NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Spanish conquest of Yucatán

The Spanish Conquest of Yucatán was a long and involved process taking some 170 years to complete. The This article will mostly concern itself with the Maya civilization after the conquest by Spain. Their pre-Columbian culture is dealt with in the Maya civilization article. The Maya people are a native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. We are not myths of the past, ruins... Maya had no single leader (like the For other meanings of Inca, see Inca (disambiguation). A view of Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Inca, now an archaelogical site. The Inca Empire (called Tawantinsuyu in modern spelling Aymara and Quechua, or Tahuantinsuyu in old spelling Quechua) was an empire located in South America from 1438 CE... Inca of Peru), but instead lived in numerous independent states, some of which fiercely resisted foreign domination. Also, the land had no General Name, Symbol, Number Gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11 (IB), 6, d Density, Hardness 19300 kg/m3, 2.5 Appearance Metallic yellow Atomic properties Atomic weight 196.96655 amu Atomic radius (calc.) 135 (174) pm Covalent radius 144 pm van der Waals radius 166... gold or General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series Transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5 , d Density, Hardness 10490 kg/m3, 2.5 Appearance Lustrous white metal Atomic properties Atomic weight 107.8683 amu Atomic radius (calc.) 160 (165) pm Covalent radius 153 pm van der Waals radius 172... silver except for small amounts acquired by trade, so many early The Kingdom of Spain or Spain ( Spanish: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma; Galician: Reino da España) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the... Spanish Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under Spanish rule between the 15th and 17th centuries. Columbuss discovery of the New World in 1492 afforded Spain a headstart in Colonization of... Conquistadores were attracted instead to central The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or México; regarding the use of the variant spelling Méjico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered to the north by the United States of America, to the southeast by... Mexico or The Republic of Peru (Spanish: Perú; Quechua, Aymara: Piruw) is a country in western South America, bordering with Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the east, south-east and south, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Peru is rich... Peru, which seemed to offer quicker and easier riches.

Contents

1 Early contact between the Spanish and the Maya of Yucatán

2 First Spanish attempt at conquest

3 Second Spanish attempt at conquest

4 Third (successful) Spanish invasion

5 The Peten Itza

6 See also

Early contact between the Spanish and the Maya of Yucatán

The first Spanish arrived in The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. It comprises part of Mexico, the nation of Belize, and Guatemalas northern territory of El Petén. The Yucatán peninsula roughly coincides with the zone of influence of the Pre-Columbian Maya... Yucatán by accident in Events Diego Velázquez and Hernán Cortés conquer Cuba; Velázquez appointed Governor. August 24 - Portugal conquers the Sultanate of Malacca. St Johns College, Cambridge founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort. Births November 15 - Johannes Secundus, Dutch poet Kimotsuki Kanetsugu, Japanese samurai and daimyo Nicola Vicentino, Italian music... 1511 when a small boat with a dozen men was blown there by a severe storm. They were taken captive and several were killed, and the rest impressed as slaves, but after learning the language they were given their freedom. They unknowingly brought an epidemic disease, probably Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a highly contagious disease unique to humans. It is caused by two virus variants called Variola major and Variola minor. V. major is the more deadly form, with a typical mortality of 20-40 percent of those infected... smallpox, to the region, which killed a great many people in waves for the next 5 years.

The next contact was not until Events January 22 - Battle of Ridanieh. The Turkish forces of Selim I defeat the main Mamluk army in Egypt under Touman Bey. February 3 - Capture of Cairo by the Turks. First contact of organized western merchants with China. August 15 - Portuguese merchant Fernao Pires de Andrade met Chinese officials through... 1517 when Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba sailed out from Cuba in search of slaves to replace the native Cubans who had been dying off in great numbers. The Spaniards were surprised to see stone cities along the coast of Yucatán. Cordoba landed at several towns; some greeted the Spanish with friendship and offered to trade goods with them (most interesting to the Spaniards they acquired a few pieces of gold ornaments this way), while other towns greeted him with hostility and shot arrows when the Spanish approached close to shore. The expedition returned to Cuba to report on the discovery of this new land. Diego Velázquez, the governor of Cuba, ordered an expedition sent out with four ships and 200 men led by his nephew, Juan de Grijalva (born around 1489 in Cuéllar - January 21, 1527) was a Spanish conquistador. Some authors said he was from the same family as Diego Velázquez. He went to Hispaniola en 1508 and to Cuba in 1511. He was one of the earliest to explore the shores... Juan de Grijalva. The Grijalva expedition had similar mixed experiences with the native Maya as it sailed along the coasts of Yucatán for months. He was disappointed at gathering very little gold, but came back to Cuba with a tale that a rich empire was further to the west. This prompted the -1... Hernán Cortés expedition in Events March 4 - Hernán Cortés lands in Mexico. June 28 - Charles I of Spain becomes Emperor of Holy Roman Empire as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (ruled until 1556). September 20 - Ferdinand Magellan leaves Europe to circumnavigate the world. November 8 - Hernán Corté... 1519. Cortés spent some time at Cozumel is an island off the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is one of the eight municipalities of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Cozumel is a popular tourist destination renowned for its scuba diving. The island is about 48 km (30... Cozumel, tried with mixed results to convert the locals to Christianity, and heard stories of other bearded white men living in the area. He sent messengers to these white men, the survivors of the shipwrecked boat from 1511. One, Geronimo de Aguilar, joined Cortés's expedition as a valued translator. Another, Gonzalo de Guerrero, sent a letter back stating that he was happy in the employ of the lord of Chetumal is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. In 2000 it had a population of 238,520 people. The city is on the western side of Chetumal Bay near the mouth of... Chetumal, had a Maya wife and children, and had no desire to return to the company of Spaniards.

First Spanish attempt at conquest

The richer lands of Mexico engaged the main attention of the Conquistadors for some years, then in Events January 14 - Treaty of Madrid. Peace between Francis I of France and Charles V. Francis agrees to cede Burgundy to Charles, and abandons all claims to Flanders, Artois, Naples, and Milan. May 22 - Francis repudiates the Treaty of Madrid and forms the League of Cognac against Charles, including the... 1526 Francisco de Montejo c.1479?c.1548 was a Spanish military man. This Conquistador served in Cuba under Diego Velásquez de Cuellar, later commanded a vessel in the expedition of Juan de Grijalva, and joined Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. Montejo was commissioned to conquer... Francisco de Montejo (a veteran of the Grijalva and Cortés expeditions) successfully petitioned the King of Spain for the right to conquer Yucatán. He arrived in eastern Yucatán in Events January 5 - Felix Manz, co-founder of the Swiss Anabaptists, was drowned in the Limmat River in Zurich by the Zurich Reformed state church. May 6 - Spanish and German troops led by the Duke of Bourbon sack Rome (the infamous Sacco di Roma), forcing Pope Clement VII to make... 1527 and at first was greeted peaceably, and most local chiefs agreed with his demand that they swear loyalty to the King of Spain, for they had heard news of the Spanish conquest of the The word Aztec is usually used as a historical term, although some contemporary Nahuatl speakers would consider themselves Aztecs. This article deals with the historical Aztec civilization, not with modern_day Nahuatl speakers. The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. It was... Aztecs. However as the Spanish advanced they found towns already deserted when they reached them, and the Spanish were first harried as they traveled and then openly attacked. Despite killing over 1,200 Maya in battle at Chauca the natives would not surrender, and Montejo returned to the coast under constant harassment. The Spanish set up a small fort on the coast at Xamanha in Events June 19 - Battle of Landriano - A French army in Italy under Marshal St. Pol is decisively defeated. November 6 - Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca becomes the first known European to set foot on Texas. Andrea Doria revolts against the French and establishes the independence of... 1528, but had no further success in subduing the country. Montejo went to Mexico to gather a larger army.

Second Spanish attempt at conquest

Montejo returned in Events January 26 - Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake-- thousands die October 1 - Battle of Kappel - The forces of Zürich are defeated by the Catholic cantons. Huldreich Zwingli, the Swiss religious reformer, is killed. Our Lady of Guadeloupe: The Virgin Mary appears to Aztec convert Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin... 1531 with a force that conquered the Maya port city of Campeche. While he set up a fortress at Campeche, he sent his son Francisco Montejo The Younger inland with an army. The leaders of some Maya states pledged that they would be his allies. He continued on to Temple of the Warriors Chichen Itza is the largest of the Pre-Columbian archaeological sites in Yucat n, Mexico. The city was built by the Maya civilization. The name Ballcourt, from El Castillo The name is often represented as Chich n Itz in Spanish and other languages to show that... Chichen Itza, which he declared his Royal capital of Spanish Yucatán, but after a few months the locals rose up against him, the Spaniards were constantly attacked, and the Spanish force fled to Honduras is a country in northern Central America, bordered to the west by Guatemala and El Salvador, to the south by Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras and the Caribbean Sea. Belize (formerly British Honduras) is 75 km away across the Bay... Honduras. It was rumored that Gonzalo de Guerrero, the Spaniard shipwrecked in 1511 who chose to stay in Yucatán, was among those directing Maya resistance to the Spanish crown. Meanwhile the elder Montejo was frequently besieged in his fort in Campeche, and many of his soldiers were tired of a long fight with little to show for it, and stated that they wished to find easier conquests elsewhere. In Events January 18 - Lima, Peru founded by Francisco Pizarro June 24 - The Anabaptist state of Münster is conquered and disbanded. May 19 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail for his second voyage to North America with 3 ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnaconas 2 sons (who Cartier kidnapped... 1535 Montejo withdrew his forces to Veracruz, leaving the Yucatán once again completely in control of the Maya.

Third (successful) Spanish invasion

Montejo the elder who was now in his late 60s, turned his royal rights in Yucatán over to his son, Francisco Montejo the Younger. The younger Montejo invaded Yucatán with a large force in Events January 6 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. July 9 - King Henry VIII of England divorces Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. July 28 - One of the most important political figures of the reign of Henry VIII of England, Thomas Cromwell... 1540. In Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. November 25 - Battle of Solway Moss. An English army invades Scotland and defeats... 1542 he set up his capital in the Maya city of T'ho, which he renamed Mérida. The lord of the Tutal Xiu of Maní converted to Christianity. The Xiu dominated most of Western Yucatán and became valuable allies of the Spanish, greatly assisting in the conquest of the rest of the peninsula. A number of Maya states at first pledged loyalty to Spain, but revolted after feeling the heavy hand of Spanish rule. Fighting and revolts continued for years. When the Spanish and Xiu defeated an army of the combined forces of the states of Eastern Yucatán in Events Spanish conquest of Yucatan Peace between England and France Foundation of Trinity College, Cambridge by Henry VIII of England Katharina von Bora flees to Magdeburg Science Architecture Michelangelo Buonarroti is made chief architect of St. Peters Basilica. Births July 4 - Murat III, Ottoman Emperor (+ 1595) December 14 - Tycho... 1546, the conquest was officially complete; however periodic revolts which would be violently put down by Spanish troops continued throughout the Spanish colonial era.

The Peten Itza

The Itza Maya of the El Petén is a department of the nation of Guatemala. It is geographically the northernmost department of Guatemala, as well as the largest in size-- at 12,960 square miles (33,566 km²) it is about 1/3 of Guatemalas area. The capital is Flores. The population in... Peten region should be mentioned; while that area is now part of For the city, see Guatemala City. The Republic of Guatemala is a country in Central America, in the south of the continent of North America, bordering both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, Belize to the northeast, and Honduras and El... Guatemala, in colonial times it was part of the land under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Yucatán. The Itza capital was in Flores is the capital city of El Petén department of Guatemala. Flores is located at 16°93 N, 89°89 W. The population is 13,700 (2003). The old part of the city is located on an island on Lake Peten Itza, connected to the mainland by a short... Tayasal, an island city in lake Peten. The Itza land was separated from Spanish Yucatán to the north and Spanish Guatemala to the south by thick jungles with little population. It had been visited by -1... Cortés on his march to Honduras in Events January 21 - The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manzs mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zurich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. February 10 - Albert of Prussia committed... 1525, when the lords of the Itza pledged loyalty to Spain, but was thereafter neglected by Spanish authorities. In Events March 8 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but on May 15 confirms the discovery). The margraves of Brandenburg is granted Polish approval to inherit Ducal Prussia. The Synod of Dort is convened. Change of... 1618 two Franciscan friars were sent from Mérida is the capital city of the state of Yucatán, Mexico. In the center and north part of the state, less than 100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, at Latitude 20.97°N Longitude 89.62°W. In 2003 the population was about 793,000, placing 11th... Merida to teach Christianity to the Itza. They arrived in Tayasal to find the people uninfluenced by European ways and still worshipping the traditional Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. Mesoamerican is the adjective generally... Mesoamerican gods. While the Itza king received them politely, they made no progress in converting the people to Christianity. In Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. February 8 - King James I of England disbands the English Parliament. March 22 - In the Jamestown massacre, Algonquian Indians kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia (1/3... 1622 the Governor of Yucatán sent a force of 20 Spaniards and 140 Christian Indian allies to march on Tayasal, but the Itza quickly killed them. A second force on their way to the Peten in Events The Netherlands establish a trading colony at Kaohsiung on Taiwan. Thirty Walloon families settle in the New Netherland colony. Oslo is destroyed by fire. When rebuilt by Christian IV, it would be renamed Christiania. Claudio Monteverdi publishes Tancredi e Clorinda. Jean Louis Guez de Balzac publishes his Lettres. Bernardo... 1624 was ambushed by the Itza and met a similar fate. The Governor of Yucatán decided his energies were best spent elsewhere, and the Itza continued in independence.

In Events July 17- The Bank of Scotland is founded by an Act of Parliament of the old Scottish Parliament. December 31 - A window tax is imposed in England causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax. Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed II... 1695 three Franciscans headed to Tayasal accompanied by four Christian Maya singers. They were well received, and a number of the Itza consented to be baptized. The Itza King, however, refused to convert to Christianity or pledge loyalty to Spain; he said a time would come when this would be the proper thing to do but that time had not arrived. A force of 60 Spanish soldiers and Maya allies were sent to the Peten the following year, but were beaten back by fierce Itza attacks. The command in Merida decided that a major force was needed, and in Events September 20 - The Treaty of Ryswick December 2 – St Pauls Cathedral opened in London Peter the Great travels in Europe officially incognito as artilleryman Pjotr Mikhailov Use of palanquins increases in Europe Christopher Polhem starts Swedens first technical school. The royal castle Tre Kronor in Stockholm... 1697 sent out a force of 235 Spanish soldiers and as many Maya allies, with horses, artillery, and a large supply train with mules and men to cut a path through the jungle. They set up a fort on the shore of Lake Peten across from Tayasal, and reconstructed a small warship on the lake which had been brought with them in pieces. On March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). There are 293 days remaining. Events 483 - St. Felix becomes Pope. 874 - The bones of Saint Nicephorus are interred in the Church of the Apostles, Constantinople. 1138 - Cardinal Gregory is elected anti-pope... March 13, Events September 20 - The Treaty of Ryswick December 2 – St Pauls Cathedral opened in London Peter the Great travels in Europe officially incognito as artilleryman Pjotr Mikhailov Use of palanquins increases in Europe Christopher Polhem starts Swedens first technical school. The royal castle Tre Kronor in Stockholm... 1697 this force succeeded in conquering the Itza of Tayasal. The Spanish burned the Itza library of books "containing lies of the devil", and reported later that the city had so many idols that with almost the entire army set at work, it took from nine in the morning until half past five in the evening to break them all. Thus ended the last independent native state of Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. Mesoamerican is the adjective generally... Mesoamerica.