Nachi Cocom (? - 1562), known to Spanish conquistadors as Juan Cocom , was a

halach uinik Halach uinik or halach uinic ( Yucatec Maya:'real man') was the name given to the supreme ruler, overlord or chief, as they were called in the colonial period of a Maya '' kuchkabal''. Most ''kuchkabal'' were run by a halach uinik, who ruled on ...

(Mayan theocratic leader) of the

Sotuta Sotuta is a small town and municipality of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and also was the name of a Mayan chiefdom of the northern central Yucatán Peninsula, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. See also * A ...

kuchkabal A ''kuchkabal'' ( , ''kuchkabalo'ob'', 'province'), also known as an ''ah kuch-kab'' or ''ah cuch-cab'', was a system of social and political organisation common to Maya polities of the Maya Lowlands, in the Yucatán Peninsula, during the ...

in modern day

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and a descendant of the

Cocom The Cocom or Cocomes were a Maya family or dynasty who controlled the Yucatán Peninsula in the late Postclassic period. Their capital was at Mayapan. The dynasty was founded by Hunac Ceel, and was overthrown sometime between 1440 and 1441 by Ah ...

lineage that in previous centuries had led the

League of Mayapan The League of Mayapan (Yucatec: Luub Mayapan Maya glyphs: ) was a confederation of Maya states in the post classic period of Mesoamerica on the Yucatan peninsula. The main members of the league were the Itza, the Tutul-Xiu, Mayapan, and Uxma ...

. He is notable for organizing armed resistance to the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s under

Francisco de Montejo the Younger Francisco de Montejo y León (; 1508 – 8 February 1565), known as "the Younger" (), was a Spanish conquistador, who in 1542 founded the city of Mérida, capital of State of Yucatán, Mexico. The son of Francisco de Montejo, ca. June 1527 he ...

, but was defeated in a battle at the ruins of T’ho in the center of modern day

Mérida, Yucatán Mérida () is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and the largest city in southeastern Mexico. The city is also the seat of the eponymous Municipality. It is located in the northwest corner of the Yucatán Peninsula, about 35 km (22 ...

on June 10–11, 1542. He survived the battle and eventually submitted to Spanish rule, becoming baptized as Juan Cocom. He is considered by some to be the “last” halach uinik of the Maya, though the Itzá of

Nojpetén Nojpetén (also spelled Noh Petén, and also known as Tayasal) was the capital city of the Itza Maya kingdom of Petén Itzá. It is located on an island in Lake Petén Itzá in the modern department of Petén in northern Guatemala. The island ...

resisted Spanish dominion until 1697.

References

{{Authority control Mayan chiefdoms of the Yucatán Peninsula 1562 deaths