Francisco de Montejo y León (; 1508 – 8 February 1565), known as "the Younger" (), was a 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 ...

, who in 1542 founded the city of Mérida, capital of State of

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. The son of

Francisco de Montejo Francisco de Montejo (; 1479 – 1553) was a Spanish conquistador in Mexico and Central America. Early years Francisco de Montejo was born about 1473 to a family of lesser Spanish nobility in Salamanca, Spain. He never documented his parentage ...

, ca. June 1527 he sailed with his father and his cousin Francisco de Montejo "the Nephew" from

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River oppos ...

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán ...

, launching the first military campaign of the conquest of Yucatán. In 1528 he came to the now lost city of Santa Maria de la Victoria (the first Spanish city in Mexican territory in the current state of

Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...

, founded at the mouth of the San Pedro River near the town of Salamanca de Xicalango), with the mission of pacifying the area, becoming in 1530 the leader of the campaign when his father left for the conquest of Yucatán. However, when he had already pacified virtually the entire region of

Grijalva River Grijalva River, formerly known as ''Tabasco River'', ( es, Río Grijalva, known locally also as Río Grande de Chiapas, Río Grande and Mezcalapa River) is a long river in southeastern Mexico."Grijalva." ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Diction ...

, the First Court dismissed his father while he was in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

and appointed Baltazar Osorio as mayor of Tabasco, forcing El Mozo to leave Santa Maria de la Victoria and await his father's instructions. In 1535 after an uprising of the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

against the Spanish authorities in Tabasco, by order of the Second Court, Montejo the Elder was restored to office, and sent his son El Mozo to again attempt the pacification of the province that was partially achieved in 1537. In 1539 he was awarded the title of captain general and governor of Tabasco, but in 1540 he left Tabasco to accompany his father on a new attempt at the conquest of Yucatán. In 1542 El Mozo achieved the surrender of western

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

(now part of the state of

) and founded on the former Mayan city of Ichkansihóo (T'Hó) (then practically abandoned) the city of Mérida. After the conquest, he continued to live in Mérida, but later moved to

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, where he died after a long illness on 8 February 1565.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montejo, Francisco de Spanish conquistadors Governors of Yucatán (state) 16th-century Spanish people People of New Spain Colonial Mexico Spanish colonial governors and administrators 1508 births 1565 deaths