Learn more about the Maya here. These were preceded by the Archaic Period, during which the first settled villages and early developments in agriculture emerged. The K’iche had been warned against the Spanish by Aztec Emperor Moctezuma in the waning days of his rule and flatly rejected Spanish offers to surrender and pay tribute, although they were proud and independent and would most likely have fought in any event. The last Inca emperor remained in power until 1572, when Spaniards killed him. As his horse fell, Alvarado impaled Tecún Umán on his spear. The Maya Empire had deteriorated some centuries before but survived as a number of small kingdoms, the strongest of which was the K’iche, whose home was in what is now central Guatemala. They also included wher… Some Mayan ethnic groups survived for a while by taking to the hills and fiercely attacking anyone who came near: one such group was located in the region that currently corresponds to north-central Guatemala. But Maya splendor lived on in the Yucatán peninsula. The greatest of the Kingdoms was the K’iche, at home in their capital of Utatlán. Alvarado also had other advantages: horses, guns, fighting dogs, metal armor, steel swords, and crossbows were all devastating unknowns to the hapless Maya. Thus, the empire … Alvarado was given the privilege of conquering them. The Spanish conquest of Chiapas was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish conquistadores against the Late Postclassic Mesoamerican polities in the territory that is now incorporated into the modern Mexican state of Chiapas. The Spanish Conquest and the Decline of the Maya, In order to view premium content on Kids Discover Online you must either. The Maya civilization lived in three different areas: the southern Maya highlands, the central lowlands, and the northern lowlands. When Spanish explorers got there in the early sixteenth century, they found cities full of people. Wars, disease, and famine decimated the Empire, but the region still was home to several independent kingdoms of varying strength and advancement. Over-population of Mayan metropolises are suspected to have gone beyond levels that the Mayan political and social networks were able to support, resulting in social unrest and revolution. Knowing that the K’iche was the mightiest kingdom, he first made a treaty with their traditional enemies, the Kaqchikel, another powerful highland kingdom. The K’iche surrendered but tried to trap the Spanish inside the walls of Utatlán: the trick did not work on the clever and wary Alvarado. The cities of the Maya could have been it. However the descendants of the Mayans continue to live on today. By 1521 the Spanish had conquered the Aztecs. Its art and architecture were very sophisticated and it's famous for its stepped pyramids. A good guess is that both outside pressures and inside tensions led to the fall of the Maya. Pedro de Alvarado (1485-1541) was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the Conquest of the Aztecs in Central Mexico in 1519 and led the Conquest of the Maya in 1523. Maybe society broke down, there were too many people, or the people were starving. The Mayan civilisation covered most of Central America between 4,000 and 400 years ago. They faced opposition from a number of Kiche warriors but were able to defeat them in a number of conflicts. New World bodies had no immunity to European diseases like smallpox, plague, chicken pox, mumps and more. NFL owner rips his own players over boneheaded play. After the Spanish conquered them, the Mayans were completely destroyed and the Spanish conquerors lived on in their new Yucatan home. During the campaign, young Pedro de Alvarado and his brothers rose in the ranks of Cortes’ army by showing themselves to be ruthless, courageous and ambitious. Or it might have been all these factors. The area covered what we now call the southern Mexican states of Chiapas and Tabasco, and the Yucatán Peninsula states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán. Chichen Itza's El Castillo Historically, the population in the eastern half of the peninsula was less affected by and less integrated with Hispanic culture than the western half. The K’iche fought bravely, but the Battle of El Pinal was a rout almost from the start. That desire led them to destroy the most brilliant civilization on the continent. Why? In 1523, he set out with about 400 Spanish conquistadores and some 10,000 Native allies. However, the Nahuatl language is carried on by Mexican Indians, and Aztec culture lives on in descendants. The Spanish conquered the Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilization. Enjoy learning more about the Maya in this KS2 history quiz written for students in Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6. For years, the Spanish had been searching for the legendary El Dorado. A good guess is that both outside pressures and inside tensions led to the fall of the Maya. Maya: The Mayan Empire was an empire in Mesoamerica that ranged from southern Mexico to Honduras. After important Kiche citiesfell to the Spaniards, t… The colonization of Guatemala could begin. Nevertheless, by the time the Spanish arrived, the large Mayan cities were already empty and the once great civilization was no more. The long distance ones included bow and arrow, blowgun, slings and throwing spears. They tore down much of the city of Tenochtitlan and built their own city on the site called Mexico City. The first of these to face the might of the Spaniards was the Mayan Kiche kingdom. In early 1524, Spaniards under Pedro de Alvaradoadvanced into the Kiche territory and began the conquest. The causes for the Maya's decline are numerous, but one of the central causes is that the demands they placed upon their environment grew beyond the capacity of the land. Modern scholars regard these periods as arbitrary divisions of Maya chronology, rather than indicative of cultural evolution or decline. Fray Bartolomé de las Casas was able to convince the crown to allow him to pacify these Native people peacefully with missionaries in 1537. According to the K’iche, Tecún Umán’s spirit then grew eagle wings and flew away. Christopher Minster, Ph.D., is a professor at the ​Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. He eventually turned on his Kaqchikel allies, enslaving them even though the defeat of the K’iche would have been impossible without them. The Aztecs followed a dem… Over the years, the heroism of the K’iche has become the lasting memory of a bloody time: in modern Guatemala, Tecún Umán is a national hero, Alvarado a villain. He made an ally of the Kaqchikel and warred upon the K’iche, whom he defeated in 1524. Frequent skirmishes by warring clans, such as the Toltec invasion of Chichen Itz… He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides. The Aztecs were also known as the Tenochca (from which the name for their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was derived) or the Mexica (the origin of the name of the city that would replace Tenochtitlan, as well as th… Originating from a small group of poverty-stricken wanderers, the Aztec empire developed into one of the largest empires in the Americas. The Mayans had both long-distance weapons and melee weapons. The Spanish conquerors defeated the Mayans by conquering them, which ended the Mayan rule in the Yucatan Peninsula. The southern lowlands were nearly deserted. Over the years, the Maya have retained much of their traditional identity, especially in contrast to the areas that once belonged to the Aztecs and the Inca. As a civilization, Cortés had been successful in Mexico because of his ability to turn long-simmering hatreds between ethnic groups to his benefit, and Alvarado had been a very good student. One was Tecún Umán himself: according to tradition, he attacked Alvarado and decapitated his horse, not knowing that horse and man were two different creatures. Exactly how the Mayan Empire met its end is really not known. Spanish conquistadores stole Aztec treasure, which was later found in the ruins of the Aztecs major city, or modern-day Mexico City. The ancient Maya, whose early settlements date back to about 2,000 B.C., lived in present-day southern Mexico and northern Central America. These diseases tore through Native communities, decimating the population. At its height the Aztec empire consisted of a ruling class of Aztecs with nearly fifteen million subjects of different cultures living in five hundred different cities and towns. Then in the 1520s Spanish conquistadors invaded and conquered the Mayans. The masses may have rebelled. Spain conquered the Aztecs in 1521, wiping out the Aztecs as they had been known. The Mayans began to develop during the Mesoamerican civilization - one of six civilizations in the world at the time. But Maya splendor lived on in the Yucatán peninsula. By 1524, the Spaniards had already subdued the Aztec Empire under Hernan Cortesand were now making their way towards the Mayans in the Highland regions. Upgrade to a Homeschool or Educator Plan and get immediate access to Quick Quiz (and other great features), to gauge a student’s progress and understanding of material. In 1524, a band of ruthless Spanish conquistadores under the command of Pedro de Alvarado moved into present-day Guatemala. The masses may have rebelled. Answer to: Who conquered the Mayans? Alvarado led fewer than 500 Spanish and a number of native Mexican allies into the region. 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