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Show a 'BOOK T. -..-...----' , I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. ' no y the country of the Chichcni.ecas, and other more barbarous na~ tions, and on the weft by the lake of Chapallan, and .fome ind:p~n~nt ftates. The capital 'fzintzuntzan, called hf the Mextcans Huztzztztl!a, w.as fituated on the eafiern !hore of the beautiful lake ~f Pazcuaro. Be~ fides thcfe two cities, there were .others very conhderable ; nam.ely, 'I'iripitz'o, Zacapu, and 'I'arccuato. All this country was pleafant, nch, aucl well inhabited. The kingdom of Tlacopar1, fituatcd bet~ee n Mexico and Michua- CaJ~, was of [o [mall extent, that, excepting the capit~l of that nat~e, • it comprehended but a few cities of the Tepancca natwn, and the villages of the Mazahui, fituated in the mountains to the weft of the v.ale of Mexico. The court f Tlacopan was on the wefiern border of the lake of Tezcuc0, four miles weft ward from that of Mexico (b). The kinf)'dom of Acolhuacan, the moil: ancient, and in former b titUes the moft extenfive, was afterwards reduced to more narrow lim·its by the acqt:1ifitions of the Mexicans. It was bounded on the eaft by the rep~1blic of Tlaxcallan; on the fouth, by the province of Chalco, . belonging to the kingdom of Mexico; OA the north, by the country of the Huaxtecas; and in the weft, it was alfo bounded by different ftates of Mexico,. and terminated in the lake of Tezcnco. Its length from fouth to north was little more than two hundred miles, and its greatd'l: breadth did not excfted fixty; but in this fmall diil:ritl: there were ~ larg . cities, and a numerous population. The court of Tezcuco, fituated upon the eaftern bank of the lake of the fame name, fifteen miles to the eail:ward of that of Mexico, was juil:ly celebrated no lefs for its antiquity and grandeur than for the polilh anq civilization of its inhabitants. The three cities of Huexotla, Coatlichan, and Atenco, were fo near adjacent, they appeared like its fuburbs. Otompan was alfo a confiderable city, and likewife A colman, and 'I'epepolco. The celebrated republic of Tlaxcallan or Tlafcala, was bounded on the weft by the kingdom of Acolhuacan, on the fouth by the repub- (h) The Spaniards have alterctl the Mexican names, and adapted them to their own Inn· g uagc, fayi9g Tacuba, Oculma, Otumaba, Guaxuta, Tcpeaca, Guatemala, Churabutco, &c. in place of Tlacopan, Acolman, Otompah, H\tcxotla, Tcpejacac, Qgauhtemallan, and Huit~ ilopochco, whofe example we fhnll imitate, as far· .as it is ~onvcnient, to avoid giving our , .cadera u·oub~~ in prOJ,lOUI)cing them. lies ... H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0~ 3 lies of Cholollan and H uexotzinco, and by the fiate of Tepejacac,. be~ BOOK 1 •. longing to the crown of Mexico, on the north by the fiate of Zac~t- ~ lan, and on the eail: by other ftates under fubjetl:ion to th~ fame crown·. Its length did not reach fi fty miles,. nor its breadth more than· thirty. T lafcala, from whence the republic took its name, was fituated on. the fide of the great mountain Mattalcueye, towards the north-weft; and about feventy miles to the eaftward of the court of Mexi o. The kingdom of Mexico, although the moll: modern, was far more· extenfive than all the other mentioned kingdoms and republics, taken together. It extended towards the fouth-weft and fouth, as far as the Pacific Ocean; towar,ds the fmnh-eafl:, as far as the neighbourhood ·• of §(gauhtemallan; towards the eafi, exclufive of the difi:riets of the three republics,. and a fmaU part of the kingdom of Acolhuacan, as t~u· as tl-ie Gulf of Mexico; t0wards the north, to the country of the Huaxtecas; towards the north-weft, it bordered on the barbarous Chichemecas; and the dominions of Tlacopan and l\1;ichu:1can,. were: its boundaries towards the eafi.. The whole of the Mexican kingdom was comprehended between the I 4th and 2 r ft degrees of north lati-tude, and between 27 I and 28 3 degrees of longitude, taken from the meridian of the ifland of Ferro (c). 'rhe fineft diftriCl: of this country, in refpeCl: to . advantage of fituation, as well as population, was the vale itfelf of Mexico, crowned by bctautiful and verdant mountains, whofe circumference, meafured. ~t their bafe, exceeded a hundred and twenty miles. A great part of. _ the vale is occupied by two lakes, the uppet: one of fweet water, the lower one brackHh, which communicatct together by a canal·. In. the. lower lake, on account of its lying in. the very bottom of the valley, all the water running from the mountains colleCted; from thence,. when extraordinary abundance of rains r.aifed the water of the lake over its bed, it eafily overflowed the city of Mexico, which was fituated in. the lake; which accident happened not lefs freq,uent1y under the Mexican monarchy than in the time of the Spaniards. Thefe two lakes the circumference. of which is not )efs than ninety miles, .rcprefented ,(,·) ,De Solin, and other Spanil11, French, and Englifh writers, allow 11i!J: more extent to• the kingdom of Mexico; and Dr .. Robcrtfon f.,ys, that the territories belongi ng to the chiefs· lilf Te7,CUco and Tacuba, fc.a rcely yielded in extent to thofe of the fovereign of Mexico·' buti ho~ far t14efe·:ntthors are d10ant from the truth, will appear from our differtationt. B 2 ' |