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The Longest Siege: Spanish Conquest of the Maya Itza
Description
In 1697, over 150 years after Cortés toppled Tenochtitlan, Spanish conquistadors finally conquered the last independent Maya kingdom: the Itza capital of Nojpetén on an island in Lake Petén Itzá. This episode tells the story of the Itza Maya, who survived for centuries in the dense Petén jungle after the collapse of Chichén Itzá and Mayapán. We explore their sophisticated political system under the ajaw Kan Ek', their strategic isolation that kept the Spanish at bay for so long, and the failed missionary attempts by Franciscan friars like Fray Andrés de Avendaño y Loyola. The final assault in March 1697, led by Martín de Urzúa y Arizmendi, was a brutal amphibious attack using a purpose-built galley, the Santísima Trinidad, which smashed through Itza defenses in just hours. We discuss the aftermath—the forced relocation, the burning of Maya codices, and the tragic end of the Itza resistance. This episode reveals how the 'end' of the Conquest was not a single event but a centuries-long process, and how the Itza holdout represents the tenacity of indigenous cultures facing eradication.