Calmecac of Nanauatzin
The Calmecac of Nanauatzin is the premier educational facility within the Fiefdom of Uncle Noel. It was established in 1742 under the auspices of the reforming Emperor Cocozca II. Cocozca, who had travelled widely in Europe prior to his accession/election to the throne, was interested in founding a school of nobility that would educate the sons of aristocrats to the same level of learning as those contemporary elites in other parts of the world. Cocozca's reign was also to witness the famous Declaration of Zolton in 1736 which outlawed finally the use of human sacrifice in Aztec worship. Not everyone was pleased with the Declaration, and the establishment of the Calmecac dedicated to the god who sacrificed himself to become the sun seemed, to the religious hard-liners, a deliberate affront. Cultural purists, for which the old Empire was never short, also feared that the new institution would serve to dilute the Mexica culture with elements taken from 'heretical and barbarous Europe.' In reality, the original Calmecac presented an aristocratic education of a traditional variety with only some elements, such as Aristotle and philosophy, being introduced. The supposed discovery of a painting of the Virgin Mary within the institution in 1749 (a fact that historians have tended not to believe) prompted the open rebellion of the religious fanatics and the War of the Madonna.
While the Emperor was ultimately to win the War of the Madonna in 1756, his death at the hands of an assassin was to place much of his reforms in jeopardy. The Calmecac of Nanauatzin, while to remain open, was to lose much of its prestige and learning to the older and more conservative institution, the Calmecac of Xipe Totec in New Tlacopan. It was not until the arrival of European settlers in the mid-nineteenth century that the Calmecac of Nanauatzin was to gain prominence again. It was the decision of the liberal governors of the school to allow the children of the settlers to attend, still they would continue to be excluded by the Calmecac of Xipe Totec until the revolution. Amongst its famous alumni were J. Montgomery Davies II, Ecatzin Xoxoctic and Noel Hoogaboom.
Today
While retaining its old name of Calmecac, the modern institution has long-since progressed from a school of nobility. It is rather a telpochcalli, or university. Indeed, influenced by the British system, the Calemacac now offers three-to-four year degrees in a number of subjects, and has done since the late nineteenth century. The Regime of Uncle Noel has been particularly generous with the university, and the generous funding has made it one of the premier higher educational facilities in the world along with Oxford University, Harvard and the Sorbonne. While many departments remain within the old campus, the university has spread across much of Port Sunlight and the sight of students is a common feature of life in the capital. The new central building of the Calmecac, opened in 1998, houses much of the institution's administrative offices and the departments of law, physics, mathematics, Nahuatl and English literature.
