page_title: Spanish conquest of Honduras
section_title: Founding of Santa María de Comayagua
hierarchical_section_title: Spanish conquest of Honduras / Francisco de Montejo / Founding of Santa María de Comayagua
caption_attribution_description: Español: 1.- PRIMER ESCUDO Escudo partido en dos, en el primer campo de plata se encuentra la santísima concepción, Patrona de la Ciudad, en el segundo del mismo metal se encuentra una palmera de sinople.- La bordura del Escudo es de metal de oro, gules y azur y en ella se encuentran cuatro castillos de plata, en campo azur tres leones de oro de campo de gules y tres águilas de sable en campo de oro.
context_page_description: The Spanish conquest of Honduras was a 16th-century conflict during the Spanish colonization of the Americas in which the territory that now comprises the Republic of Honduras, one of the five states of Central America, was incorporated into the Spanish Empire. In 1502, the territory was claimed for the king of Spain by Christopher Columbus on his fourth and final trip to the New World. The territory that now comprises Honduras was inhabited by a mix of indigenous peoples straddling a transitional cultural zone between Mesoamerica to the northwest, and the Intermediate Area to the southeast. Indigenous groups included Maya, Lenca, Pech, Miskito, Sumu, Jicaque, Pipil and Chorotega. Two indigenous leaders are particularly notable for their resistance against the Spanish; the Maya leader Sicumba, and the Lenca ruler referred to as Lempira.
  In March 1524, Gil González Dávila became the first Spaniard to arrive in what is now Honduras with the intention of conquest. He founded the first Spanish port upon the Caribbean coast, Puerto de Caballos, which became an important staging post for later expeditions.
context_section_description: In spring 1537, Montejo sent reinforcements to Cáceres, who was still in the fertile Valley of Comayagua. By late spring or early summer, the valley had been completely conquered. In December 1537, under orders from Montejo, Alonso de Cáceres founded the town of Santa María de Comayagua; it was sited in a strategic position half-way between the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Cáceres then distributed the Indian settlements in encomienda. He collected reinforcements from Gracias a Dios, then returned immediately to Comayagua, and began to push eastwards towards Olancho.
  By summer 1537, Montejo believed that Higueras had been almost completely pacified, with very few casualties amongst either the Spanish or the natives. Gracias a Dios and San Pedro were more secure, and many Indians had returned to their villages, encouraged by Montejo's moderate policies. In reality, only the areas around the Spanish settlements had been thoroughly conquered, and in the remoter areas the vast majority of the natives were still hostile to the Spanish, and determined to resist. In contrast to other provinces, the Spanish were unable to recruit reliable native auxiliaries to assist their conquest.
caption: Coat of arms of Comayagua.
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