page_title: Sierra Norte de Puebla
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sierra Norte de Puebla / History
caption_attribution_description: Español: Sitio de Yohualichan
context_page_description: The Sierra Norte de Puebla is a rugged mountainous region accounting for the northern third of the state of Puebla, Mexico. It is at the intersection of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra Madre Oriental, between the Mexican Plateau and the Gulf of Mexico coast. From the Mesoamerican period to the 19th century, this area was part of a larger region called Totonacapan, and area dominated by the Totonac people, extending further east to the Gulf of Mexico. Political maneuvers to weaken the Totonacs led to the region being divided between the modern states of Puebla and Veracruz with the Puebla section given its current name. Until the 19th century, the area was almost exclusively indigenous, with the four main groups still found here today, Totonacs, Nahuas, Otomis and Tepehuas, but coffee cultivation brought in mestizos and some European immigrants who took over political and economic power. While highly marginalized socioeconomically, the area has been developed heavily since the mid 20th century, especially with the building of roadways linking it to the Mexico City area and the Gulf coast.
context_section_description: The first known culture based in this area was that of the Totonacs, who have occupied the area in northern Veracruz and the Sierra Norte de Puebla possibly since the 7th century, with major urban centers in El Tajín, Cempoala and Yohualichan reaching their heights between 600 and 900 CE. However, there was also considerable influence here from Teotihuacan when it was at the height of its power as well.
  The Sierra Norte was important for its trade routes in the pre Hispanic period as it connected the Mexican Plateau with the Gulf coast. This location also attracted migrations of people, most notably the Nahuas and the Otomi. The first Nahuatl speaking people in the area were the Toltecs in the 7th century, gaining control of much of the Sierra Norte area by 919. Another Nahuatl group were the Olmeca-Xicalancas who came into the area from the south. There are two main dialects of Nahuatl spoken in the Sierra Norte but it is not known if they are the result of the two migrations. By the 11th century, most of the Nahuatl names that now dominate the area became established. The Otomis were pushed north and east of their probably original home in the Toluca Valley by Nahuas with the Sierra Otomi found in the far north of the region. By the 15th century, the Totonacs were weak and the Aztecs took over the area, pushing much of the population east and out of the Sierra Norte. It became a tribute province of Texcoco.
  When the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, the Totonacs allied with them to defeat the Aztecs. Evangelization began in 1535 first by the Franciscans and then by the Augustinians, but it was slow. In the early colonial period, the Spanish set up encomiendas in the area to control tribute collection, but the rough terrain and lack of mineral wealth kept the Spanish from imposing serious control. For the rest of the colonial period, the Sierra Norte would be almost completely populated by the same indigenous groups, Nahuas, Totonacs, Otomis and Tepehuas, living in the same overlapping territories for centuries.
  The Sierra Norte's isolation remained so until the middle of the 19th century, when cash crops, especially coffee, and transport for them began to be introduced. The railway came to the Sierra Norte from Tulancingo, Hidalgo in the latter 19th century which allowed the shipping of tropical products such as coffee, sugar cane and fruit to Mexico City profitable. The profits to be made then not only attracted Mexican mestizos into the area but also some European immigrants from Spain and Italy. These groups took over land from the indigenous groups. For example, in Cuetzalan, descendants of Spanish and Italian immigrants still hold most of the local political and economic power in the municipality. This changed the political landscape to a mostly mestizo elite living in the main towns and the indigenous as an underclass in the rural areas.
  This situation and rebellion by the Totonacs led to the political division of the pre Hispanic Totonacapan between the states of Puebla and Veracruz, with the Puebla section coming to be known as the Sierra Norte. There were various uprisings in all parts of Totonacapan which were all repressed. However, the most important was headed by Mariano Olarte from 1836–1838 when the bishop of Puebla banned traditional Totonac Holy Week ceremonies because they were considered too pagan. This rebellion was also put down but it sparked a series of political moves to weaken the Totonacs. These moves were most successful in the Sierra Norte because the area generally favored the prevalent Liberal policies of the latter 19th century and the multicultural character of the region put the Totonacs under more pressure to assimilate. The borders of northern Puebla fluctuated in the latter 19th century but were fixed to their current ones by the Mexican Revolution.
  Most of the 20th century after the Revolution is marked by the integration of the territory and the introduction of modern conveniences and economy. The most important of these is the construction of highways into and through the
caption: Yohualichan, the main Totonac archeological site in the Sierra Norte
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