Spanish conquest of Petén

Spanish conquest of Petén

The modern department of Petén is located in northern Guatemala. It contains a central drainage basin with a series of lakes and areas of savannah. The largest lake is Lake Petén Itzá, near the centre of the drainage basin. The region is bordered on the west by the Mexican state of Chiapas. On the east by Belize and on the south side by the Guatemala departments of Alta Verapaz and Izabal.

About Spanish conquest of Petén in brief

Summary Spanish conquest of PeténIndependent 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. 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 largest lake is Lake Petén Itzá, near the centre of the drainage basin; it measures 32 kilometres by 5 kilometres. 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 Chʼol, the Xocmo, the Chinamita, the Icaiche and the Manche Ch’ol. The area is characterised by a variety of forest and soil types; water sources include generally small rivers and low-lying seasonal swamps known as bajos. The climate is divided into wet and dry seasons with frequent, more frequent, frequent, interspersed with tropical forest. In the far north of the Petén forest, another drainage basin forms the Mirador Basin. To the south Petén reaches an altitude of approximately 500 metres as it rises towards the Guatemala Highlands and meets the Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and rocks of the Guatemala Himalayas. The region is bordered on the west by the Mexican state of Chiapas; this border largely follows the course of the Usumacinta River.

On the east by Belize and on the south side by the Guatemala departments of Alta Verapaz and Izabal. The modern department of Petén is located in northern Guatemala. It was first penetrated by Hernán Cortés with a sizeable expedition that crossed the territory from north to south in 1525. In 1622 a military expedition set out from Yucatán led by Captain Francisco de Mirones and accompanied by Franciscan friar Diego Delgado; this expedition was a disaster, and the Spanish were massacred by the Itze. In 1628 the Manches of the south were placed under the administration of the colonial governor ofVerapaz within the Captaincy General of Guatemala. The Manches rebelled against Spanish control in 1633. On the north side Petén is borders by the Mexico state of Campeche and on Tabasco; Petén bordered by the Belize state of Belize on the east and the Guatemala state of Izabal on the south side. The Petén lowlands are formed by a densely forestedLow-lying limestone plain featuring karst topography. It is in a relatively low level of occupation, which resulted in relatively low-level pre-Columbian occupation, surrounded by hills with steep southern slopes and unusually gentler approaches to the northern approaches.