A large peninsula in southern Mexico that was one of most important cultural areas of ancient Mesoamerica and later a frequent battleground for the Spanish colonists and the Maya.
Geologically, the Yucatan Peninsula is a long, flat table of limestone that juts into the Gulf of Mexico, covering approximately 55,500 square miles. The only significant hills that break the surface are the Puuc Hills in the northwest and the Maya Mountains in Belize. Because there are no mountains to catch moisture-rich clouds from the gulf, most of the Yucatan is dry. Rainfall levels increase toward the south, and the Guatemalan border is considerably wetter than the coast. There are no surface rivers in the Yucatan, although water frequently collects in underground caverns. In some locations the roofs of these caverns have collapsed, exposing underground lakes. Called cenotes, these sources of water were crucial to the Maya of the region, who revered them as portals to the underworld. The great cenote of CHICHEN ITZA was a particularly holy pilgrimage site.
The Yucatan was settled by the Maya by 500 B. C., although it did not rise to prominence until the end of the classic era, roughly A. D. 700. At this time many of the classic-era kingdoms to the south (TiKAL, CoPAN, Palenque) had started to decline. In response, the cities of the Yucatan rose to power. Chichen Itza was the most important of these cities, and by 800 it had established control over much of the northern Yucatan. Chichen Itza and other Yucatan cities such as Uxmal developed a distinctive style of architecture that differed dramatically from the other Maya cities to the south. These kingdoms did not last, and by 1200 the city of Mayapan conquered and controlled much of the peninsula. This kingdom also fell, and by 1500 the Yucatan had balkanized into a collection of mutually hostile city-states. Although the surviving Maya kingdoms were a shadow of their former glory, the Spanish scouts were still impressed with the architecture and wealth of the Yucatan and quickly made plans to conquer it.
In 1527 the conquistador Francisco de Montejo entered the Yucatan. Unlike the conquest of the AzTECS or Inca, the conquest of the Yucatan was a drawn-out, horrible war of attrition. Montejo and his kinsmen had nominally subdued the area by 1547, although the Spanish did not conquer the interior until 1697. The lack of political unity among the Yucatan Maya both aided and hindered the Spanish attempts to subdue the region. On the one hand, petty Maya kings were often more than willing to unite with the Spaniards to attack a more powerful neighbor. The conquistadores found, however, that their alleged allies would quickly change sides, at times while the battles were raging. Also, Maya kingdoms did not stay conquered: Often, they would surrender, wait for the Spanish soldiers to leave, and proclaim their independence all over again. Moreover, the government’s attempts to enforce laws or collect tribute often resulted in the Maya abandoning the area and fleeing to the unconquered regions in the interior. The difficulties of governing the Yucatan, coupled with the fact that there were no precious metals, led to a long period of neglect by the royal government. Spanish political control was frequently confined to Merida (the colonial capital) and a handful of Spanish settlements.
Spanish clerics’ attempted spiritual conquest of the Yucatan fared no better. In 1549 the Franciscan missionary Diego de Landa arrived. Because of his zealous efforts to convert the Maya, he became the first bishop of the Yucatan in 1572. De Landa staged mass conversions, burned “heretical” Maya books, constructed churches, and declared that the region had been Christianized. Despite his efforts, the Natives continued to worship idols and conduct clandestine ceremonies to the old gods. De Landa resorted to violent purges and iNQUiSiTioNs to combat indigenous apostasy, which led to the death of 157 Natives. His actions shocked both the colonists and the local authorities, who succeeded in having de Landa removed from power. Later missionaries were no more successful in stamping out the Natives’ religion. Ultimately, the Yucatan remained a semicon-quered frontier zone that resisted Spanish influence well into the 20th century.
Further reading: Inga Clendinnen, Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517-1570 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987); Michael D. Coe, The Maya, 6th ed. (London: Thames & Hudson, 1999); Friar Diego de Landa, Yucatan before and after the Conquest (New York: Dover Publications, 1978).
World History
