Francisco Hernández de Córdoba ( Spanish: [fɾanˈθisko eɾˈnandeθ ðe ˈkoɾðoβa] ; c. 1467 in Córdoba – 1517 in Sancti Spíritus ) was a Spanish conquistador from Córdoba , known for the ill-fated expedition he led in 1517, in the course of which the first European accounts of the Yucatán Peninsula were recorded. He died from wounds he suffered during the expedition after battling against Mayan Indians.
111-419: The Maya ( / ˈ m aɪ ə / ) are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica . The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical region. Today they inhabit southern Mexico , Guatemala , Belize , and westernmost El Salvador and Honduras . "Maya" is a modern collective term for
222-507: A brigantine in order that from said islands they would bring Indians to the so-called Fernandina Island, and we think [...] that said Diego Velázquez [...] has the fourth part of said armada". In his Relación de las cosas de Yucatán ("Relation of the Things of Yucatán"), Fray Diego de Landa writes that Hernández de Córdoba went... "to gather slaves for the mines, now that in Cuba the population
333-598: A family; he became a war captain in the Postclassic Mayan state of Chetumal . Later Spanish expeditions to the region were led by Córdoba in 1517, Grijalva in 1518, and Cortés in 1519. From 1528 to 1540, several attempts by Francisco Montejo to conquer the Yucatán failed. His son, Francisco de Montejo the Younger, fared almost as badly when he first took over: while invading Chichen Itza, he lost 150 men in
444-595: A fiscal norm that originated in the Reconquista , the re-conquest of Spain from the Muslims — and of other legal requisites, such as reading to the Indians, before attacking them, a declaration of intentions and a warning, to legalize the aggression in the face of possible future investigations. (Cortés was especially scrupulous with this formal requirement, useless when one lacked interpreters who could translate
555-424: A half-million people driven from their homes, and at least 100,000 women raped; most of the victims were Maya. The genocide against Mayan people took place throughout the whole civil war because indigenous people were seen as supporting the leftist guerillas, but most acts against humanity occurred during Efraín Ríos Montt 's presidency (1982–1983). Ríos Montt instituted a campaign of state terror intended to destroy
666-455: A national identity. In the case of the Maya, the many national identities have been constructed because of the growing demands placed on them by cultural tourism. By focusing on lifeways through costumes, rituals, diet, handicrafts, language, housing, or other features, the identity of the economy shifts from the sale of labor to that of the sale of culture. Global tourism is now considered one of
777-539: A period the Maya state of Chan Santa Cruz was recognized as an independent nation by the British Empire , particularly in terms of trading with British Honduras. Francisco Luna-Kan was elected governor of the state of Yucatán from 1976 to 1982. Luna-Kan was born in Mérida, Yucatán , and he was a doctor of medicine, then a professor of medicine before his political offices. He was first appointed as overseer of
888-495: A person's home town. Women's clothing consists of a shirt and a long skirt. The Maya religion is Roman Catholicism combined with the indigenous Maya religion to form the unique syncretic religion which prevailed throughout the country and still does in the rural regions. Beginning from negligible roots prior to 1960, however, Protestant Pentecostalism has grown to become the predominant religion of Guatemala City and other urban centers, and mid-sized towns. The unique religion
999-574: A place that Bernal sometimes calls Potonchán and sometimes by its present-day name of Champotón , where the river of the same name meets the sea. When they had filled the jugs, they found themselves surrounded by great assemblies of Indians. They passed the night on land, with great precautions and wakeful vigilance. This time the Spaniards decided not to take flight as in Lázaro-Campeche: they needed water, and any retreat, hindered by
1110-536: A precaution. It also appears they armed themselves with crossbows and muskets ( escopetas ); "fifteen crossbows and ten muskets", if we credit the remarkably precise memory of Bernal Díaz del Castillo. The Spaniards' fears were almost immediately confirmed. The chief had prepared an ambush for the Spaniards as they approached the town. They were attacked by a multitude of Indians, armed with pikes , bucklers , slings (Bernal says slings; Diego de Landa denies that
1221-813: A rebellion against the Mexican state, Chiapas in January 1994, declared itself to be an indigenous movement and drew its strongest and earliest support from Chiapan Maya. Today its number of supporters is relevant. (see also the EZLN and the Chiapas conflict ) Maya groups in Chiapas include the Tzotzil and Tzeltal , in the highlands of the state, the Tojolabalis concentrated in the lowlands around Las Margaritas ,
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#17327728833891332-457: A scarcity of potable water aboard, added to their woes. The stores of water, casks and jugs were not of the quality required for long voyages ("we were too poor to buy good ones", laments Bernal); the casks were constantly losing water and they also failed to keep it fresh, and so de Córdoba's ships needed to replenish their supplies ashore. The Spaniards had already noted that the region seemed to be devoid of freshwater rivers. Fifteen days after
1443-488: A single day. European diseases, massive recruitment of native warriors from Campeche and Champoton, and internal hatred between the Xiu Maya and the lords of Cocom eventually turned the tide for Montejo the Younger. Chichen Itza was conquered by 1570. In 1542, the western Yucatán Peninsula also surrendered to him. Historically, the population in the eastern half of the peninsula was less affected by and less integrated than
1554-399: A single thing worth the telling". From Bernal Díaz del Castillo's narrative, it appears possible to deduce — possibly against the narrator's own pretences because he would prefer to keep this hidden — that the original goal of the project was to capture Indians as slaves to increase or replace the manpower available to work the agricultural land or the mines of Cuba, and so that
1665-607: A single thing worth the telling, the 110 Spaniards who came from Darién and those who in the island of Cuba do not have Indians" — again an allusion to the lack of Indians — they decided to join up with "an hidalgo [a title of nobility or gentry, derived from hijo de algo , "son of someone"] known as Francisco Hernández de Córdoba [...] and that he was a rich man who had a village of Indians on this island [Cuba]", who had accepted to be their captain "to go on our venture to discover new lands and in them to employ ourselves". Bernal Díaz del Castillo barely tries to conceal that
1776-482: Is a common Mayan root for "language, speech"); it has also been suggested that the derivation comes from the Chontal word yokatan meaning "language" or the region where the language is spoken. The anecdote is so attractive that this story of the etymology of Yucatán (together with an exactly parallel, but apocryphal, story that kangaroo comes from some Aboriginal Australian 's expression for "I don't understand
1887-489: Is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language . Most ethnic groups share a first language . However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major basis for the ethnic group, especially in regard to its neighbours. A central concept in the linguistic study of ethnolinguistic groups is ethnolinguistic vitality, the ability of the group's language and ethnicity to sustain themselves. An ethnolinguistic group that lacks such vitality
1998-408: Is getting smaller", although a while later he adds, "Others say that he left to discover land and that he brought Alaminos as a pilot..." Bartolomé de Las Casas also says that even if the original intent was to kidnap and enslave Indians, at some point the objective was broadened to one of discovery, which justifies Alaminos. The presence of Antón de Alaminos on the expedition is, in effect, one of
2109-667: Is identified by speakers and Yucatecos simply as "Maya". Among Maya speakers, Spanish is commonly spoken as a second or first language. There is a significant amount of confusion as to the correct terminology to use—Maya or Mayan—and the meaning of these words with reference to contemporary or pre-Columbian peoples, to Maya peoples in different parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and to languages or peoples. oxlahun ahau u katunil u 13 he›cob cah mayapan: maya uinic u kabaob: uaxac ahau paxci u cabobi: ca uecchahi ti peten tulacal: uac katuni paxciob ca haui u maya-bulub ahau u kaba u katunil hauci u maya kabaob maya uinicob: christiano u kabaob "Ahau
2220-571: Is known for its zoo and colossal stone sculptures dating to the Olmec civilization . The grand Museo de Historia de Tabasco chronicles the area from prehistoric times, while the Museo Regional de Antropología has exhibits on native Maya and Olmec civilizations. In Guatemala , indigenous people of Maya descent comprise around 42% of the population. Many Maya still experience discrimination and oppression . The largest Maya populations are found in
2331-408: Is quite variable, situational, and articulated not to processes of producing group identity, but of escaping from discriminatory processes of sociocultural marginalization. The Yucatán's indigenous population was first exposed to Europeans after a party of Spanish shipwreck survivors came ashore in 1511. One of the sailors, Gonzalo Guerrero , is reported to have taken up with a local woman and started
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#17327728833892442-445: Is reflected in the local saint, Maximón , who is associated with the subterranean force of masculine fertility and prostitution. Always depicted in black, he wears a black hat and sits on a chair, often with a cigar placed in his mouth and a gun in his hand, with offerings of tobacco, alcohol, and Coca-Cola at his feet. The locals know him as San Simon of Guatemala. The Popol Vuh is the most significant work of Guatemalan literature in
2553-516: Is taught at the college and graduate level; beginning, intermediate, and advanced courses in Maya have been taught at Indiana University since 2010. The Open School of Ethnography and Anthropology offers immersion Maya courses in a six-week intensive summer program. Chiapas was for many years one of the regions of Mexico that was least touched by the reforms of the Mexican Revolution . The Zapatista Army of National Liberation , launched
2664-561: Is unlikely to survive as a distinct entity. Factors that influence the ethnolinguistic vitality are demographics, institutional control and status (including language planning factors). This sociolinguistics article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about ethnology is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Francisco Hern%C3%A1ndez de C%C3%B3rdoba (discoverer of Yucat%C3%A1n) Together with some 110 discontented Spanish settlers in early colonial Cuba, Hernández de Córdoba petitioned
2775-685: The Chiapas conflict and the Lacandon Jungle ). The Maya population in Belize is concentrated in the Corozal , Cayo , Toledo and Orange Walk districts, but are scattered throughout the country. The Maya are thought to have been in Belize and the Yucatán region since the second millennium BC. Much of Belize's original Maya population died as a result of new infectious diseases and conflicts between tribes and with Europeans. They are divided into
2886-638: The Chʼol in the jungle, and in the south eastern uplands , the endangered Mochó and the Kaqchikel , also widely spoken in the Guatemalan highlands . (See map. Note. The Zoque are not Maya .) The most traditional of Maya groups are the Lacandon , a small population avoiding contact with outsiders until the late 20th century by living in small groups in the Lacandon Jungle . These Lacandon Maya came from
2997-582: The Chʼortiʼ . The northern lowland Petén region includes the Itza , whose language is near extinction but whose agroforestry practices, including use of dietary and medicinal plants may still tell us much about pre-colonial management of the Maya lowlands. The Classic period of Mesoamerican civilization corresponds to the height of the Maya civilization . It is represented by countless sites throughout Guatemala, although
3108-610: The Kʼicheʼ language , and one of the most important works of Pre-Columbian American literature. It is a compendium of Maya stories and legends, aimed to preserve Maya traditions. The first known version of this text dates from the 16th century and is written in Quiché transcribed in Latin characters. It was translated into Spanish by the Dominican priest Francisco Ximénez in the beginning of
3219-573: The Mayan language of the area, and Gonzalo Guerrero even seems to have been governing an indigenous community. This does not remove the merit of Hernández as a discoverer: one may insist that merit of discovery ought to involve a voluntary act, not a shipwreck; Nicuesa's shipwrecked sailors who were not sacrificed or worked to death by their Maya captors ended up enslaved. The two ships of shallower draft went on ahead to investigate whether they could anchor securely near land. Bernal dates March 4, 1517 as
3330-558: The Mayan languages as a primary language . One of the largest groups of Maya live in the Yucatan Peninsula, which includes the Mexican states of Yucatán State , Campeche , and Quintana Roo as well as the nation of Belize . These people identify themselves as "Maya" with no further ethnic subdivision (unlike in the Highlands of Western Guatemala). They speak the language which anthropologists term " Yucatec Maya ", but
3441-528: The Veedor ("Overseer" or "Supervisor") Bernardino Íñiguez. This public office had functions that we would now call fiscal and administrative. It was his job to count the treasure gathered by the expeditions, in metals and precious stones, in order to assure the correct allotment of the quinto real — the "royal fifth": 20% of all treasure gained in the conquests was destined for the Spanish royal treasury,
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3552-701: The Yucatec , Kekchi , and Mopan . These three Maya groups now inhabit the country. The Yucatec Maya (many of whom came from Yucatán, Mexico to escape the Caste War of the 1840s) there have been evidence of several Yucatec Maya groups living by the Yalbac area of Belize and in the Orange Walk district near the present day Lamanai at the time the British reach. The Mopan (indigenous to Belize but were forced out by
3663-604: The rainforest . To halt the migration, the government decided in 1971 to declare a large part of the forest (614,000 hectares, or 6140 km) a protected area: the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve . They appointed only one small population group (the 66 Lacandon families) as tenants (thus creating the Lacandon Community), thereby displacing 2000 Tzeltal and Chʼol families from 26 communities, and leaving non-Lacandon communities dependent on
3774-475: The 18th century. Due to its combination of historical, mythical, and religious elements, it has been called the Maya Bible. It is a vital document for understanding the culture of Pre-Columbian America. The Rabinal Achí is a dramatic work consisting of dance and text that is preserved as it was originally represented. It is thought to date from the 15th century and narrates the mythical and dynastic origins of
3885-477: The 21st century. Guatemala , southern Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula , Belize , El Salvador , and western Honduras have managed to maintain numerous remnants of their ancient cultural heritage. Some are quite integrated into the majority westernised mestizo cultures of the nations in which they reside, while others continue a more traditional, culturally distinct life, often speaking one of
3996-643: The British; they returned from Guatemala to evade slavery in the 19th century), and Kekchi (also fled from slavery in Guatemala in the 19th century). The latter groups are chiefly found in the Toledo District. The Mexican state of Tabasco is home to the Chontal Maya . Tabasco is a Mexican state with a northern coastline fringing the Gulf of Mexico. In its capital, Villahermosa , Parque Museo la Venta
4107-551: The Campeche/Petén area (north-east of Chiapas ) and moved into the Lacandon rain-forest at the end of the 18th century. In the course of the 20th century, and increasingly in the 1950s and 1960s, other people (mainly the Maya and subsistence peasants from the highlands), also entered into the Lacandon region; initially encouraged by the government. This immigration led to land-related conflicts and an increasing pressure on
4218-500: The Indians meant, said: Yucatán is the name of this land ; and the same happened with a cape made by the land there, which they named the Cape of Cotoch , and Cotoch in that language means house ." A similar version is given by Francisco López de Gómara , writing about eleven years later in his biography of Cortés. However, there is no clear cognate in 16th century Yucatec which closely matches this phonology (although t'an or t'aan
4329-436: The Indians of Yucatán were familiar with slings; he says they threw stones with their right hand, using the left to aim; but the sling was known in other parts of Mesoamerica, and the testimony of those at whom the stones were aimed seems worth crediting), arrows launched from a bow, and cotton armor . Only the surprise resulting from the effectiveness of the Spaniards' weapons — swords, crossbows, and firearms — put
4440-447: The Indians were particularly merciless in attacking Hernández de Córdoba, who was hit by twelve arrows. The Spanish also learned the dedication of their opponents to capturing people alive: two were taken prisoner and certainly sacrificed afterwards; of one we know that his name was Alonso Boto, and of the other Bernal is only able to say of him that he was "an old Portuguese ". Eventually, with only one Spanish soldier remaining unhurt,
4551-427: The Indians, seemed more dangerous than attack. They decided to stay and fight, but the outcome was bad for them: when dawn broke, they were evidently vastly outnumbered (by three hundred to one, claims Bernal), and only shortly into the ensuing battle Bernal speaks of eighty injured Spaniards. Keeping in mind that the original number of the expedition was about a hundred, not all soldiers, this suggests that at that moment
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4662-523: The King of Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries. The noble Maya families at that time signed documents to the Spanish royal family; surnames mentioned in those letters are Pech, Camal, Xiu, Ucan, Canul, Cocom, and Tun, among others. A large 19th-century revolt by the native Maya people of Yucatán (Mexico), known as the Caste War of Yucatán , was one of the most successful modern Native American revolts. For
4773-553: The Mayas in the name of countering "communist subversion" and ridding the country of its indigenous culture. This was also known as Operation Sofia. Within Operation Sofia, the military followed through with "scorched earth policies" which allowed them to destroy whole villages, including killing livestock, destroying cultural symbols, destroying crops, and murdering civilians. In some areas, government forces killed about 40% of
4884-519: The Spaniards resident on the island who did not have Indians for their own exploitation of the land, such as Bernal himself, could establish themselves as hacendados . Bernal tells first how he, like the other restless 110 Spaniards who lived in Castilla del Oro, decided to ask permission of Pedrarias to travel to Cuba, and that Pedrarias granted this willingly, because in Tierra Firme "there
4995-597: The Toj Kʼicheʼ rulers of Rabinal, and their relationships with neighboring Kʼicheʼ of Qʼumarkaj . The Rabinal Achí is performed during the Rabinal festival of January 25, the day of Saint Paul . It was declared a masterpiece of oral tradition of humanity by UNESCO in 2005. The 16th century saw the first native-born Guatemalan writers that wrote in Spanish . There is often a relationship between cultural heritage, tourism, and
5106-426: The Yucatán. A native of Spain, he was living in Cuba in 1517, indicating that he had participated in the conquest of the island. He was also quite wealthy, as he both owned a landed estate, including a native town, and financed his expedition to Mexico. Bernal Díaz del Castillo is the chronicler who gives the most detail about the voyage of Hernández de Córdoba; his is also the only first-person account by someone who
5217-480: The arguments against the hypothesis that the objective was exclusively one of slaving. This prestigious pilot, veteran of the voyages of Columbus and even, according to some, a man knowledgeable of places not published on the mariners' maps, would seem an excessive resource for a slaving expedition to the Guanajes islets. There was another member of the expedition whose presence conforms still less to this hypothesis:
5328-414: The battle at Catoche, the expedition landed to fill their water vessels near a Maya village they called Lázaro (after St Lazarus' Sunday, the day of their landing; "The proper Indian name for it is Campeche ", clarifies Bernal). Once again they were approached by Indians appearing to be peaceable, and the now-suspicious Spaniards maintained a heavy guard on their disembarked forces. During an uneasy meeting,
5439-399: The birth of the toponyms Yucatán and Catoche , whose surprising and amusing history — perhaps too amusing to be true — is often cited. Be it history or legend, the story is that the Spaniards asked the Indians for the name of the land they had just discovered and on hearing the predictable replies to the effect of "I don't understand what you said", "those are our houses" gave
5550-415: The boats or to render them useless, as they might easily have done. When attacking the retreating boats with arrows, stones, and pikes they made a particular effort to interfere with their balance by weight and impact, and ended up dumping some of the Spaniards into the water. The survivors of Hernández's men had to get quickly out to their ships, half swimming and hanging onto the edges of the launches, but in
5661-424: The boats with their casks and jugs of water before the Indians could attack them, leaving safely behind them the discovery of Campeche. They sailed some six days in good weather and another four in a tempest that almost wrecked their ships. Their supply of good drinking water was now yet again exhausted, owing to the poor condition of the containers. Being now in an extreme situation, they stopped to gather water in
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#17327728833895772-406: The captain practically unconscious, and the aggression of the Indians only increasing, they decided then that their only recourse was to form a close phalanx and break out of their encirclement in the direction of the launches, and to return to board them — leaving behind the water jugs — and get back to the ships. Fortunately for them, the Indians hadn't concerned themselves to take away
5883-481: The command of Hernán Cortés , which led to the Spanish exploration, military invasion, and ultimately settlement and colonization known as the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and subsequent Spanish colonization in present-day Mexico . Hernández did not live to see the continuation of his work; he died in 1517, the year of his expedition, as the result of the injuries and the extreme thirst suffered during
5994-530: The constable and town authorities of la Rica Villa de la Vera Cruz , Cortés's captains narrate the origin of Hernández's expedition saying: "as it is the custom in those islands that in the name of your majesties are peopled with Spaniards to go for Indians to the islands that are not peopled with Spaniards, to obtain services from them [i.e. to obtain their forced labor], they sent the abovementioned... [Francisco Fernández de Córdoba and his associates Lope Ochoa de Caicedo and Cristobal Morante with]... two boats and
6105-484: The course of the succeeding centuries a series of land displacements, re-settlements, persecutions and migrations resulted in a wider dispersal of Qʼeqchiʼ communities, into other regions of Guatemala (Izabal, Petén, El Quiché). They are the second-largest ethnic Maya group in Guatemala (after the Kʼicheʼ) and one of the largest and most widespread throughout Central America. In Guatemala, the Spanish colonial pattern of keeping
6216-460: The data in hand one could make the case that Hernández de Córdoba discovered Yucatán by accident, upon finding his expedition — initially headed on a shorter voyage to kidnap Indians for the haciendas of Cuba — driven from its course by a storm. Or one could suppose that after some evil thoughts by Diego Velázquez, promptly rebuked and found blameworthy by the other Spaniards, who furthermore were willing to continue without Indians in Cuba,
6327-467: The end of chapter 8 of the third book of his Historia de los indios de la Nueva España ( History of the Indians of New Spain , written c. 1541) says: "because speaking with those Indians of that coast, to that which the Spaniards asked the Indians responded: Tectetán, Tectetán , which means: I don't understand you, I don't understand you : the Christians corrupted the word, and not understanding what
6438-422: The end they were recovered by the boat with the shallowest draught, and reached safety. The Spaniards had lost 57 companions, including two who were taken alive. The survivors were badly injured, with the sole exception of a soldier named Berrio, who was surprisingly unscathed. Five died in the following days, the bodies being buried at sea. The Spanish called the place the "La Costa de Mala Pelea" "coast of
6549-431: The evil battle", a name it would have on maps for many years. The expeditionaries had returned to the ships without the fresh water that had been the original reason to land. Furthermore, they saw their crew reduced by more than fifty men, many of them sailors, which combined with the great number of the seriously injured made it an impossibility to operate three ships. They broke up the ship of least draught burning it on
6660-415: The expedition was Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, the pilot Antón de Alaminos, from Palos . Camacho de Triana (the name suggests he was from Seville ) and Joan Álvarez de Huelva (nicknamed "el manquillo" , which indicates that he was missing a limb), piloted the other two ships. Until February 20 they followed the coast of "Isla Fernandina" (Cuba). At the point of Cape San Antonio, Cuba , they took to
6771-416: The expedition was close to destruction. They soon discovered that the legions of Indians were being continually replenished by fresh reinforcements, and if good swords, crossbows, and muskets had astonished them at first, they had now overcome the surprise and maintained a certain distance from the Spaniards. At the cry of "Calachuni" , which the conquistadors soon learned was a word for "chief" or "captain",
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#17327728833896882-433: The expense of local tradition and meanings. An example of this can be seen in "Mayanizing Tourism on Roatan Island, Honduras: Archaeological Perspectives on Heritage, Development, and Indignity." Alejandro J. Figueroa et al., combine archaeological data and ethnographic insights to explore a highly contested tourism economy in their discussion of how places on Roatan Island, Honduras, have become increasingly "Mayanized" over
6993-462: The first Maya language interpreters for the Spanish, on Grijalva's subsequent expedition. The second originated from the curiosity and valor of the cleric González, chaplain of the group, who having landed with the soldiers, undertook to explore — and plunder — a pyramid and some adoratorios while his companions were trying to save their lives. González had the first view of Maya idols and he brought away with him pieces "half of gold, and
7104-423: The first Spaniards to tread on Yucatán. In 1511 a ship of the fleet of Diego de Nicuesa , which was returning to Hispaniola , wrecked near the coast of Yucatán, and some of its occupants managed to save themselves. At the moment in which the soldiers of Hernández saw and named El gran Cairo , two of those shipwrecked sailors, Jerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero , were living in the area of Campeche, speaking
7215-402: The first encounter with the Indians of Yucatán, who approached those ships in ten large canoes (called pirogues ), using both sails and oars. Making themselves understood by signs — the first interpreters, Julián and Melchior, were obtained by precisely this expedition — the Indians, always with "smiling face and every appearance of friendliness", communicated to the Spaniards that
7326-405: The government for granting their rights to land. In the decades that followed the government carried out numerous programs to keep the problems in the region under control, using land distribution as a political tool; as a way of ensuring loyalty from different campesino groups. This strategy of divide and rule led to great disaffection and tensions among population groups in the region. (see also
7437-417: The governor, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , for permission to launch an expedition in search of new lands and exploitable resources. This permission was granted after some haggling over terms, and the expedition consisting of three ships under Hernández de Córdoba's command left the harbor of Santiago de Cuba on February 8, 1517, to explore the shores of southern Mexico . The main pilot was Antón de Alaminos ,
7548-595: The handling of the case. The ex-president appeared in court again on January 5, 2015, amongst protest from his lawyers regarding his health conditions and on August 25, 2015, it was deliberated that a re-trial of the 2013 proceedings could find Ríos Montt guilty or not, but that the sentence would be suspended. Ríos Montt died on April 1, 2018, of a heart attack. The Maya people are known for their brightly colored, yarn -based, textiles that are woven into capes, shirts, blouses, huipiles and dresses. Each village has its own distinctive pattern, making it possible to distinguish
7659-414: The high sea, after having distributed to the others two its sails, anchors, and cables. The thirst began to become intolerable. Bernal writes that their "mouths and tongues were cracked", and of soldiers who were driven by desperation to drink brackish water at a place which they called El Estero de los Lagartos , because of the large alligators. The pilots Alaminos, Camacho, and Álvarez decided, on
7770-943: The inhabitants. Due to this, the cultural section of the government of Yucatán began on-line classes for grammar and proper pronunciation of Maya. Maya people from Yucatán Peninsula living in the United States of America have been organizing Maya language lessons and Maya cooking classes since 2003 in California and other states: clubs of Yucatec Maya are registered in Dallas and Irving, Texas ; Salt Lake City in Utah; Las Vegas, Nevada ; and California , with groups in San Francisco; San Rafael; Chino; Pasadena; Santa Ana; Garden Grove; Inglewood; Los Angeles; Thousand Oaks; Oxnard; San Fernando Valley and Whittier. Maya language
7881-618: The initiative of Alaminos, to navigate to Florida rather than head directly for Cuba. Alaminos remembered his exploration of Florida with Juan Ponce de León , and believed this to be the safest route, although promptly upon arriving in Florida he advised his companions of the bellicosity of the local Indians. In the event, the twenty people — among them, Bernal and the pilot Alaminos — who debarked in search of water were attacked by natives, although this time they came out victorious, with Bernal nonetheless receiving his third injury of
7992-490: The island of Cuba and Honduras , that are now known as the islands of Los Guanaxes [Guanajes], and we had to go in arms and fill up the boats with a cargo of Indians from those islets to serve as slaves" (here Bernal uses the word esclavos , "slaves", against Velázquez, whereas he had previously avoided speaking of the Indians whom Velázquez had promised to him). The chronicler immediately denied that he admits this pretension of Velázquez's: "we responded to him that what he said
8103-594: The land names based on what they had heard: Yucatán , meaning "I don't understand you" for the whole "province" (or island, as they thought), and Catoche , meaning "our houses", for the settlement and the cape where they had debarked. Fray Diego de Landa dedicated the second chapter of his Relación de las cosas de Yucatán to "Etymology of the name of this province. Its situation," and in it he confirms that Catoche derives from cotoch , "our houses, our homeland", but does not confirm that Yucatán means "I don't understand". Finally, Bernal Díaz del Castillo also takes up
8214-582: The largest concentration is in Petén . This period is characterized by urbanisation, the emergence of independent city-states , and contact with other Mesoamerican cultures. This lasted until approximately 900 AD, when the Classic Maya civilization collapsed . The Maya abandoned many of the cities of the central lowlands or were killed by a drought-induced famine . The 36-year-long Guatemalan Civil War from 1960 to 1996 left more than 200,000 people dead,
8325-529: The largest scale movement of goods, services, and people in history and a significant catalyst for economic development and sociopolitical change. Estimated that between 35 and 40 per cent of tourism today is represented by cultural tourism or heritage tourism, this alternative to mass tourism offers opportunities for place-based engagement that frames context for interaction by the lived space and everyday life of other peoples, as well as sites and objects of global historical significance. In this production of tourism
8436-525: The local Indians repeated a word (according to Bernal) that ought to have been enigmatic to the Spaniards: "Castilan". This curious incident of the Indians apparently knowing the Spaniards' own word for themselves they later attributed the presence of the shipwrecked voyagers of de Nicuesa's unfortunate 1511 fleet. Unbeknownst to de Córdoba's men, the two remaining survivors, Jerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero , were living only several days' walk from
8547-482: The matter. He confirms the etymology of Catoche as "our houses", but for Yucatán he provides an even more surprising explanation than "I don't understand". According to his account, the Indians captured in the Battle of Catoche, Julian and Melchior, in their first conversations with the Spanish in Cuba, at which Diego Velázquez was present, had spoken of bread (Spanish: "pan" ). The Spaniards explaining that their bread
8658-466: The message to the Indians). If the expedition went to Guanajes to kidnap Indians, the Veedor 's presence would have been downright inconvenient for them. Although, on the other hand, according to Bernal, Íñiguez was nothing but a soldier who carried out the role of veedor , his being so designated in advance indicates that there was at least some thought of the possibility of exploration. In short, from
8769-548: The more numerous Indians to flight, and allowed the Spaniards to re-embark, having suffered the first injuries of the expedition. During this battle of Catoche two things occurred that were to greatly influence future events. The first was the capture of two Indians, taken back on board the Spanish ships. These individuals, who once baptized into the Roman Catholic faith received the names Julianillo and Melchorejo (anglicized, Julián and Melchior), would later become
8880-478: The much-repeated Indians had something to do with the project, although authors such as Salvador de Madariaga prefer to conclude that the objective was a much more noble one, "to discover, to occupy ourselves and do things worthy of being told". But, in addition, governor Diego Velázquez himself wanted to participate in the project and he lent the money to build a boat, "...with the condition that [...] we had to go with three boats to some little islets that are between
8991-521: The native population legally separate and subservient continued well into the 20th century. This resulted in many traditional customs being retained, as the only other option than traditional Maya life open to most Maya was entering the westeren culture at the very bottom rung. Because of this many Guatemalan Maya, especially women, continue to wear traditional clothing, that varies according to their specific local identity. The southeastern region of Guatemala (bordering with Honduras ) includes groups such as
9102-523: The news arrived in Cuba, the Spaniards gave new energy to their imaginations, creating again fantasies about the origin of the people they had encountered, whom they referred to as "the Gentiles" or imagined to be "the Jews exiled from Jerusalem by Titus and Vespasian ". All of this encouraged two further expeditions: the first in 1518 under the command of Juan de Grijalva , and the second in 1519 under
9213-418: The next day more pirogues would come to bring the recent arrivals to land. This moment in which the Indians came up to the Spanish ships and accepted strings of green beads and other trifles fashioned for this purpose was one of the few peaceful contacts that Hernández's group had with the Indians, and even these gestures of peace were feigned on the part of the Indians. These contacts of March 4 may have been
9324-498: The occurrence of these events, and that at least in part his objective was to have his services and those of his fellow soldiers recognized by the Crown. It would have been difficult in these circumstances for him to have clearly stated that this had originally been a slaving expedition. Most of his contemporaries, who also wrote earlier, are less evasive: in the letter sent to Queen Joanna and Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) by
9435-424: The open sea. There followed two days and nights of furious storm, according to Bernal so strong as to endanger the ships, and in any case sufficient to consolidate the doubt about the objective of the expedition, because after the storm one may suspect that they did not know their location. Later they had 21 days of fair weather and calm seas after which they spotted land and, quite near the coast and visible from
9546-468: The painted figures of serpents on the walls, so characteristic of Mesoamerica ). They also met their first priests , with their white tunics and their long hair impregnated with human blood; this was the end of the Indians' friendly conduct: they convoked a great number of warriors and ordered them to burn some dry reeds, indicating to the Spaniards that if they weren't gone before the fire went out, they would be attacked. Hernández's men decided to retreat to
9657-426: The past decade. As tour operators and developers continue to invent an idealized Maya past for the island, non-Maya archaeological remains and cultural patrimony are constantly being threatened and destroyed. While heritage tourism provides economic opportunities for some, it can devalue contributions made by less familiar groups. Ethnolinguistic group An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group )
9768-563: The people are also called Yucatec Maya; that term refers to only the language, and the correct name for the people is simply Maya (not Mayans). (Yucatec) Maya is one language in the Mayan language family. Confusion of the term Maya/Mayan as an ethnic label occurs because Maya women who use traditional dress identify by the ethnic term mestiza and not Maya. Persons use a strategy of ethnic identification that Juan Castillo Cocom refers to as "ethnoexodus"—meaning that ethnic self-identification as Maya
9879-401: The peoples of the region; however, the term was not historically used by the indigenous populations themselves. There was no common sense of identity or political unity among the distinct populations, societies and ethnic groups because they each had their own particular traditions, cultures and historical identity. It is estimated that seven million Maya were living in this area at the start of
9990-426: The premiere navigator of the region who had accompanied Christopher Columbus on his initial voyages; The pilots of the other two ships were Juan Álvarez and Camacho de Triana . During the course of this expedition many of Hernández' men were killed, most during a battle near the town of Champotón against a Maya army. He himself was injured, and died a few days after his return to Cuba. Bernal Díaz del Castillo
10101-444: The present site. The Spaniards would not learn of these two men until the expedition of Hernán Cortés , two years later. The Spaniards found a solidly-built well the Indians used to provide themselves with fresh water from which the visitors filled their casks and jugs. The Indians, again with friendly aspect and manner, brought them to their village, where once more they could see solid constructions and many idols (Bernal alludes to
10212-510: The question") is often repeated as trivia without much concern as to whether it is true. The following day, as promised, the natives returned with more canoes, to transfer the Spaniards to land. They were alarmed that the shore was full of natives, and that consequently the landing might prove to be dangerous. Nonetheless, they landed as they were asked to by their until-now friendly host, the cacique (chief) of El gran Cairo , deciding however to land en masse using also their own launches as
10323-400: The rest copper ", which in all ways would suffice to excite the covetousness of the Spaniards of Cuba upon the expedition's return. At least two soldiers died as a result of their injuries in this battle. Returning in the ships, Antón de Alaminos imposed slow and vigilant navigation, moving only by day, because he was certain that Yucatán was an island. The travellers' greatest hardship,
10434-462: The ships we could see a large town, which appeared to lie six miles back from the coast, and as we had never seen one as large in Cuba or Hispaniola we named it the Great Cairo." It is reasonable to designate this moment as the discovery of Yucatán—even "of Mexico", if one uses "Mexico" in the sense of the borders of the modern nation state —but Hernández's expeditionaries were not
10545-527: The ships, the first large populated center seen by Europeans in the Americas, with the first solidly built buildings. The Spaniards, who evoked the Muslims in all that was developed but not Christian, spoke of this first city they discovered in America as El gran Cairo , as they later were to refer to pyramids or other religious buildings as mezquitas , " mosques ". "This land was as yet undiscovered...from
10656-658: The state's rural medical system. He was the first governor of the modern Yucatán Peninsula to be of full Maya ancestry. In the early 21st century, dozens of politicians, including deputies, mayors and senators, are of full or mixed Maya heritage from the Yucatán Peninsula. According to the National Institute of Geography and Informatics (Mexico's INEGI ), in Yucatán State there were 1.2 million Mayan speakers in 2009, representing just under 60% of
10767-523: The total population; the campaign destroyed at least 626 Mayan villages. On January 26, 2012, former president Ríos Montt was formally indicted in Guatemala for overseeing the massacre of 1,771 civilians of the Ixil Maya group and appeared in court for genocide and crimes against humanity for which he was then sentenced to 80 years in prison on May 10, 2013. This ruling was overturned by the constitutional court on May 20, 2013, over alleged irregularities in
10878-527: The two remaining ships, and not without difficulties — the boats were deteriorated and taking on water, and some mutinous sailors refused to work the pumps — they were able to complete their voyage and disembark in the port of Carenas (Havana). Francisco Hernández de Córdoba barely reached Cuba; suffering from his mortal wounds, he expired within days of reaching the port, along with three other sailors. The discovery of El Gran Cairo , in March 1517,
10989-470: The use of historic symbols, signs, and topics form a new side that characterizes a nation and can play an active role in nation building. With this type of tourism, people argue that ethno-commerce may open unprecedented opportunities for creating value of various kinds. Tourists travel with cultural expectations, which has created a touristic experience sometimes faced with the need to invent traditions of artificial and contrived attractions, often developed at
11100-569: The voyage and disappointed in the knowledge that Diego Velázquez had given precedence to Grijalva as the captain of the next expedition to Yucatán. The importance given to the news, objects, and people that Hernández brought to Cuba can be gleaned from the speed with which the following expedition was prepared. The governor Diego Velázquez placed his relative Juan de Grijalva in charge of this second expedition, who had his entire confidence. The news that this "island" of Yucatán had gold, doubted by Bernal but enthusiastically maintained by Julianillo,
11211-422: The voyage was planned exclusively as one of discovery and conquest, and for that purpose they brought the Veedor , and such a good pilot. One could also believe, with Las Casas, that the project proceeded with both objectives in mind. Whether or not they were in search of Indians of the Guanajes islets, on February 8, 1517 they left Havana in two warships and a brigantine , crewed by over 100 men. The captain of
11322-439: The voyage, and Alaminos taking an arrow in the neck. A sentry - Berrio, the only soldier to escape from Champotón unscathed - disappeared. But the rest were able to return to the boat, and finally brought fresh water to alleviate the suffering of those who had remained with the boat, although one of them (according to Bernal) drank so much that he swelled up and died within a few days. Now with fresh water, they headed to Havana in
11433-406: The western half. In the 21st century in the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexican states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo), between 750,000 and 1,200,000 people speak Mayan. However, three times more than that are of Maya origins, hold ancient Maya surnames, and do not speak Mayan languages as their first language. Matthew Restall , in his book The Maya Conquistador , mentions a series of letters sent to
11544-533: The western highlands where they make up the majority of populations in the departments of Baja Verapaz , Quiché , Totonicapán , Huehuetenango , Quetzaltenango , and San Marcos . The Maya people of the Guatemala highlands include the Achi , Akatek , Chuj , Ixil , Jakaltek , Kaqchikel , Kʼicheʼ , Mam , Poqomam , Poqomchiʼ , Qʼanjobʼal , Qʼeqchiʼ , Tzʼutujil and Uspantek . The Qʼeqchiʼ live in lowland areas of Alta Vera Paz, Peten, and Western Belize. Over
11655-545: Was a member of the expedition and wrote about his journey. This was the Europeans' first encounter with what they considered an "advanced civilization" in the Americas, with solidly built buildings and a complex social organization which they recognized as being comparable to those of the Old World . They also had reason to expect that this new land would have gold. Little is known of Córdoba's life before his exploration of
11766-499: Was made of "yuca" ( cassava ), the Maya Indians explaining that theirs was called "tlati" , and from the repetition of "yuca" (a Carib word, not a Mayan word) and "tlati" during this conversation the Spaniards falsely deduced that they had intended to teach the name of their land: Yuca-tán . It is probable that the first narrator of the "I don't understand" story was Fray Toribio de Benavente , a.k.a. Motolinia , who at
11877-429: Was not the command of God nor king, to make free men into slaves". If we are to believe Bernal, the governor sportingly admitted the denial and despite all this lent the money for the boat. To evaluate the vague and even contradictory form in which Bernal treats the matter of kidnapping Indians as a possible objective of the voyage, one must take into account that he wrote his history of the conquest some fifty years after
11988-492: Was nothing to conquer, that every thing was peaceful, that Vasco Núñez de Balboa , Pedrarias's son-in-law, had conquered it". Those Spaniards from Castilla del Oro presented themselves in Cuba to Diego Velázquez, the governor (and relative of Bernal Díaz del Castillo), who promised them "...that he would give us Indians when some were available". Immediately after this allusion to the promise of Indians, Bernal writes, "And as three years had already passed [...] and we haven't done
12099-496: Was present for the entire process. Also, Bernal declares in his chronicle that he had been himself a promoter of the project, together with another hundred or so Spaniards who said they had to "occupy themselves". These soldiers and adventurers had been three years now in the newly settled territory of Cuba , many also having moved there from the colony of Castilla del Oro ( Tierra Firme , present-day Panama ) under its governor Pedrarias Dávila ; they complained that "they hadn't done
12210-544: Was the katun when they founded the cah of Mayapan; they were [thus] called Maya men. In 8 Ahau their lands were destroyed and they were scattered throughout the peninsula. Six katun after they were destroyed they ceased to be called Maya; 11 Ahau was the name of the katun when the Maya men ceased to be called Maya [and] were called Christians." Chilam Balam Chumayel Linguists refer to the Maya language as Yucatec or Yucatec Maya to distinguish it from other Mayan languages . This norm has often been misinterpreted to mean that
12321-572: Was without a doubt a crucial moment in the Spanish perception of the natives of the Americas: until then, nothing had resembled the stories of Marco Polo , or the promises of Columbus , which prophesied Cathay , or even the Garden of Paradise , just past every cape or river. Even more than the later encounters with the Aztec and Inca cultures, El Gran Cairo resembled the conquistadors' dreams. When
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