 17 Image 8. Drawing of the main scene of the El Jazmín cave site, Michoacán. Made by Dante Bernardo Martínez Vázquez (Punzo; Martínez; Carvajal, 2021, P. 73). Balance of Powers (1479-1502) Axayácatl, a huey tlatoani who is remembered for having been defeated by the Tarascans, died in 1481. In his place his brother Tízoc ascended the throne, who waged wars in other directions and was considered a weak ruler. For 1484 the Códice de Huichapan mentions another rebellion of the Matlatzincas, who went to take refuge with the Tarascans; during the years there would continue to be battles and skirmishes, but of little magnitude. In 1486 Tízoc died, his successor would be Ahuízotl, for his coronation, great celebrations were prepared, and ambassadors were sent to the lords of the most important enemy political entities: Tlaxcala, Cholula, Huejotzingo, Metztitlán, Tlatlauquitepec, Zacatula, Yopitzingo, and Michoacán. But Tzitzíspandácuare refused to go, and even made fun of the messengers, saying: “The other king, Axayaca, how he dared to take the audacity to set foot in these my kingdoms? How did he leave his entire empire dead here, [that] if they did not flee, none would be left alive? And with this “bolueos”, that I don't want to go there.” And they felt sorry for us. Because their 18 guards did not kill us, they led us to leave the middle of the mountain”. And this is our message from the Mechuacan side.” (Tezozomoc, s / f. [1598], Chap. 66, P. 281-282.) However, later, it was mentioned that after a war to celebrate the coronation, the Mexica returned to send embassies to the enemy lords, on this occasion, Tzitzíspandácuare did send an embassy to the coronation of Ahuízotl. If this testimony is reliable, then we can consider that Tzitzíspandácuare lived at least until 1486. The successor of Tzitzíspandácuare was his son Zuangua, who was in charge of maintaining the forts and garrisons on the Tarascan-Mexica border. By 1490 the Mexica began the conquest of the Guerrero coast, trying to encircle the Tarascan border, for which the Tarascans intensified the attacks on the Oztuma fortress, which was constantly under siege until the time of the Conquest. In 1502 the huey tlatoani Ahuízotl died, and in his place was left the most famous of the Mexica rulers, his cousin Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, who was in the Toluca valley defending the border against the Tarascans. He also prepared great celebrations for his coronation, and sent for ambassadors of the most important enemy lordships, on this occasion, the Cazonci Zuangua did send Tarascan ambassadors with presents to Mexico-Tenochtitlan to the ceremony. The defeat of the armies of Moctezuma II in Michoacán in 1517 We have news that during the reign of Huey Tlatoani Moctezuma II, several campaigns were carried out to try to weaken or conquer the Tarascans. For example, it is mentioned that a Texcocan captain named Teuchchimaltzin, with the authorization of the tlatoani of Texcoco, Nezahualpilli, managed to capture the Lord of Zacatula named Yopicatl Atonal (Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, 1892 [1640], T. II, Chap. LXII, Pp. 279- 281). With this, the Mexica managed to control a very rich and important region that had been under the domination of the Tarascans, and who sought to reincorporate the Tzintzuntzan Irechecua. But because of the remoteness and the fronts on which the Mexica had to fight, the conquest did not last long; When the Spanish arrived in Mesoamerica, Zacatula was an independent manor from the Tarascan and Mexica dominion. But the most important campaign was the one recorded by Diego Muñoz Camargo, which occurred around 1517, when Moctezuma II undertook an attack against the Tzintzuntzan Irechecua, which objective was to conquer the Tarascans and obtain silver and copper, under the command of a part of the army the famous Tlaxcalteca Tlahuicole was found, attacking the towns of Taximaroa, Maravatío, Acámbaro, Ucareo and Tzinapécuaro. The following paragraph is the most complete reference on this campaign: 19 “And this was the occasion that, as Moctheuzoma was in the pretensions of entering the lands of the Tarascans Michoacanenses, because they recognized him with silver and copper that they possessed in great sum and the Mexicas lacked it, he tried by force to conquer some part of the Tarascans. But since Catzonsi reigned in those times, and was so careful to preserve what his predecessors had gained and sustained, he never neglected in anything; And so it was, that after a very big army by the Mexicas, the said Tlahuicole, a prisoner of Tlaxcala, was commissioned by Moctheuzoma, most of this army, to make this so famous entrance to the Michoacanenses, which was did with innumerable people, and they went to fight the first border provinces of Michoacan, which are those of Tacimaloyan, which the Spanish call Taximaloa, Maravatío and Acámbaro, Oquario [Ocurio or Ucareo?] and Tzinapécuaro. Although this great entrance was made at the expense of many people, who died in it on one side and on the other, which caused terrible fright to the Michoacanenses, although they could not enter or gain anything from their land, at the same time. At least the Mexicas brought silver and copper than they were able to steal in some reunions and achievements they made in the six months that the war lasted, in which Tlahuicole did great and very reckless deeds for his person, he gained eternal fame among Mexicas as brave and extreme captain.” (Muñoz Camargo, 1892 [1592?] Lib. I, Chap. XV, Pp. 126-127). This quote is one of the few that mentions that the Tarascans have felt “terrible fear” of a Mexica onslaught, since they are generally mentioned as valiant, brave, and who make tricks. The Franciscan chronicler Alonso de la Rea wrote in 1643, that as testimony of the number of people who died in this campaign of Moctezuma II, the following: “And if not, let us turn to the bones that are seen today between Maravatío and Tzitáquaro, whose memories are representing the most illustrious victory that the king of Mechoacan had, nor did any monarch achieve, against the supreme Moctezuma, because when the most angry and stung of the Past encounters rested in the midst of them, like the mountain in the midst of hurricanes, until the rumor of new invasions disturbed him, and disturbed he gathered people, enlisted crews and raised the most numerous army that had been seen until then, whose advantages put in care of the crown of Mechoacan; because the people that he could send to his resistance was not equal in a third part, and thus he used his tricks, in that he was as brave as by the hands. And it was the case that he ordered to gather an infinite supply of food and drink, with such abundance that it was not lacking; and as they marched the field towards the emperor's, to face him, instead of planting the army, laying siege to the banners, and raising the pavilions, they were spreading food and drink all over the canvas taken by the military copy of Mexico; and as they charged them, the Tarascans ran, pretending to be fugitives to the horror of Moctezuma, and the Mexicas to follow them; when, unexpectedly, they gave in to food and drink; They, more hungry than warlike, gave themselves to her, without preventing caution, and when more careless, they stirred the Tarascans and threw them apart. Infinite numbers died and many tecos and matlaltzingas were set on fire, from whom the town of Charo was founded […] Where we will see the damage caused by a caution against the greatest forces, the Tarascans pretending to be fugitives, to once again attack, surrender and defeat their opposite. […] Like the Mexicas who, following the reach of the fugitive Tarascan, do not take care of the forged ruse and, when seen in it, it seems miserable, leaving the victory for the king of Mechoacan, for being ardent and brave.” (Rea, 1996 [1623], Lib. I, Chap. VIII, Pp. 77-79). This defeat of the armies of Moctezuma II, tilted the balance even more in favor of the Tarascans at the end of the pre-Hispanic era, since it is mentioned that they managed to place a garrison at a distance of 7 or 9 leagues from Ixtlahuaca, which indicates that the Tarascans were already seizing land from the Mexica in the Toluca valley, and they intensified the siege 20 of the Mexica fortress of Oztuma, in Tierra Caliente. Carlos Herrejón Peredo, after analyzing the sources about this battle, mentions that: “Considering, then, all the testimonies, we are inclined to believe that the expedition, in charge of the Tlaxcalans, consisted of a series of incursions with varied luck for both parties, but whose final balance was in favor of the Mechoacans. Thus, the panorama offered by the struggle as a result of these times is more coherent: the Tarascans take the offensive, threatening the strong Mexica in the south and reaching the vicinity of Ixtlahuaca. In a special way, the Oztuma complex was the object of insistent attacks and by the end of the empires, those of Michoacán had won all their strongholds, except the main one, placed under siege.” (Herrejón Peredo, 1978, Pp. 37-38). 21 Image 9. Noble Tarascan warrior of the kuangáriecha (“brave man”) order, associated with the planet Venus, called by the Tarascans Kuangari joskua (“Brave Star”), which they probably imitated, being the first to appear in battle and the last to leave. Illustration by Luis Armando de la Luz Alarcón and Vladimir Gómez Gutiérrez. (Carvajal Medina, 2020). 22 Zuangua's last campaigns against the Mexica (1517-1521) If the sources on the last great Mexica offensive against the Tarascans are scarce, there is less data that can be found on the advantage acquired by the Tarascans at the end of this, but as Herrejón Peredo comments, the Tarascans took the initiative and made important advances in enemy territory, but already late, just before or during the Spanish presence in Mesoamerica. In the la Información de los méritos y servicios de don Antonio Huitziméngari, 1553-1554, there are several testimonies that mention the Tarascan advantage over the Mexica; In 1553, Diego Hernández Nieto, a resident of Mexico City who spent a long time in Michoacán, declared that: “… He heard many of the ancient people of Mexico say how they had very warlike and brave people and for a lot those of the province of Michoacán, that between the wars that had occurred between them, before the Spaniards came, those from Michoacán had had the best ...” (Aguilar and Afanador, 2018, P. 169). One of the questions in the same document asked to answer if the witnesses knew that “the said Cazonci was King and legitimate lord of all the land and province Tarascan up to in front of Culiacán [in Guanajuato], which are more than three hundred leagues of lordship and for the part of Mexico, he was lord until near Toluca where he had his garrison against Moctezuma and the lords of Mexico, with whom he had continuous war.” (Ibid., P. 116) Juan de Villagómez, a resident of Mexico City, replied that “the said Cazonci was lord and King of the entire province of Michoacán, and that the part of Toluca had garrison people against Moctezuma and in other parts…”. (Ibid., P. 142) Dr. Frías de Albornoz, lawyer for the Royal Court of Mexico, declared that regarding Tangáxoan Tzintzincha that: “… It is notorious for this witness to have been informed by people who have inquired about it, that he had a garrison of people against Moctezuma, seven leagues from the head of Mexico in the Valley of Toluca, which is more than thirty leagues from the head of his manor [Tzintzuntzan], and that he had it there despite Moctezuma and his people who had no resistance against him, and it was notorious that on the part of Oaxaca against the Mixtecs he had garrisons, eighty leagues and a hundred from Mexico, in the Stone of Cuilapa, which is one or two leagues from Oaxaca, and in Cuestalavaca and in Teguantepeque and in many other adjacent parts of the region, because these people were less brave than the Tarascans, and therefore, it was easier for them to offend those far from home. they have to defend themselves from the Cazonci in their own home” (Ibid., P. 183) Most of the witnesses mentioned that the Cazonci had a garrison near Toluca. This garrison was near Ixtlahuaca (due to the aforementioned distances, between 7 or 9 leagues), between 1517 and 1521. Remember that when Boturini mentioned the territorial limits of the 23 Tzintzuntzan Irechecua, he said that “this kingdom [of Michuacan] very powerful; it divided its borders with those of Mexico in Ixtlahuacan, district of Toluca, and from there to the South Sea, extending one hundred and fifty leagues; and from the province of Zacatula, crossing north to Zichú…” (Boturini, 2007 [1746], P. 154). Also at the end of pre-Hispanic times, the Tarascans held an stubborn siege to the Oztuma fortress (it was under siege for several years intermittently); the Relación Geográfica of the region mentioned that “and they say that, when it became known that there were Spaniards in the land, all the forces of Mechoacan had won, outside [of] the main force, that they had them withdrawn there. And this was, as he learned that MOTEZUMA was imprisoned,” that is to say in 1520, but lines back, Lucas Pinto, author of said Relación Geográfica, provided a very important piece of information, and that is that “from [this] fortress , they waged war on those of Mechoacan and, many times, they surrounded them and won some trenches and moats, and once they had cattle up to the main fort, and taken more than five fences and digs.” This passage has been interpreted as that the Tarascans managed to conquer the fortress of Oztuma, which “was the most main fortress that the Mexicas had in all the borders of Mechuacan” (Acuña, 1986, T. I, no. 6, Pp. 291 and 286. Capital letters, square brackets and original italics); In the Tarascan case, the main Tarascan fortress on the border was Taximaroa, which had a wall of oak trunks, measuring 3.8 m. high, and 1.9 m. width. The end of the Tarascan-Mexica wars In 1519 a Spanish expeditionary army under the command of Hernán Cortés landed on the coasts of Veracruz, who marched to Mexico-Tenochtitlán and captured Moctezuma II; around this time the Tarascans captured the fortress of Oztuma, with which they had the doors open to conquer the Tierra Caliente of the current State of Guerrero. The Mexica sent several embassies to Tzintzuntzan to ask the Tarascans for help against the Spanish, but the Tarascans were suspicious, due to historical enmity; although they did send embassies and spies to find out who the strange newcomers were. The messengers who visited the Tarascans infected the Tarascan nobles with smallpox, and in 1520 the Zuangua Cazonci died, his son Tzintzincha Tangáxoan ascended to the throne, who would be the last Cazonci, dying years later on February 14, 1530, the same month as the death of Cuauhtémoc in 1525. On August 24 13, 1521 and after a prolonged siege, México-Tenochtitlán was taken by the troops of Hernán Cortés. A year later, on July 25, 1522, the Tzintzuntzan Irechecua was conquered “peacefully” by the hosts under the command of one of the captains of Hernán Cortés, Cristóbal de Olid. The conquest by the Spanish of the two Mesoamerican powers of the Late Postclassic, with capitals in Tzintzuntzan and Mexico-Tenochtitlán, would indicate the end of the Tarascan-Mexica wars, giving way to a new period in the ancient indigenous history. Sources: • Acuña, René (Editor) 1986 Relaciones geográficas del siglo XVI: México. Mexico, National Autonomous University of Mexico, III volumes, nos. 6, 7 and 8. 1987 Relaciones geográficas del siglo XVI: Michoacán. Mexico, National Autonomous University of Mexico, no. 9. • Aguilar González, J. Ricardo; Afanador Pujol, Angélica J. 2018 Don Antonio Huitziméngari. Información y vida de un noble indígena en la Nueva España del siglo XVI. 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