The Last Acolhua: Alva Ixtlilxochitl and Elite Native Historiography in Early New Spain

Abstract

The present article offers a thematic analysis of the lords' discourse as a means of contextualizing and historicizing the works of don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl. 4 Students of the famous chronicler of Tetzcoco will recognize the parallels between his historical vision and how the natural lords of an earlier era explained and represented themselves to Spanish authorities. Like don Hernando Pimentel and his peers, Alva Ixtlilxochitl portrayed his mother's ancestors-descendants of the original Acolhua-Chichimeca settlers and rulers of Tetzcoco and its provinces-as aristocrats of illustrious pedigree who became indispensable Christian vassals of the Spanish king. In his telling, among the Acolhuaque the Spaniards encountered natural allies, as the heirs to a prestigious native tradition embraced and aided them in their subjugation of Mexico, their partnership consummated in a triumphant dénouement of baptismal water.