The Hernández de Córdoba expedition was a 1517 Spanish maritime expedition to the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

led by

Francisco Hernández de Córdoba Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

. The expedition ended in disaster after battling the

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

city-state of

Chakán Putum Chakán Putum was the name of a Maya civilization, Mayan chiefdom of the southwestern Yucatán Peninsula, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Its capital city was a major Mayan port city with some 8000 buildings. ...

, resulting in half the Spaniards being killed, and the other half being wounded. The expedition nonetheless brought back exciting news of vast lands inhabited by a rich and civilized people, namely, the

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writin ...

. The expedition is popularly credited as the first non-Amerindian contact with the Maya, and first non-Amerindian discovery of the Peninsula, though both these achievements are disputed in scholarly literature. It is deemed the opening campaign of the

Spanish conquest of the Maya The Spanish conquest of the Maya was a protracted conflict during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas, in which the Spanish ''conquistadores'' and their allies gradually incorporated the territory of the Late Postclassic Maya states and ...

, and one of the precursor expeditions which led to the Spanish invasion of the Aztec Empire.

Prelude

By the mid-1510s, Spanish settlements in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

dotted only a few of the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

and some mainland coast in the

southern Caribbean The Southern Caribbean is a group of islands that neighbor mainland South America in the West Indies. Saint Lucia lies to the north of the region, Barbados in the east, Trinidad and Tobago at its southernmost point, and Aruba at the most westerly ...

. The generally-deprived

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

s had yet to find that which had been promised them since the earliest Columbian voyages, namely, western maritime passage to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

, Amerindians to force into ''

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

'' or enslavement, and above all, copious amounts of gold. The latter had proved dear and scarce, and the people they enslaved were being decimated not only by their captors' cruelty, but also European diseases such as smallpox. In 1516, three wealthy Cuban settlers, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, Cristóbal Morante, and Lope Ochoa de Caicedo, got together to undertake an expedition to the

Lucayan archipelago The Lucayan Archipelago, also known as the Bahamian Archipelago, is an island group comprising the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The archipelago is in the western North Atlant ...

for the purpose of capturing and enslaving more people. Each man reportedly contributed between 1,500 and 2,000 ''castellanos'' for the undertaking, with

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar Diego Velázquez de CuéllarPronounced: (1465 – c. June 12, 1524) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and ''adelantado'' who was first governor of Cuba. In 1511 he led the successful conquest and colonization of Cuba. As the first governor ...

further contributing a brig and authorisation. With Hernández de Córdoba named captain, the organisers promptly enlisted Bernardino Íñiguez as ''veedor'', Alonso González as chaplain, a certain Morales as notary, and

Antón de Alaminos Antón de Alaminos (c. 1482 - ?) was a Spanish navigator and explorer in the New World. He was considered the most experienced and knowledgeable marine pilot serving in the Spanish Main during the first quarter of the sixteenth century. Antón ...

, Camacho de Triana, and Juan Álvarez as pilots, and two ships, along with the necessary Spanish sailors and soldiers, native Cuban servants, and provisions.

Expedition

Departure

There are, curiously, few historical sources which precisely date the fleet's departure from Cuba. Though a majority of sources date the departure to 1517, only

Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...

and

Bernal Díaz del Castillo Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador who participated as a soldier in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and late in his life wrote an account of the events. As an experienced ...

date it to February 1517, and only the latter fixes a day, giving 8 February as the fleet's departure date from

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cape San Antón, from where they put out to sea on 20–21 February. At this point, historical sources differ greatly. Some sources state the fleet's route was fixed, while some claim it was not. Still some in the former group further assert a storm was encountered which blew the ships off course, or claim strong currents were encountered which similarly took them off course, while others state the ships were intentionally steered off course upon a change of plans. Furthermore, the time it took to cross the

Yucatán Channel The Yucatán Channel or Straits of Yucatán (Spanish: ''Canal de Yucatán'') is a strait between Mexico and Cuba. It connects the Yucatán Basin of the Caribbean Sea with the Gulf of Mexico. It is just over wide and nearly deep at its deepest po ...

is variously given as four, six, 21, or 40 days. Castillo, the only chronicler to give precise dates, claims a treacherous crossing of 21 days, implying a 13–14 March arrival in the Yucatán Peninsula. Unfortunately, Castillo also gives a precise date, 4 March, as the day when a flotilla of five Maya canoes from

Cape Catoche Cabo Catoche or Cape Catoche, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, is the northernmost point on the Yucatán Peninsula. It lies in the municipality of Isla Mujeres, about north of the city of Cancún. According to the International Hydrograph ...

approached the fleet, thereby implying ''at least'' a 3–4 March arrival at the Peninsula. Given such uncertainty, the historian Fernando Tola de Habich favours an arrival 'in the first days of March 1517.'

Northern prong

As with departure details, there is likewise much disagreement among historical sources regarding the fleet's exact point of arrival in the Peninsula. Tola de Habich favours an approach to some northerly cape on the mainland, rejecting as most improbable accounts of (i) an arrival to some northeasterly island, (ii) to ''Eccampi'', (iii) to ''the'' province of Yucatán, and (iv) a forthwith coasting to

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

. The scholar thus proffers Cape Catoche, ''Punta de Yucatán'', and ''Punta Mujeres'' as the fleet's possible points of arrival, with the last of these deemed . Furthermore, while it is certain that, shortly upon first approaching the Peninsula, the ships disembarked at Cape Catoche, and thereafter coasted down to Campeche, ''exactly'' what occurred between first arrival and Campeche is, again, uncertain. Tola de Habich suggests as likely the crew's disembarking at Punta Mujeres, there coming upon 'a small salt-harvesting town, perhaps abandoned, where they found a small Maya temple with golden figurines of goddesses; from here they surely espied a larger town at some nearby headland, which prompted the fleet towards it: this was the town called ''Cairo'' by Peter Martyr, an appellation repeated by Castillo in his chronicle, adding the adjective ''Great''.' The historian situates ''Great Cairo'' in Cape Catoche, describing the momentous encounter between civilisations as follows. Accounts of this encounter are quite varied; nevertheless, a few common threads emerge, such as an encounter with local fishermen, descriptions of residents, golden ornaments, masonry buildings, temples, pyramids, towns, and 'Spanish awe at what they saw.' Particularly notable is the anecdote regarding the name ''Yucatán'', purportedly uttered by locals to mean 'I do not understand you' upon the Spaniards' asking them what they called their land. Tola de Habich favours an alternative theory though, first reported by Castillo, which ascribed the name to local christened Melchor. Melchor was one of two local fishermen from Catoche pressed by the crew for service, the other being Julián (so named by the Spanish). Similarly notable is the Spaniards' reported ''awe'' or ''terror'' upon reaching the Catoche town, their task suddenly looming large and foreboding compared to what they had expected. At this point, there was reportedly talk of returning to Cuba to prepare a stronger fleet, but 'their curiosity got the better of them, as well as their hope of finding more gold and, undoubtedly, the sense that they had nothing to lose.' And so, from Catoche, the fleet coasted southwards, encountering no resistance, and possibly no other coastal towns either.

Western prong

The cruise from Catoche to Campeche took 15 days per Castillo, or 110 Spanish nautical leagues per Martyr, with all sources agreeing the fleet arrived in Campeche on St Lazarus's feast day. The welcome agreement ends here though, as details of the Spaniards' reception differ among sources. Tola de Habich deems a cordial, even admiring, welcome likely, with residents and the '' batab'' coming up to shore to witness the fleet's entry, and the Spanish seizing the moment with a grand gun salute. At this point, the captain and a small number all his men disembarked, leaving all sailors manning the ships (as was custom). The Spanish found in Campeche a large town of, reportedly, close to 3,000 houses, presumably of limestone, in addition to at least one temple and some shrines, and perhaps a small pyramid. Accounts of their stay in Campeche are varied; though two notable events are mostly agreed upon – a banquet, and a visit to the temple. Sources describe at least five different menus for the welcome banquet afforded to the Spaniards, though all accounts suggest a great feast of many courses, heavy on fowl, game, maize, and seasonal fruits, though curiously lacking fish, greens, and beverages. Having dined and rested to their hearts' content, the men were reportedly then invited to visit Campeche's most important site – its temple. Tola de Habich quotes las Casas and others 'to get a clear idea of what they órdoba and companysaw and what it meant to them.' According to Tola de Habich, the temple would likely have impressed and terrified the men, this being their first encounter with such monumental and beastly statues, and their first indication of

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...

, in the New World. In spite of this, the Spaniards sojourned a few days in Campeche, possibly prompted by their hosts' hospitality, and thereafter continued on their way. The fleet coasted southwest for some ten or 15 leagues, whereupon they sighted a town variously called ''Moscobo'', ''Champotón'', ''Nochopobón'', and ''Potonchán'' in historical sources. Though this settlement is often identified as Potonchán (now known as

Frontera, Tabasco Frontera is a city and the municipal seat of Centla Municipality, Tabasco in Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States ...

) Champotón (now known as

Champotón, Campeche Champotón is a small city in Champotón Municipality in the Mexican state of Campeche, located at , about 60 km south of the city of Campeche where the small Champotón river meets the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. At the 2010 census it had ...

), the scholar Jorge N Iturriaga has recently argued that the latter is correct. Elated to find a source of fresh water, the much dehydrated men reportedly all disembarked with their ''pipas'' and arms aboard the brig and ''bateles'', leaving the sailors and large ships a league offshore. Events onshore, as narrated in historical sources, are 'very strange and on many points quite incomprehensible.' Nevertheless, Tola de Habich accepts the following series of events as likely. On land, the Spaniards, used to kindly receptions at Punta Mujeres, Cape Catoche, and Campeche, were now rather coldly received by armed locals who indicated their arrival was unwelcome. Córdoba's men, 'stubborn' but in dire need of water, landed regardless and set to sating their thirst and filling their pipas at the riverbank. Nightfall apparently crept up on the landed party, forcing the men to camp ashore for what must have been a tense night under the watchful eye of their aggrieved hosts. The men next awakened at dawn to a growing audience of a great many locals dressed for battle, 'with cotton armour down to their knees, and bows and arrows, and spears and bucklers, and swords like two-handed '' montanes'', and slingshots and stones, and plumes of the kind they usually don, and their faces masked in black and white.' War drums now beat in their periphery, accompanied by a great roar, and an opening salvo of arrows and stones from all sides. Frenzied combat ensued, reportedly amidst the local war captain's shouted orders of ''al calachoni,'' 'target the panishcaptain.' Within 'little more than half an hour,' Córdoba, grievously injured, seeing nearly half his men fallen, a few captured, and little more than half alive but seriously injured, called for immediate retreat. The survivors now rushed seawards to their brig and bateles, the locals in dogged pursuit even into sea. The Spanish managed to reach the safety of their fleet, whereupon the full weight of their loss dawned on them – reportedly, 55 men killed, 2 captured, 52 injured, an unknown number of sailors dead or injured, and all water and pipas lost. As Tola de Habich puts it, the engagement 'was a vicious carnage ..the Spaniards' most catastrophic military defeat yet since arriving in the New World.' Now in dire straits and unable to man both ships and the brig, the captain had the latter scuttled, and, with great effort, the surviving men put out to sea aboard the ships.

Return

Most historical sources say the Spanish made a beeline for Cuba, which account Tola de Habich favours, but Castillo rather notes the fleet first anchored at Estero de los Lagartos in search of water, and finding none, were next led to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

by Alaminos, from where they finally returned to Cuba after a native Floridian attack (though they had reportedly, at last, found water). As with the fleet's departure, there are likewise precious few details regarding the fleet's return to Cuba. What ''is'' certain, Tola de Habich notes, is that both ships arrived in Cuba sometime in April 1517, whereupon the governor Velázquez was debriefed.

Aftermath

Córdoba died shortly upon arriving home at Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, purportedly from injuries sustained during the expedition. His surviving men are thought to have endured a lengthy convalescence, with only 'a few' joining further expeditions west. In

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, expeditionary reports of lands of 'greater wealth, organisation, and social and material development han heretorfore known in the New World reportedly 'excited' Velázquez, who immediately got to work outfitting the 1518 Grijalva expedition, which would notably return with news of the gold-rich

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire, also known as the Triple Alliance (, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ or the Tenochca Empire, was an alliance of three Nahuas, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states rul ...

. The governor was similarly quick to claim credit for the discovery, successfully petitioning for the title of ''

adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...

'' of Yucatán, granted him on 13 November 1518 in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, which authorised his conquest and settlement of the Peninsula. In the

Maya Lowlands The Maya Lowlands are the largest cultural and geographic, first order subdivision of the Maya Region, located in eastern Mesoamerica. Extent The Maya Lowlands are restricted by the Gulf of Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the eas ...

, at 'about the time of the Córdoba expedition a new and terrible disease devastated the ucatánpeninsula i was almost certainly

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, perhaps introduced by the expedition, though there is nothing to suggest that in the records, or by some forgotten victims of shipwreck, or brought by a long chain of Indian carriers from Panama.'

Legacy

In scholarship

The quasi-first-hand of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, and the second-hand account by Bartolomé de las Casas, have become influential sources in scholarly literature, though at least some historians have come to question their accuracy, with Fernando Tola de Habich recently calling them 'the most outlandish' accounts of the expedition. Nevertheless, the Castillo chronicle remains influential in scholarly literature. For instance, it is followed by Tola de Habich (to some extent), Jorge Victoria Ojeda (mostly), and

Inga Clendinnen Inga Vivienne Clendinnen, (; 17 August 1934 – 8 September 2016) was an Australian author, historian, anthropologist, and academic. Her work focused on social history, and the history of cultural encounters. She was an authority on Aztec civili ...

(mostly). Quite a few of the campaign's details have come to be questioned. Firstly, the fleet's earliest point of arrival is commonly regarded as

Isla Mujeres Isla Mujeres (, Spanish for "Women Island", formally “''Isla de Mujeres''”) is an island where the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea meet, about off the Yucatán Peninsula coast in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is approximately ...

, following a 16th-century chronicle which listed 'a ''punta'' which he órdobanamed ''de las Mujeres as the fleet's first landing point. However, Tola de Habich argues that said chronicle, and still other historical sources, do lend support for Isla Mujeres as the first landing point, but rather indicate some cape on the , possibly Punta Mujeres or Cape Catoche. Similarly, Victoria Ojeda, following Marshall H Saville, rejects Isla Mujeres as the first landing point, deeming Cape Catoche as the likelier place. Secondly, the expedition's objective is variously reported as either to kidnap people to force into enslavement in the Lucayan archipelago or Bay Islands, or to discover new lands. Tola de Habich deems the former 'the most probable and supported y evidence' but nonetheless concedes the aim may have been the latter one. Victoria Ojeda makes a similar assessment. Thirdly, since the influential 16th century chronicle of Castillo, quite a few historians have confused Potonchán for Champotón. In a recent paper, the independent scholar José N Itarriaga clarifies that the Hernández de Córdoba expedition landed at Champotón, a pre-Columbian city coincident with the modern Mexican city of Champotón, Campeche, and at Potonchán, a pre-Columbian city coincident with the modern Mexican city of Frontera, Tabasco. Both achievements credited to the expedition have been disputed. For instance, while it is popularly regarded as the first non-Amerindian discovery of the Yucatán Peninsula, Victoria Ojeda notes the feat might rather be attributed to the 1508–1509 Pinzón–Solís voyage, or the 1511 stranding of

Gonzalo Guerrero Gonzalo Guerrero (also known as Gonzalo Marinero, Gonzalo de Aroca and Gonzalo de Aroza) was a sailor from Palos, Spain who was shipwrecked along the Yucatán Peninsula and was taken as a slave by the local Maya. Earning his freedom, Guerrero ...

, Jerónimo de Aguilar, and company. Tola de Habich makes a similar observation, further noting the

Peter Martyr map The Peter Martyr map is a Spanish Wood engraving, woodcut map composed in 1511 or 1514 and included in most or some copies of the 1511 edition of ''Decades of the New World'' by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera. The map depicts the insular and contin ...

as possible evidence in support of the former. Curiously, the 1562 ''Chronicle of Chac Xulub Chen'', by Ah Nakuk Pech, seems to attribute non-Amerindian discovery to the latter. Similarly, some scholars ascribe first non-Amerindian contact with the Maya civilisation to the 1502 Honduran leg of Columbus's fourth voyage, or the aforementioned 1511 stranding. Tola de Habich nonetheless underlines the importance of this expedition as the one which 'opened the doors' to

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

, thus leading to Spanish conquest thereof.

In culture

The Cape Catoche settlement, ''Great Cairo'', attained mythic proportions in the collective memory of 16th century Spanish society, becoming a vast city 'five times greater than Paris,' dotted with 'many rich palaces.' Victoria Ojeda attributes this simply to the novel sense of astonishment the settlement occasioned amongst Córdoba's men. In a similar vein, the story of Yucatán's being a great island, bound by the Ascension Bay (east) and

Laguna de Términos Laguna de Términos is the largest tidal lagoon by volume located entirely on the Gulf of Mexico, as well as one of the most biodiverse. Exchanging water with several rivers and lagoons, the Laguna is part of the most important hydrographic rive ...

(west), is thought to have been spread by the expeditionary pilot, Antón de Alaminos. This belief would not be corrected until further expeditions to what became

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. In the northern Maya Lowlands, Victoria Ojeda thinks the arrival of Córdoba's men would have been interpreted by Maya priests as fulfilment of prophecies of the arrival of bearded men, which omen was said to augur times of 'weeping skies, scarcity of corn, and great hunger.' The 500th anniversary of the Hernández de Córdoba expedition, in 2017, was commemorated with a number of celebrations throughout the Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico, including in Campeche,

Cancún Cancún is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito J ...

, Isla Mujeres, and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. The 400th anniversary was commemorated by the federal government of Mexico via the 1917 dedication of a public monument in Isla Mujeres.

Tables

Crew

Concordance

Notes and references

Explanatory footnotes

Short citations

Full citations

# # # # # # # # # # # {{authority control 16th century in the Maya civilization 1517 in Mexico Exploration of North America Spanish exploration in the Age of Discovery History of the Yucatán Peninsula