The fourth major settlement, Quiahuiztlan, was founded by members of the Tlaxcallan group that had initially remained in the valley of Mexico.
[2][3][4] These officials gained their positions through service to the state, usually in warfare, and as a result came from both the noble (pilli) and commoner (macehualli) classes.
Conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo describes the first battle between the Spanish force and the Tlaxcaltecah as surprisingly difficult.
[5]: 140–188 Xicohtencatl the Younger was later condemned by the Tlaxcalan ruling council and hanged by Cortés for desertion, in April 1521, during the siege of Tenochtitlan.
[7][page needed] During the colonial period, Tlaxcala's "part in the conquest of the Aztec 'empire,' her favored treatment by the Spanish crown, her unique talent for propaganda and litigation, her astonishing enterprise" gave the small state an important place in Mexican history.