San Antonio La Isla is a town and municipality located in the State of Mexico in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Its name originally was "Techialoyan" or "Tlachialoyan", which in Nahuatl

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

 means "place of those who watch". Its glyph

Glyph

A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....

 is an eye on the apex of a pyramid that floats on water. It is located in the Matlatzinca Valley, south of Toluca

Toluca

Toluca, formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the...

, the state capital.

The town

The area was originally inhabited by the Matlatzinca

Matlatzinca

Matlatzinca is a name used to refer to different indigenous ethnic groups in the Toluca Valley in the state of México, located in the central highlands of Mexico. The term is applied to the ethnic group inhabiting the valley of Toluca and to their language, Matlatzinca.When used as an ethnonym,...

s, then by the Otomi

Otomi people

The Otomi people . Smaller Otomi populations exist in the states of Puebla, Mexico, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Guanajuato. The Otomi language belonging to the Oto-Pamean branch of the Oto-Manguean language family is spoken in many different varieties some of which are not mutually intelligible.One of...

 before it was conquered by the Aztec Empire under Axayacatl

Axayacatl

Axayacatl was the sixth Aztec Emperor, a ruler of the Postclassic Mesoamerican Aztec Empire and city of Tenochtitlan, who reigned from 1469 to 1481.He is chiefly remembered for subjugating Tlatelolco, Tenochtitlan's sister city, in 1473....

. While there is oral tradition indicated the area once held the name of "place of Otomis", its first written mention in the Codex of Mendoza has the name "Techialoyan". The area was the pervue of Calimaya

Calimaya

Calimaya is a town and municipality located just south of Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico in central Mexico. The settlement was probably established around 800 BCE, when the city of Teotenango was in existence. It remained an important town through the colonial period, part of the vast...

 and Tepemajalco, but in 1603 the town of San Antonio Techialoyan was officially recognized by authorities. In the 17th century, it was considered to be a semi-independent "Indian republic" according to the Codex of San Antonio Techialoyan en where it mentions Miguel de Santa María Axayácatl as its governor. Spaniards are not mentioned as part of the population until after 1650.

During the Mexican War of Independence

Mexican War of Independence

The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...

, insurgent leader Father Miguel Hidalgo

Miguel Hidalgo

Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor , more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo, was a Mexican priest and a leader of the Mexican War of Independence.In 1810 Hidalgo led a group of peasants in a revolt against the dominant...

 passed through here on his way to Tianguistenco, recruiting men for his army.

The municipality

For most of its history after the Conquest, San Antonio La Isla was a political and religious dependency of Calimaya. However, after petition, it was granted municipal status by degree in 1847.