Spanish conquest of Yucatán The Spanish conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish " conquistador es " against the Late Postclassic Maya states and polities , particularly in the northern and central Yucatán Peninsula but also involving the Maya polities of the Guatemalan highlands region . This episode in the conquest and colonization of the Americas began in the early 16th century , but was a more difficult and lengthier exercise in subjugation than the equivalent campaigns against the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Inca Empire . It would take some 170 years and the help of the Xiu Maya before the last recognized Maya stronghold fell , that of the Itza capital of Tayasal on Lake Petén Itzá , in 1697 . Following the great revolt of the seven Mayan provinces to the east , the authorisation of the Indian auxiliaries to enslave any Mayan rebels they managed to catch helped quell the resistance . Except for the Petén region and the Guatemalan highlands , Spanish control over Yucatán itself was effectively in place by 1547 even though as late as 1550 , there were only some 1 , 550 Spanish in all of the colonial provinces . Unlike the campaigns against the Aztec and Inca states , the Maya had no single political center whose overthrow would hasten the end of collective resistance by the indigenous peoples . Instead , the Maya were organized into a number of independent states , which the conquistador forces needed to subdue almost one by one , and many of these fiercely resisted the Spanish incursions . Particularly in the early stages , a prime motivating factor for the " conquistadores " was their interest in seizing great quantities of precious metals , such as gold and silver . Since the Maya lands were poor in these resources , they held comparatively little initial interest for the Spanish , who were attracted instead to central Mexico and Peru by promising reports of the greater rewards on offer there . However , with the prospects of new land grants and the acquisition of labour forces , it was not long until Spanish intentions turned to the Maya region , with the first concerted efforts to establish a presence commencing from the 1520s . After Spanish dominion over the region was finally established , the Maya peoples themselves remained restive against Spanish rule , both under the colonial phase of New Spain and then under the newly independent Mexican state . Maya discontent in Yucatán would later erupt into open revolt in the mid 19th century , in the Caste War of Yucatán . The major portion of this conflict lasted over fifty years , during which much of the southeastern portion of the Peninsula was an effectively independent Maya state , Chan Santa Cruz . Complete suppression of the revolt was difficult to obtain , and skirmishes continued up into the 1930s ( Rugeley 1996 ) . First encounters ( 1511 ) . The first known Spanish landing on the Yucatán Peninsula was a product of misfortune , when in 1511 a small vessel bound for the island of Santo Domingo from Darién , Panama ran aground on some shoals in the Caribbean Sea , south of the island of Jamaica . The ship ' s complement of fifteen men and two women set off in the ship ' s boat in an attempt to reach Cuba or one of the other colonies . However , the prevailing currents forced them westwards until , after approximately two weeks of drifting , they reached the eastern shoreline of the Peninsula , possibly in present - day Belize . Captured by the local Maya , they were divided up among several of the chieftains as slaves and a number were sacrificed and killed according to offeratory practices . Over the succeeding years their numbers dwindled further as others were lost to disease or exhaustion , until only two were left – Gerónimo de Aguilar who had escaped his former captor and found refuge with another Maya ruler , and Gonzalo Guerrero who had won some prestige among the Maya for his bravery and had now the standing of a ranking warrior and noble . These two would later have notable , but very different , roles to play in future conflicts between the Spanish and the Mesoamerican peoples – Aguilar would become Cortés ' s translator and advisor , with Guerrero instead electing to remain with the Maya and served as a tactician and warrior fighting with them against the Spanish . Early expeditions ( 1517 – 19 ) . The next contact was in 1517 when Francisco Hernández de Córdoba sailed from Cuba , possibly 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 . Córdoba landed at three towns ; some greeted the Spanish with friendship and offered to trade goods with them ( the Spaniards acquired a few pieces of gold ornaments this way ) , but always as prelude to an ambush . The mauling at Cape Cotoche climaxed when the explorers landed at " the Coast of the Disastrous Battle . " To Córboda and his men , it was an ambush with some 80 Spaniards being wounded by the first volley of stones , arrows , and darts . The Spanish soon learned that the Mayan arrows , while not attaining any distinct force behind them , tended to shatter on impact leading to a slow and painful death . Despite these shortcomings , the failed attempts to gather water and repair the casks that were issued ultimately caused Córdoba to distribute his remaining sailors and abandon his smallest ship , a brigantine paid for on credit . 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 supplied with crossbows , muskets , salt pork , and cassava bread for some 240 men led by his nephew , Juan de Grijalva . The Grijalva expedition had similar , mixed experiences with the native Maya and seemed genuinely anxious to fulfil Velázquez ' order to explore rather than settle . He repeatedly refused the gratification of vengeance as they sailed along the coasts of Yucatán for months . Except for a few cannon shots , the desire to exchange beads and Spanish wine for food and other necessities were left in readiness . 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 Hernán Cortés expedition in 1519 . Cortés spent some time at the island of 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 reported " castilianos " , who turned out to be the survivors of the 1511 shipwreck , Aguilar and Guerrero . Aguilar petitioned his Maya chieftain to be allowed leave to join with his former countrymen , and he was released and made his way to Cortés ' ships . According to Bernal Díaz , Aguilar said that before coming he had unsuccessfully attempted to convince Guerrero to leave as well . Guerrero declined on the basis that he was by now well - assimilated with the Maya culture , had a Maya wife and three children , and he was looked upon as a figure of rank within the Maya settlement of Chetumal where he lived . Aguilar , now quite fluent in Yucatec Maya as well as some other indigenous languages , would prove to be a valuable asset for Cortés as a translator , a skill of particular significance to the later conquest of the Aztec Triple Alliance which would be the end result of Cortés ' expedition . Although Guerrero ' s later fate is uncertain , it appears that for some years he continued to fight alongside the Maya forces against Spanish incursions , providing military counsel and encouraging resistance ; he quite possibly was killed in a later battle . First attempted conquest ( 1527 – 28 ) . The richer lands of Mexico engaged the main attention of the Conquistadors for some years , then in 1526 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 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 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 . The Spanish set up a small fort on the coast at Xamanha in 1528 , but had no further success in subduing the country . Montejo went to Mexico to gather a larger army . Second attempted conquest ( 1531 – 35 ) . Montejo returned in 1531 with a force that allied with 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 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 . It was rumored that Gonzalo Guerrero , a 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 1535 , Montejo withdrew his forces to Veracruz , leaving the Yucatán once again completely in the control of the Maya . Final conquests ( 1540 – 46 ) . 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 1540 . In 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 1546 , the conquest was officially complete ; however , periodic revolts , which would be violently put down by Spanish troops and Indian auxiliaries , continued throughout the Spanish colonial era . The Itza of Petén . The Postclassic Itza Maya of the Petén Basin region should be mentioned ; while that area is now part of Guatemala , in colonial times it was part of the land under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Yucatán . The Itza capital was in Tayasal , an island city in lake Petén Itza . 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 Cortés on his march to Honduras in 1525 , when the lords of the Itza pledged loyalty to Spain , but was thereafter neglected by Spanish authorities . In 1618 two Franciscan friars were sent from Mérida to teach Christianity to the Itza . They arrived in Tayasal to find the people uninfluenced by European ways and still worshipping the traditional Mesoamerica n gods . While the Itza king received them politely , they made no progress in converting the people to Christianity . In 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 Petén in 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 the 17th century , three Maya " provinces " existed in the Lake Petén area . They are Kan Ek ' ( Canek ) , Yalain , and Kowoj ( Couoh ) . The Kan Ek ' may have been the dominant " province " in the end of the 17th century . The title of the rulers of Kan Ek ' was Aj Kan Ek ' . Since the late 1690s , the last Aj Kan Ek ' started a more open attitude towards the Spaniards , which included receiving and protecting the emissaries from the Spaniards at Noj Peten ( also known as Noh Peten or Tayasal ) . In 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 Petén the following year , but were beaten back by fierce Itza attacks . The command in Mérida decided that a major force was needed , and in 1697 sent out a force of 235 Spanish soldiers and tens of thousands of Xiu Maya under the command of Martín de Urzúa y Arizmendi , along with artillery and a large supply train of mules and men to cut a path through the jungle . They set up a fort on the shore of Lake Petén Itza across from Tayasal , and reconstructed a small warship on the lake which had been brought with them in pieces . On March 13 , 1697 , this force succeeded in conquering the Itza capital 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 . Mesoamerica was not to see another independent native state for over a hundred years .