HISTORY OF CHOLULA

Occupied for nearly 2,500 consecutive years, Cholula is the America’s oldest continually inhabited city. It was first settled in 1700 BCE as two separate villages. By 400 BCE it gained control of the neighboring region and began the construction of the Great Pyramid.



Classic Era 150-600 BCE

Through the Classic Era (150-600 CE), Cholula rose and at its height, around 600 CE, it covered 13 square miles and had as many as 80,000 inhabitants. The Great Pyramid was the center of a ceremonial precinct that was surrounded by residences and markets. Archeologists debate about what happened in Cholula during the period that followed. Excavations suggest that the city was partially abandoned

Post-Classic Era 900-1200 CE

During the Post-Classic Era (900-1200 CE) the Toltec-Chichimeca’s settled in the area, and constructed an enormous temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. Cholula once again grew rapidly. Its success was spurred by trade and by pilgrims coming to worship Quetzalcoatl. Cholula was the center of trading clans who traveled to the far corners of Mesoamerica exchanging fine central Mexican ritual objects for cacoa beans and raw materials. At this time, Cholula struggled to resist the rapidly growing Aztec Empire.

Colonial Period 1519--

In 1519, Cholula was the site of one of the most notorious events in Mexican history. Fresh from defeating the Tlazcalans and making them his allies, Cortez and his army marched into Cholula. The Aztecs had convinced the Cholulans to greet the Spaniards as honored guests at first. Soon however, an informer told Cortez that the Cholulans planned to ambush the Spaniards in their main square. Instead, the conquistadors trapped dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Cholulan nobles in the square and massacred them. The consequences of this act continue to reverberate in Mexico today.



After the conquest of Mexico, one of the first places the Spaniards returned to was Cholula because it was the center of the pagan cult of Quetzalcoatl. They razed the 365 temples, one for every day of the year, and vowed to replace all of them with churches. Today, in the center of Cholula, San Gabriel Church rests on the foundations of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl.

Fortunately the vengeful Spaniards did not realize that the hill looming over the center of town was actually a man-made construction, the Great Pyramid. In 1533, a Franciscan priest climbed to the summit and discovered idols and offerings. Realizing that the worship of pagan gods continued there, the Franciscan’s immediately erected a chapel at the top of the pyramid and later it became the Church of Nuestro Senora de los Remedios.