Tlaxcaltec

The Tlaxcalans, or Talaxcaltecs, were an indigenous group of Nahua ethnicity that inhabited the republic of Tlaxcala located in what is now the Mexican state of Tlaxcala.

Pre-Columbian history

The Tlaxcaltecs were originally a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi, and Pinome. Eventually, the Nahuatl speakers became the dominant ethnic group.

Despite early attempts by the Mexica, the Tlaxcalteca were never conquered by the Aztec Triple Alliance. The Aztecs allowed them to maintain their independence so that they could participate in the xochiyaoyatl (flower wars) with them to facilitate human sacrifice.

Spanish colonial history

The Tlaxcaltecs served as allies to Hernán Cortés and his fellow Spanish conquistadors, and were instrumental in the invasion of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec empire, helping the Spanish reach the Valley of Anahuac and providing a key contingent of the invasion force.

Due to their alliance with the Spanish Crown in the conquest of Mexico, the Tlaxcaltecs enjoyed some privileges among the indigenous peoples of Mexico, including the right to carry guns, ride horses, hold noble title, and to rule their settlements autonomously.

Terra Nova

Terra Nova (literally "New Land" in Portuguese, Catalan and Latin) or Terranova (literally "New Land" in Italian) may refer to:

Places

Angola

Antarctica

Brazil

Canada

Age of Empires II

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems, it was the second game in the Age of Empires series. An expansion, The Conquerors, was released in 2000. A PlayStation 2 version was released by Konami in 2001, and a Nintendo DS spinoff, Age of Empires: The Age of Kings was developed by Backbone Entertainment in 2006. A Dreamcast port, by Konami, was canceled.

The Age of Kings is set in the Middle Ages and contains thirteen playable civilizations. Players aim to gather resources, which they use to build towns, create armies, and defeat their enemies. There are five historically based campaigns, which constrict the player to specialized and story-backed conditions. There are three additional single-player game modes, and multiplayer is supported. Despite using the same game engine and similar code to its predecessor, development of The Age of Kings took a year longer than expected, forcing Ensemble Studios to release Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome in 1998 instead. The design team focused on resolving significant issues in Age of Empires, but noted on release that some problems remained.