State (pop., 2000: 962,646), central Mexico.
The smallest Mexican state, it consists largely of plateau and covers 1,551 sq mi (4,016 sq km); the capital is Tlaxcala town. It occupies roughly the same area as the Indian principality of Tlaxcala, which was the main Indian ally of Hernán Cortés in his conquest of Mexico. Almost exclusively agricultural, it produces cereals, raises both dairy cows and fighting bulls, and has numerous handicrafts, notably the weaving of serapes and woolen cloth.