page_title: Spanish conquest of Honduras
section_title: Scramble for Honduras
hierarchical_section_title: Spanish conquest of Honduras / Rival conquests in the 1520s / Scramble for Honduras
caption_attribution_description: English: Four rival Spanish expeditions attempted to conquer Honduras in 1524, fighting 3 main engagements before Francisco de las Casas gained the upper hand and claimed the territory for Hernán Cortés.
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: There were now four claimants to jurisdiction over Honduras. González Dávila held royal authority over the province. Pedrarias claimed jurisdiction by right of the expeditions he had sent under Soto and Hernández de Córdoba. Hernán Cortés claimed jurisdiction by right of the expedition he had sent under Olid, and Olid himself. A fifth claimant would eventually appear in the form of the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo, which would attempt to establish its own direct political control over the province. These rival claimants inevitably produced treachery, conflict, and outright civil war among the Spanish factions.
  Hearing of Olid's rebellion, and of his clash with González, Cortés sent his cousin Francisco de las Casas to bring the rival captains into line. Cortés was confident that the majority of Olid's men would rally to las Casas, and only assigned him about 150 men for the expedition. Las Casas arrived off Triunfo de la Cruz as Olid was making preparations to attack Gil González Dávila, who was in the Naco valley.
  González and Olid had arrived at an uneasy accord, neither wishing to openly clash with the other. However, Olid's men outnumbered those of his rival, and González had made the mistake of dividing his forces when he had left most of his companions on the banks of the Dulce river; Olid sent one of his captains, Pedro de Briones, to attack one portion of González' forces, while Olid made ready his ships to sail along the coast and attack other detachments. Briones swiftly weakened González' position and captured about half of his men. At this point, Las Casas' fleet appeared off the coast.
  Olid sought to prevent Las Casas from disembarking, and hastily sent a message to recall Briones. The two Spanish fleets soon opened fire upon each other while Olid attempted to negotiate a truce in order to delay Las Casas offshore until Briones returned. Las Casas secretly sent messages to Briones, attempting to buy his support against Olid. Briones, looking out for his own interests, delayed his return. At this point, Las Casas' fleet was caught in a sudden storm and wrecked upon the Honduran coast, killing some of Las Casas' men. The survivors were captured by Olid.
  Olid next marched inland to the Naco Valley. One of his captains caught González Dávila and his men by surprise, and marched them under guard back to Naco, where they were imprisoned. Now that Olid had gained the upper hand, Briones feared his vengeance for not coming to his support, and pledged his allegiance to Hernán Cortés. Olid imprisoned Las Casas in Naco with González.
  Olid sent Briones to conquer more territory. Instead, Briones marched towards New Spain with his forces, arriving in the Guatemalan Highlands in the first half of 1525, where his men assisted in Pedro de Alvarado's campaigns against the highland Maya. In 1525, the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo, based in Hispaniola, sent Pedro Moreno to Honduras in a separate attempt to mediate between Olid and González.
caption: Routes of the rival expeditions of 1524
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