The Mayans (11 August 3114 BC-1697) were a civilization located in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. The Mayans were not led by one emperor, but rather a confederation of city-states that worshipped the same gods. Although the conquistadores conquered the Aztec Empire within three years of landing in Mexico in 1519, the Mayans were finally conquered in 1697 when Zacpeten fell to New Spain.
History[]
Map of the Mayans in 1519
The Mayan people of the New World were not dominated by one ruling aristocracy. Instead, they were formed from many small city-states, each with their own royalty and a large temple for worshipping their gods. The Mayan people had a long history when compared to their Aztec neighbors, spanning over a millennia, during which the Mayan’s riches, power, and territory waxed and waned. At their peak, in 900 AD, they could claim some of the most densely populated and largest settlements in the world, complete with awe-inspiring architecture and advances in science, mathematics, and language. Why much of this disappeared was a mystery even to themselves, and the Mayans had never looked like regaining those heights of prosperity, until 1519. The Mayans were once again on the rise, with many strong city-states, including the Itza Maya, Kowoj Maya, and K’iche Maya. They were resettling previously abandoned areas and creating new settlements. With many proud temples being raised to the great Kukulcan, the quetzal-feathered serpent god, the Mayans believed that destiny is once again at hand. The reinvigorated Mayans are now in a position to strike out across the New World, spreading their influence amongst all the peoples, from small nearby villages all the way to mighty Tenochtitlan itself. The Mayans fielded many brave and fearsome warriors, including the Jaguar warriors and hive throwers. They made up for their lack of cavalry with the overwhelming number of warriors they can field.
The "Mayan Empire" was based at Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula, and they resisted against the expansion of New Spain in the region. Francisco de Montejo arrived in the Yucatan in 1528 in an attempt to conquer the regions from the Mayans, but in 1535 his forces were driven back. He instead headed to Honduras, and the Mayans continued to resist against the advances of the Spanish. The Mayans continued to resist against the Spanish until their Kowoj city of Zacpeten fell in 1697, over 200 years after the Spanish arrived in the New World.
The Mayans remained a people after the conquest, oppressed by the Spanish authorities. The Spanish men breeded with the Mayans to form a new ethnicity: mestizos, mixed-race people who held certain rights. The mestizos became the rulers of Mexico after the fall of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Mexican Empire, but in 1996 the Mayans revolted in Chiapas under Subcomadante Marcos after the government began the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This decreased corn farmers' profits, and the Mayan people were oppressed once more, so they took up arms and fought against the government as the EZLN.
Culture[]
The Mayans were a sacrificial culture who massacred their prisoners in bloodlettings to appease their gods. Their jungle temples remained for many years, and although Zacpeten fell in 1697, their city of Tulum remained independent even after a Spanish attack in 1716. The Mayans spread their culture around the Caribbean by building stelae and hiding keystones on islands such as Great Inagua, Isla Providencia, in Long Bay (Jamaica), and other islands close to Mexico's shore.
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