about the pre Hispanic history of the area, but the area was originally inhabited by the Totonacs. These were later displaced by the Toltecs in the 12th century. In 1461, Moctezuma Ilhuicamina began the Aztec's first efforts to expand here, then controlled by the Cotaxtlan dominion. In 1475, Axayacatl conquered it along with Coixtlahuaca, Tochtepec and Cosamaloapan, giving all these areas their current names. In 1518, Pedro de Alvarado led an expedition sailing up the Papaloapan area and in 1521, Hernán Cortés sent Gonzalo de Sandoval here to search for gold. After the Conquest in 1521, Alfonso Romero received the area as an encomienda. In the current municipality, in a place then called Coanapa-Ayotzinapa, Cortés set up the first sugar cane mill in Mexico in 1532. In 1550, it was granted by the Spanish king to Gaspar Rivakeneyra on which he kept livestock. He could not prevent fishermen from establishing the town but he required them to build a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Candlemas. Colonization of the area was slow with only twelve Spaniards in 1544 and no more than 320 by 1777. Figures on other populations during the colonial period are missing but in 1808 there were 1,156 indigenous inhabitants and 1,616 "pardos" or people of indigenous and African heritage. At the beginning of the 17th century, there was an attempt to subordinate the area to Cosamaloapan, but the indigenous population here resisted it successfully. In the 17th century, it became a commercial center for surrounding haciendas, which led to growth in its Spanish population. Its wealth and status as a port attracted English pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries and the city was burned down once by them in 1667. In 1714, the Papaloapan flooded and forced the movement of the city to its current location, then called Chuniapa. The town suffered three other major fires in 1698, 1788 and 1790. The last two prompted authorities to require rebuilding with stone walls, tile roofs and the establishment of open spaces with trees. Those who could not rebuild in this fashion were forced to move to the eastern part of the town which had more relaxed requirements. Most of the oldest buildings date from this time and determined the common style of large houses with courtyards, tile roofs and arched passages. The municipality's territory was fixed by the end of the 18th century. Tlacotalpan reached its