Altepetl

The altepetl (Classical Nahuatl: āltepētl [aːɬ.ˈté.peːt͡ɬ] ⓘ, plural altepeme[1] or altepemeh) was the local, ethnically-based political entity, usually translated into English as "city-state", of pre-Columbian Nahuatl-speaking societies[2] in the Americas.

[5] "Altepetl" was a polyvalent term rooting the social and political order in the creative powers of a sacred mountain that contained the ancestors, seeds and life-giving forces of the community.

[3] Local rulers of altepeme generally retained their authority over taxation and land distribution while under the indirect rule of an empire in exchange for their submission, participation in military campaigns, and tribute payments.

As described by historian Ryan Dominic Crewe, "the Spanish offered two clear options: accept Christianity and be saved in this world and in the next, or resist it and face damnation in both."

Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo wrote that "more often than not hungry Spanish soldiers would read their protocol and then promptly settle into a meal prepared by those they had just admonished."

Matlatzinca and Otomi peoples in the Valley of Toluca as well as Mixtecs in Oaxaca used baptisms as a means of reclaiming local authority after years of Mexica imperialism in the face of Spanish rule.

A letter written by Christianized Indigenous nobles to the Spanish crown in 1560 records that "people of many altepetl were forced and tortured [or] were hanged or burned because they did not want to relinquish idolatry, and unwillingly received the gospel and faith.