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Spanish conquest of Petén

Spanish conquest of Petén
Part of the Spanish conquest of Guatemala and the Spanish conquest of Yucatán
Northern Guatemala is a flat lowland plain dropping off from the Cuchumatanes mountain range sweeping across in an arc to the south. To the east of the mountains is the large lowland Lake Izabal, with an outlet into the Amatique Bay to the east, which itself opens onto the Gulf of Honduras. Immediately north of the mountains is the Lacandon forest, with Petén to the northeast. Ystapalapán was a settlement in the western Cuchumatanes. Cobán was in the foothills half way between Ystapalapán in the west and Lake Izabal in the east. Xocolo was at the northeastern extreme of Lake Izabal, where it flows out towards the sea. Nito, also known as Amatique, was on the coast where the river flowing out of the lake opened into the Amatique Bay. Lake Petén Itzá was in the centre of Petén, to the north. It was the location of Nojpetén. Tipu was situated to the east of Nojpetén, just to the east of the modern border with Belize. The "Tierra de Guerra" ("Land of War") covers a broad northern swathe of the mountains and the southern portion of the lowlands. The 1525 entry route crossed from the north, to the northwest of Lake Petén Itzá, passing the western tip of Nojpetén and close to the city. It then continued southeast to Xocolo, where it turned northeast to Nito, where it ended on the Caribbean coast. The 1618–1619 route entered from northeastern Belize and crossed southwest to Tipu, then headed westward to Nojpetén. A 1695 route left Cahabón and headed northeast before turning north to Mopán. From Mopán it curved northwest to Nojpetén. The 1695–1696 route entered from the north extreme and meandered southwards to Nojpetén.
Spanish entry routes to Petén during the 17th century, overlaid with the route that Hernán Cortés took in 1525
Date c. 1618 – c. 1697
Location Petén, Guatemala
Result Spanish victory
Territorial
changes		 Incorporation of the Petén Basin into the Captaincy General of Guatemala
Belligerents
Spanish Empire

Independent Maya, including:
Commanders and leaders
Martín de Ursúa Kan Ek'

Independent Maya, including:

The Spanish conquest of Petén was the last stage of the conquest of Guatemala, a prolonged conflict during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. A wide lowland plain covered with dense rainforest, Petén contains a central drainage basin with a series of lakes and areas of savannah. It is crossed by several ranges of low karstic hills and rises to the south as it nears the Guatemalan Highlands. The conquest of Petén, a region now incorporated into the modern republic of Guatemala, climaxed in 1697 with the capture of Nojpetén, the island capital of the Itza kingdom, by Martín de Ursúa y Arizmendi. With the defeat of the Itza, the last independent and unconquered native kingdom in the Americas fell to European colonisers.

Sizeable Maya populations existed in Petén before the conquest, particularly around the central lakes and along the rivers. Petén was divided into different Maya polities engaged in a complex web of alliances and enmities. The most important groups around the central lakes were the Itza, the Yalain and the Kowoj. Other groups with territories in Petén included the Kejache, the Acala, the Lakandon Ch'ol, the Xocmo, the Chinamita, the Icaiche and the Manche Ch'ol.

Petén was first penetrated by Hernán Cortés with a sizeable expedition that crossed the territory from north to south in 1525. In the first half of the 16th century, Spain established neighbouring colonies in Yucatán to the north and Guatemala to the south. Spanish missionaries laid the groundwork for the extension of colonial administration in the extreme south of Petén from 1596 onwards, but no further Spanish entry of central Petén took place until 1618 and 1619 when missionaries arrived at the Itza capital, having travelled from the Spanish town of Mérida in Yucatán.


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