page_title: Spanish conquest of Honduras
section_title: Lempira's alliance
hierarchical_section_title: Spanish conquest of Honduras / Francisco de Montejo / Great Revolt, 1537–1539 / Lempira's alliance
caption_attribution_description: Español: Estatua de Lempira, Plaza Central Tambla.
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: After Alvarado's brutal suppression of western Honduras, indigenous resistance against the Spanish had coalesced around the Lenca warleader Lempira, who was reputed to have led an army of thirty thousand native warriors. Lempira had been quietly building a powerful alliance in southern Higueras, in the mountains south of Gracias a Dios. Its political centre was at the town of the Lenca ruler Entepica, and its greatest stronghold was Lempira's hilltop fortress at Peñol de Cerquín. Lempira also attracted support from the native inhabitants Comayagua valley, and the San Pedro mountains. Even former enemies of Lempira, such as the Cares, swore allegiance to him after he overcame them in battle; though a mixture of force and diplomacy, Lempira's alliance extended as far as San Miguel, in eastern El Salvador, and encompassed some 200 towns. Resistance continued from 1537 into 1538, until Lempira and his forces were defeated in battle by the Spanish, led by Alonso de Cáceres.
  Spanish expeditions had frequently crossed Lempira's territory, particularly the Cares region, and they believed it to be pacified. In secret, Lempira planned an uprising near his stronghold at Peñol de Cerquín, and if it were successful, to follow it with a widespread revolt across his entire territory. Lempira strengthened the fortifications of the Peñol, and gathered large numbers of warriors, provisions, and weapons there. Hardened Spanish veterans of the European wars were struck by the strength of the fortifications, and favourably compared them with those they had seen in Europe. Towards the end of 1537, Lempira was ready. Natives abandoned their villages and gathered at the Peñol, and his warriors prepared for battle. Lempira sent messages to the native auxiliaries of the Spanish, exhorting them to abandon their foreign overlords and join his forces, but they refused. It was only with the declaration of war that the Spanish became aware of the threat presented by Lempira and his alliance. Although the immediate threat was limited to the region close to the Peñol de Cerquín, the Spanish realised that the rebellion at such a strong fortress was a powerful symbol of native independence throughout Higueras. Montejo immediately dispatched Cáceres against Lempira with 80 well-armed Spanish soldiers, accompanied by Mexican and Guatemalan Indian auxiliaries. Montejo sent messengers requesting assistance from Santiago de Guatemala and San Salvador.
caption: Statue of the Lenca ruler, Lempira.
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