Santa María de la Barca

Contemporary replica of a small, 1500s Spanish caravel
History
Castile
NameSanta María de la Barca[i]
OwnerA Nicuesa–Ojeda expeditionary leader[ii]
AcquiredUnknown
Maiden voyageUnknown
In serviceAt least in 1511 or 1512
Fate
  • Sank on collision or in tempest in 1511 or 1512
  • 19°N 83°W / 19°N 83°W / 19; -83
General characteristics
TypeCaravel, brig[iii], or larger ship type[iv]

The Santa María de la Barca[i] was a Spanish caravel, brig, or larger type of ship which sank in the northwestern Caribbean Sea in 1511 or 1512, during a series of Spanish colonisation efforts in the Gulf of Darien dating to 1509 and led by Diego de Nicuesa, Alonso de Ojeda, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa. The Santa María embarked on her final voyage in late 1511 or early 1512 from Santa María de la Antigua, despatched by Balboa to Santo Domingo to procure men, arms, and provisions for the Spanish discovery of the South Sea. She foundered and sank off the Yucatan Peninsula, upon running aground or hitting a storm. She is most notable today for two of her survivors, Jerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero, who were stranded in the pre-conquest Maya Lowlands for years, and thereafter aided (in the former's case) in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, or helped to hinder (latter's case) that of the Mayas.[18]

Background

Virtually nothing is known of the Santa María's characteristics and history prior to entering service. She is thought to have been a caravel, brig,[iii] or some other, larger type of vessel,[iv] and thought to have entered service before or during the Spanish expeditions to colonise Veragua[v] and New Andalusia[vi], in the Gulf of Darien, by Diego de Nicuesa and Alonso de Ojeda (authorised or commissioned on 9 June 1508 in Burgos[24]).

Nicuesa–Ojeda expeditions

19th century village in modern Darien Gap (historical south Veragua)

Nicuesa (with Lope de Olano) set sail from Santo Domingo in November 1509 (in three or four vessels), and made port sometime later in Veragua (vessels wrecked or scuttled).[26] Rodrigo de Colmenares (his lieutenant or second-in-command) reached him in northern Veragua sometime in late 1510 (in a brig),[28] having anchored in southern Veragua from November (in at least two craft).[30] Ojeda (with Francisco Pizarro) likewise put to sea from Santo Domingo in November 1509 (in three or four vessels), and reached Cartagena at some later point.[32] Martín Fernández de Enciso (his lieutenant) followed in September 1510 (in a large ship and a brig, with Vasco Núñez de Balboa), and subsequently found Pizarro in Cartagena (sans Ojeda, sans fleet).[35] Enciso and Pizarro then ran to New Andalusia (and lost Enciso's larger craft),[35] after which they crossed the Gulf of Uraba (and so entered southern Veragua), and founded La Guardia in November 1510.[37] The cabildo (Balboa and Juan de Valdivia[vii] members[44]) soon rechristened the villa Santa María de la Antigua[viii] and seized all craft at port,[46] after which Colmenares arrived (November 1510).[30]

By April 1511, both the Nicuesa and Ojeda expeditions had come under the de facto control of Balboa, as Nicuesa (but not his men) had been barred from the villa (left port on 1 March 1511 in Colmenares's brig),[47] whilst Enciso (but not his nor Pizarro's men) willingly or forcibly left the same (on 4 April 1511 in one of Colmenares's vessels).[49] The brig (with Nicuesa) was lost at sea,[50] but the second craft (which had disembarked Enciso in Santo Domingo) returned with Valdivia (who had been on the outbound trip) in August or September 1511.[52]

Career

The only trip by Santa María known with certainty is the one which wrecked her. By the time of Valdivia's return, La Antigua was in some duress (having not been provisioned since its founding),[54] whilst Balboa had learnt of the existence of the South Sea (from Panquiaco, son of Comogra, a cacique who resided nearby).[55] Consequently, Balboa instructed Valdivia to make the trip again, to relay Panquiaco's intelligence to Diego Columbus, request men (1,000), arms, and provisions, and pay the royal fifth they owed (10 or 15,000 pesos).[57]

Valdivia thus loaded the cargo,[59] rigged his ship, weighed anchor and put to sea in late 1511 or early 1512.[61] The Santa María set off due north from La Antigua to Santo Domingo,[62] captained by Valdivia,[63] and carrying at least Jerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero.[64] Some while into her voyage, though, disaster struck, as the Santa María either ran aground on some reefs or banks (Los Alacranes or Las Viboras[65]), or else was struck by a storm or hurricane,[66] sinking some distance east of Yucatan (and south of Cuba) in either case.

Some 20 or 30 souls are thought to have survived,[67] including Valdivia,[69] Aguilar,[70] and Guerrero.[71] As the Santa María went under, they reportedly scrambled on to one of her rowing skiffs,[ix] hoping the currents would suffice to reach dry land.[74] They may have naturally sought to drift to the Greater Antilles (Spanish territory), but were rather circuitously (in about a fortnight,[75] with at least some fatalities[76]) carried to Yucatan (Maya territory then).[77]

Aftermath

Caribbean currents, including northwesterly one towards Yucatan

On washing ashore, the shipwreck survivors were reputedly soon spotted by locals, apprehended, and taken before the batab (mayor) or halach uinic (governor).[79] The lord, by some accounts,[80] had the captain and four others ritually sacrified (and their flesh feasted upon in banquets), whilst Aguilar, Guerrero, and five or six others were held captive and well-fed (presumably to fill them out a bit for a later repeat of the festivities).[82] Sooner or later, though, a lapse in security apparently allowed at least Aguilar and Guerrero to escape, whereupon they were taken in (or discovered) by a second batab or halach uinic, presumably an enemy of the former, who spared their lives but made them slaves for said mercy.[83]

By the time Hernán Cortés landed in Cozumel in early 1519,[84] of the circa 20 or 30 initial Santa María survivors, only Aguilar and Guerrero seemingly remained (alive and in the Lowlands).[86] Aguilar is thought to have spent the intervening years in northern Yucatan,[89] in slavery,[90] until Cortes bought (or his master granted) his freedom.[92] Guerrero, on the other hand, is thought to have been gifted (a slave) to Nachan Can[x], the halach uinic of Chetumal (in southern Yucatan),[78] in or prior to 1514.[93] He seemingly adopted the Postclassic province as his new home (becoming a nacom or war captain, and marrying into the Can family), as unlike Aguilar, he is said to have rejected Cortes's offer of rescue in 1519.[95]

Having had no news of the Santa María,[96] and anxious for men and arms to embark on their isthmian crossing to the South Sea,[97] Balboa and the cabildo of La Antigua next despatched Colmenares and Juan de Caicedo to Columbus.[98] They set sail sometime during September to November 1512,[101] and arrived three or four months later.[103] Balboa's report (from Panquiaco) was much welcomed in Santo Domingo,[106] such that La Antigua soon started receiving a steady stream of merchants and conquistadors,[107] thereby facilitating the conquistador's march to the Bay of San Miguel on 1 September 1513.[109]

Meanwhile, in the Castilian court, having not received the royal fifth (amongst other reasons[111]),[10] Ferdinand the Catholic stripped Balboa of his interim governorship by appointing Pedro Arias Dávila governor of Castilla de Oro (as southern Veragua was now to be known) by mid-1513.[115] Notice of the impending arrival of Davila and the (now widely presumed[116]) loss of the Santa María was conveyed to La Antigua by Pedro de Arbolancha by late 1513 or early 1514.[119]

Legacy

Contemporary Mexican mural depicting a Santa María survivor with his Maya wife and Mestizo child

Three brief, second-hand accounts of the Santa María's last voyage survive, namely: by Cortes,[120] Bernal Díaz del Castillo,[121] and Andrés de Tapia,[122] all of whom met Aguilar upon his rescue in 1519. A number of similarly short, third-hand accounts (by cronistas de Indias[xi] who may not have met the survivors) are likewise extant, namely (in chronological order): by Peter Martyr,[123] Francisco López de Gómara,[124] Bartolomé de las Casas,[125] Francisco Cervantes de Salazar,[126] Diego de Landa,[127] Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas,[128] and Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra.[129]

Some scholars regard the survivors' stranding as the first meeting of the Lowland Maya and an Old World people,[130] and therefore tentatively credit it with introducing new diseases to Yucatan.[131] Some further credit their stay as transforming Postclassic Lowland society,[132] though some Mayanists dispute this.[133]

The Santa María is most notable in popular culture for her sinking and known survivors, Aguilar and Guerrero. The incident and aftermath have been depicted in Hispanic works since the sixteenth century,[134] and Guerrero, especially, has been mythicised to some extent in Mexico.[135]

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. 1 2 Varies: La Santa María de la Barca in [5]; Santa María de la Barca in [6][7]; unnamed in [15][16][17].
  2. ↑ De jure (to April 1511 latest): Nicuesa, Ojeda, Olano, Colmenares, Pizarro, Enciso, Juan de la Cosa. De facto (from December 1510 earliest): alcaldes of La Antigua (Balboa, Palazuelos, Zamudio) or other cabildo members. Nicuesa in [1].
  3. 1 2 Bergantin: "A two-masted vessel, consisting of the mainmast and the foremast, with its bowsprit; with square sails, with their corresponding stays, jibs, etc., and a large gaff sail for the mainsail; although some, to take advantage of beam winds, carry an additional square-rigged mainsail. This type of lightweight craft came to be known in the 14th century" in [2]. Also bregantin, carabelon.[3] Not to be confused with bergantina ("vessel typical or characteristic of the Mediterranean, a hydrid of the xebec and bergantin").[4]
  4. 1 2 Varies: navío in [5][6]; carabela or caravel in [7][8]; bergantín in [9]; barco in [1]; nave in [10]. Where: navio was a vessel, large vessel, or ship of the line;[11] carabela was a caravel;[12] bergantin was a brig;[2] barco was a vessel or small vessel;[13] nave was a vessel or vessel larger than a quarter-galley.[14]
  5. ↑ Also Darién, Veraguas, Castilla de Oro, Castilla del Oro. From Cape Gracias a Dios south to Rio Grande del Darien (modern Rio Atrato) or to median line of Gulf of Uraba.[19][20] Southern portion (from Rio Belen to Rio Grande or Uraba median) split off and renamed Castilla de Oro in mid-1513.[21][10]
  6. ↑ Also Darién, Nueva Andalucía, Urabá.[22][19] From Rio Grande del Darien (modern Rio Atrato) or from median line of Gulf of Uraba east to Cabo de la Vela.[19][20]
  7. ↑ Forename varies: Pedro in [5]; Juan in [8][10][38]. Surname varies: Valdivia in [39]; de Valdivia in [5][8][10]; de Valdisievo in [10]; de Valdenia in [40]; Valdibia in [41]. Not to be confused with the Chilean conquistador Pedro de Valdivia.[42][43]
  8. ↑ Also Dariena, La Antigua, Santa María la Antigua, Santa María la Antigua del Darién, Santa María de la Antigua del Darién.
  9. ↑ Batel: a skiff or smaller craft, carried by larger vessels.[72]
  10. ↑ Also Na Chan Can.[1]
  11. ↑ Early chroniclers of Spanish exploration, conquest, and colonisation of the New World.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Guerrero.
  2. 1 2 Diccionario marítimo español 1831, p. 92.
  3. ↑ Diccionario marítimo español 1831, pp. 92, 111, 144.
  4. ↑ Diccionario marítimo español 1831, pp. 92–93.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Dios 2008, p. 25.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Moreno 2020, p. 642.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 McLellan 2020, p. 36.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Aguilar.
  9. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. iv, 62, 66.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Balboa.
  11. ↑ Diccionario marítimo español 1831, p. 380.
  12. ↑ Diccionario marítimo español 1831, p. 144.
  13. ↑ Diccionario marítimo español 1831, p. 82.
  14. ↑ Diccionario marítimo español 1831, pp. 72, 288, 335, 379.
  15. ↑ Demarest 2007.
  16. ↑ Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018.
  17. ↑ Medina 1914.
  18. ↑ In this article, short citations of the form "Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Jane Doe" refer to the biography of Jane Doe in Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018. Where the person's full name is provided in the main body here, forenames are excluded from citations (so, "Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Nicuesa" for the biography of Diego de Nicuesa, for instance).
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Nicuesa.
  20. 1 2 3 Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Juan de la Cosa.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Davila.
  22. 1 2 Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Ojeda.
  23. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 21–23, 25.
  24. ↑ In: [19][22][21][23].
  25. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 26, 28–29.
  26. ↑ In: [19][8][25].
  27. 1 2 3 Medina 1914, pp. 42–48.
  28. ↑ In: [19][10][27].
  29. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 40–42.
  30. 1 2 In: [10][29].
  31. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 25–27.
  32. ↑ In: [19][20][31].
  33. 1 2 Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Enciso.
  34. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 25–26, 29–32, 34–38.
  35. 1 2 In: [33][10][34].
  36. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 29–32, 37–39.
  37. ↑ In: [10][36].
  38. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 39, 62, 71.
  39. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 39, 62.
  40. ↑ Medina 1914, p. 71.
  41. ↑ de Herrera y Tordesillas A (1601). Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos.
  42. ↑ Medina 1914, p. 370.
  43. ↑ Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Pedro de Valdivia.
  44. ↑ Alcaldes: Balboa, Benito Palazuelos (later swapped for Zamudio).[10] Regidores: Valdivia, Diego Albítez, Martín de Zamudio, Esteban Barrantes.[10] Others: an Alberto, Bartolomé Hurtado.[10] Medina 1914, p. 39 add they "were most devoted to him [Balboa]".
  45. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 39–40.
  46. ↑ In: [10][45].
  47. ↑ In: [19][10][27]. Medina 1914, p. 51 add: "With the expulsion of Nicuesa and Enciso, Núñez de Balboa effectively became the near-absolute head of government of La Antigua".
  48. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 48–49, 53–54.
  49. ↑ In: [10][33][48].
  50. ↑ In: [19][10][27].
  51. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 54–62.
  52. ↑ In: [10][51].
  53. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 53–54.
  54. ↑ In: [10][53].
  55. ↑ Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Balboa, Medina 1914, pp. 54–62 date to in or after August 1511.
  56. 1 2 3 4 5 Medina 1914, pp. 62–63.
  57. ↑ In: [10][8][56].
  58. ↑ Medina 1914, p. 62.
  59. ↑ Bullion and missives, both official and private (from La Antigua's residents).[58]
  60. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Demarest 2007, p. 286.
  61. ↑ Disputed: by 1511 in [8][1]; 1511 in [5]; 1512 in Medina 1914, p. 62. Year of sinking also varies: 1511 in [7][60]; 1511 or 1512 in [6]. Medina 1914, p. 62 date departure to 11 January 1512.
  62. ↑ In: [6][8][1][10][56]. Dios 2008, p. 25 say she was coasted (east) for a bit.
  63. ↑ In: [5][8].
  64. ↑ In: [5][6][8][1]. Medina 1914, p. 62 say she sailed with 18 souls or crew, including two women.
  65. ↑ Disputed: either in [5]; Viboras in [8][56][1].
  66. ↑ Disputed: ran aground in [5][56]; hit by tempest in [6]; hit by tempest then ran aground in [8][1]. Incident located off Jamaica in: [5][8][1]. Medina 1914, pp. 62–63 dismiss a Cuban location.
  67. ↑ Disputed: 20 in [5]; circa 20 in [1]; circa 20 or 30 in [8].
  68. 1 2 3 4 Dios 2008, pp. 25–26.
  69. ↑ In: [68][8].
  70. ↑ In: [68][6][8].
  71. ↑ In: [68][6][8][1].
  72. ↑ Diccionario marítimo español 1831, pp. 89–90.
  73. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Medina 1914, p. 63.
  74. ↑ In: [68][8][1][73].
  75. ↑ Varies: 13 days in [1][73]; fortnight in [60]; 15 days in [8].
  76. ↑ Death tally varies: seven of at least 18 in [56]; half of circa 20 in [1]; some of circa 20 or 30 in [8]. Demarest 2007, p. 286, McLellan 2020, p. 36 say 11 reached Yucatan. Reason for fatalities: lack of food and water in [1][8][73]. Medina 1914, p. 63 dismiss Cuban account (that some survivors, including Valdivia, drifted to Comendador's cacicazgo and were there killed by natives) as rumour.
  77. ↑ In: [5][73][8][1][60]. Moreno 2020, p. 642 locate landing around modern Tulum (historical Ecab).
  78. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dios 2008, p. 26.
  79. ↑ Varies: halach uinic in [78]; cacique in [78]; lord in [7].
  80. ↑ Other accounts omit cannibalism.
  81. ↑ Medina 1914, p. 66.
  82. ↑ Varies: the lord sacrified five (including Valdivia) and imprisoned seven or eight (including Aguilar and Guerrero) in [78]; sacrified some, killed the others, kept only two (Aguilar and Guerrero) in [7]; sacrificed some, killed some in [1][60]; sacrified five (including Valdivia) and imprisoned the rest (including Aguilar and Guerrero) in [8][73]. Cannibalism omitted in: [7][1][60][8]. Rumours of her son's being cannibalised allegedly drove Aguilar's mother to madness.[81]
  83. ↑ In: [78][8][1]. Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Aguilar say all detainees escaped, were enslaved by cacique Aquincuz of Xamanha (modern Playa del Carmen, in historical Ecab) then all but Aguilar and Guerrero fell ill and died (mostly repeated in [1]). Medina 1914, p. 63 say some fled by sea and some by land, and the former were discovered.
  84. ↑ In: [8][1].
  85. ↑ Dios 2008, p. 27-28.
  86. ↑ In: [85][6][8].
  87. ↑ Dios 2008, p. 27.
  88. 1 2 Dios 2008, p. 28.
  89. ↑ Diaz del Castillo gives 1519 distance to Guerrero as five leagues from town where Aguilar lived,[87] in which case his residence had shifted south by then, or else Guerrero was visiting north at the time. Cortes disputes this distance.[88]
  90. ↑ Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Aguilar say his slavery meant carting fresh water (from cenotes), firewood, and fish; working milpas; and taking up arms for Aquincuz (once). Demarest 2007, p. 286 add scribing.
  91. ↑ Dios 2008, pp. 26–27.
  92. ↑ In: [91][8][1]. Cortes had been instructed to look for (and try to rescue) any potential survivors.[8]
  93. ↑ In: [78][1].
  94. ↑ Dios 2008, pp. 27–28.
  95. ↑ In: [94][8][1]. Disputed by de Landa.[88]
  96. 1 2 Medina 1914, p. 67.
  97. ↑ In: [96][10].
  98. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 67–69.
  99. 1 2 Medina 1914, pp. 68–69.
  100. ↑ Medina 1914, p. 68.
  101. ↑ In: [99][10]. In hastily-repaired brig that had lain abandoned for months, but was the only suitable vessel at port by then, and was not thoroughly repaired as they lacked even "the most basic materials" needed.[100] Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Balboa say the brig was built in La Antigua, and date departure to 28 October 1512. Medina 1914, p. 69 date departure to 29 November 1512, but note it has been dated to September or late October 1512 elsewhere.
  102. 1 2 3 Medina 1914, p. 69.
  103. ↑ In: [102]. After a difficult crossing as none of the crew (11 Spanish, three Amerindians) were experienced sailors,[99] whereas the journey required constant sailing against the wind.[102] Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Balboa say the round trip took less time, as Colmenares set off a second time (to or via Santo Domingo) with a Balboa memo dated 20 January 1513.
  104. ↑ Medina 1914, p. 81.
  105. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 72, 75.
  106. ↑ In: [104]. And in the Castilian court, where Colmenares and Caicedo next headed (arrived by May 1513[102]).[105]
  107. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 78, 81–83.
  108. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 83–85.
  109. ↑ In: [108][10].
  110. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 68–72, 78–79.
  111. ↑ Enciso, Colmenares, Caicedo had made damning allegations against Balboa in court.[10][110]
  112. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 107–112.
  113. ↑ Medina 1914, p. 107.
  114. ↑ Medina 1914, p. 54.
  115. ↑ In: [10][112]. The regent had named Balboa interim governor on 23 December 1511;[10] Davila appointed on 27 July 1513,[21][113] reached La Antigua by late June 1514.[10][21] Balboa had reportedly assumed the title of governor even prior to receiving notice (in early 1513[10]) of his 1511 appointment.[114]
  116. ↑ Columbus informed the Castilian regent of the shipwreck prior to 4 July 1513.[73]
  117. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 72–74, 103–104, 121–123.
  118. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 73–74.
  119. ↑ In: [10][117]. Arbolancha was: a merchant from Santo Domingo in [10]; a merchant and vecino or hidalgo from Spain, on royal commission to La Antigua, in [118].
  120. ↑ In Cartas de relación, first letter (in Cartas. via Wikisource).
  121. ↑ In Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España, chapters 27, 29 (in Verdadera. Vol. 1., Verdadera. Vol. 2., Verdadera. Vol. 3. via Project Gutenberg). Medina 1914, pp. 65–66 deem most credible.
  122. ↑ In Relación de algunas cosas (in Colección. via Cervantes Virtual).
  123. ↑ In Decades of the New World, second decade (books 3–4, 6) and fourth decade (book 6) (in Orbe. Vol. 1., Orbe. Vol. 2. via Internet Archive).
  124. ↑ In Historia general de las Indias (in Historia. via Cervantes Virtual).
  125. ↑ In Historia de las Indias (in Historia. Vol. 1., Historia. Vol. 2., Historia. Vol. 3., Historia. Vol. 4., Historia. Vol. 5. via Project Gutenberg).
  126. ↑ In Crónica de la Nueva España (in Crónica. via Cervantes Virtual).
  127. ↑ In Relación de las cosas de Yucatán (in Landa's. via Internet Archive).
  128. ↑ In Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos, first decade (book 9, chapters 3–4) and second decade (book 4, chapters 7–8) (in History. Vol. 1–6. via HathiTrust).
  129. ↑ In Historia de la conquista de México, first book (chapter 16) (in Historia. via Cervantes Virtual). Medina 1914, pp. 63–65 further tentatively attribute historicity to accounts in late 16th century epics by Luis Zapata de Chaves (Carlo famoso) and Gabriel Lobo Lasso de la Vega (Cortés valoroso).
  130. ↑ Disputed: first contact in [6][60][1]; second (after Columbus in 1502) contact in [7].
  131. ↑ McLellan 2020, p. 36 credit either the contemporary "chain of Indian carriers from Panama", or else any of: Columbus in 1502, Santa María survivors in 1511, Cordoba in 1517. Demarest 2007, p. 286 note pre-conquest contact introduced new diseases which "ravaged the highland and lowland kingdoms. By the time of the first European descriptions of Maya kingdoms, they had already been greatly reduced and politically destabilised by ten to twenty years of plague".
  132. ↑ Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Guerrero: Guerrero in Chetumal "began advising the indigenous people on Western warfare tactics and the construction of forts, trenches, and bastions ... he had several children, the first Mestizos of Mexican lands ... His military actions contributed significantly to the fact that the conquest of the Maya area was not completed until well into the 16th century".
  133. ↑ Demarest 2007, p. 286: "these Westerners did not transform Postclassic Maya society, which was, arguably, far better adapted to its environment than the later European Colonial and modern regimes".
  134. ↑ Medina 1914, pp. 63–65.
  135. ↑ Diccionario biográfico electrónico 2018, Guerrero: "Halfway between history and myth, Gonzalo Guerrero has become an ambivalent figure for Mexicans: for Hispanists he is just a traitorous renegade, whilst nationalism has turned him into a paradigm of acculturation and a martyr of the anti-imperialist struggle, ensuring his survival in Mexican collective memory as a symbol of mestizaje".
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