in full Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl
Town (pop., 2000: 73,213), capital of Tlaxcala state, Mexico.
It is located in a mountainous region at the foot of La Malinche volcano. Settled by a Nahua people around the 14th century, it vied for power in the 15th16th century with the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán (modern Mexico City). Though the inhabitants initially opposed Hernán Cortés , they later became his allies and aided him in his defeat of Azetec leader Montezuma II . It was a refuge for the Spaniards when they were driven out of Tenochtitlán in 1520. Cortés established the first Christian church (San Francisco) in the Americas there in 1521. The sanctuary of Our Lady of Ocotlán and archaeological ruins are nearby.