The cYucatan onquista it was one of the phases of the conquest of America by the Spanish. The peninsula had been discovered in 1517, although the movements for its occupation did not begin until ten years later, in 1527. Faced with other areas that were conquered in a more simple way, Yucatan presented difficulties to the Spanish.
In fact, it took 20 years of attempts to end the strong resistance presented by the Mayans, a people who inhabited the area. The conquest process is usually divided into three different stages; Each of these represented advances of the Spanish positions that, little by little, took control of the entire area.
Even after the formal occupation of the peninsula, Yucatán continued to be a focus of indigenous resistance for centuries. The main Spanish protagonist was the advance Francisco de Montejo, who had fought alongside Cortés on other expeditions. The conflict between Cortés and Velásquez gave Montejo the possibility of leading this conquest.
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The conflicts that arose between two of the first conquerors who reached the coasts of that area of Mexico gave the opportunity to a third, Francisco de Montejo, to be the one to lead the definitive expedition..
Montejo thought that in Yucatan he could find the same wealth as in the Valley of Mexico and he asked King Carlos V for permission to begin the conquest of the peninsula.
The monarch and the Council of the Indies approved his proposal, although on the condition that Montejo advance the money necessary for the expedition..
Thus, the Capitulations of Granada were signed, in which the conditions of the conquest and subsequent colonization were detailed. Montejo was appointed advance, governor and captain general and was granted a license to import cattle from America.
These documents also included a requirement for the Indians to come under the power of the Crown, as well as for them to agree to convert to Christianity..
Finally, in 1527 the advance Montejo gathered all the necessary permits to begin his project of conquest. The expedition departed from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda with everything necessary to be successful.
As had happened on previous expeditions, Montejo's ships reached the island of Cozumel first. From there, crossing the canal, they reached Xel Há, founding the first Spanish city in the area. They called it Salamanca, in honor of its Hispanic namesake.
At first, the expedition members received help from the indigenous people they found there. Despite this collaboration, the Spanish immediately established a tribute on the native population.
Peace was short-lived in the area. The natives carried out a strong attack on the newly founded town in which a group of men had stayed, while the rest, led by Montejo, had undertaken an expedition through the interior of the peninsula..
Without knowing what had happened in Salamanca, the rest of the conquerors found several peaceful native populations. However, upon reaching Chauac Há, a Mayan army surprised them by attacking them. The battle lasted two days, ending with the victory of the Spanish.
Despite the defeat, the Mayans managed to force Montejo's troops to retreat, fleeing towards Tecoh. There, the cheles received them in a friendly way.
The second phase of the conquest began around 1530 and lasted for about five years. The Spanish got the Cheles, traditional enemies of the Maya, to support them against the common enemy. Montejo then divided his forces, placing them under the command of his son nicknamed "el Mozo".
The confrontations with the Mayans escalated during the following dates. The support of the cheles was not enough to defeat them and the Mayans forced the Spanish to abandon various positions already won. This caused some internal problems in the expedition and many soldiers decided to abandon Montejo.
The advance himself received a serious wound in one of the indigenous attacks. In view of how the situation was developing, Montejo ordered the withdrawal, ending this second stage of the conquest..
The conqueror decided to request help from the capital of New Spain and the Crown, to make a new attempt to control the territory and defeat the forces of the Maya.
The definitive phase took place between the years 1540 and 1545. On this occasion, the advance gave the military and civil command to his son, the Mozo. Likewise, it transmitted to him the rights that appeared in the Capitulations that regulated the conquest.
Following parental advice, the Mozo first tried to find allies in Yucatán. He addressed various indigenous communities facing the Mayans; However, he failed to convince a good part of these.
The Spanish were able to attract various peoples to help them. This common front was managing to subdue the Mayan power little by little.
In addition, Spanish reinforcements soon arrived from other parts of New Spain, making the assembled military force almost unbeatable..
On January 6, 1542, the Mozo founded Mérida, established as the capital of Yucatán. His cousin, the nephew of Montejo Sr., undertook the conquest of the eastern part of the peninsula, founding Valladolid in 1543.
From that moment on, the Spanish dedicated themselves to consolidating what they had conquered, defeating the groups that tried to resist. The violence they exercised in their campaign ended up eliminating all traces of rebellion.
Although Cortés did not participate in the definitive conquest of Yucatán, he had been among the first to reach Cozumel. Before him Pedro de Alvarado had arrived, who undertook several looting of indigenous populations, causing them to flee inland..
It seems that Cortés tried to stop Alvarado's actions, promoting reconciliation with the natives. Of course, as part of the policy of religious conversion, he ordered the destruction of several indigenous places of worship, as well as the sacred objects that were found there..
Born in Salamanca in 1479, Francisco de Montejo was the main protagonist of the campaigns undertaken to conquer Yucatán. He was able to take advantage of the conflicts between Cortés and other conquerors and to convince the king to appoint him in advance.
According to experts, Montejo was totally convinced of the existence of innumerable riches in the peninsula and was willing to advance the money necessary to pay for the expedition..
The son of the conqueror, with whom he shared the name, founded San Francisco de Campeche in 1540 and, two years later, the city of Mérida.
He joined his father's company from the beginning, accompanying him since they embarked in June 1527 for Yucatan.
The third Francisco de Montejo who participated in the conquest of Yucatán was the advance's nephew. He was only 13 when he accompanied his uncle and cousin on one of the ships heading to America.
In 1543 he was the founder of Valladolid, although a year later the town was moved from its original location to Zaci.
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