Spanish conquest of Chiapas

The Sumidero Canyon is formed as the Grijalva River cuts across the central plateau of Chiapas

The Mexican state of Chiapas occupies the extreme southeast of Mexico, covering an area of 74,415 square kilometres (28,732 sq mi). To the west, it borders with the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Veracruz, and to the north with Tabasco. It borders on the east with Guatemala; the southern border consists of 260 kilometres (160 mi) of Pacific coastline.[2] Chiapas is geographically and culturally diverse.[3] It features two principal highland regions: to the south is the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and in central Chiapas are the Montañas Centrales (Central Highlands). They are separated by the Depresión Central, containing the drainage basin of the Grijalva River.[4] The Sierra Madre highlands gain altitude from west to east, with the highest mountains near the Guatemalan border.[5]

The littoral zone of Soconusco lies to the south of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas,[6] and consists of a narrow coastal plain and the foothills of the Sierra Madre. Although the entire coastal strip is often referred to as Soconusco, Soconusco proper is the southeastern portion characterised by a humid tropical climate and rich agricultural lands.[4] The northwestern portion of the coastal strip featuring a drier climate was historically referred to as El Despoblado ("The Unpopulated"); it is generally referred to now as the Isthmus Coast Region (Spanish: Istmo-Costa).[7]

The Depresión Central consists of a drainage basin some 200 kilometres (120 mi) long and varying in width from 30 to 60 kilometres (19 to 37 mi). The Grijalva River is fed by drainage from the Cuchumatanes mountains of Guatemala and from both of the Chiapas highland regions, particularly the Sierra Madre. The wide plains feature a hot climate with moderate rainfall. The Depresión Central is itself divided into two zones, the eastern is the Grijalva Valley stretching from the Guatemalan border to the Sumidero Canyon;[5] the western zone is the Meseta Central, or Central Plateau, in colonial times referred to as the Valle de Jiquipilas y Cintalapa. This region of high plains blocks the passage of the Grijalva River, which has cut its way through towards Tabasco by means of the Sumidero Canyon.[8] Los Chimalapas is another highland region at the northern extreme of the Meseta Central and bordering with Oaxaca; it is considered the first upthrust of the Sierra Madre.[9]

The Central Highlands rise sharply to the north of the Grijalva, to a maximum altitude of 2,400 metres (7,900 ft), then descend gradually towards the Yucatán Peninsula. They are cut by deep valleys running parallel to the Pacific coast, and feature a complex drainage system that feeds both the Grijalva and the Lacantún River, which feeds into the Usumacinta River.[10] The Central Highlands feature high rainfall and diverse vegetation dependent upon altitude, including high-altitude pine forests, montane tropical rain forests, and lowland tropical rain forests further north and east towards the plains of Tabasco and Petén.[11] At the eastern end of the Central Highlands is the Lacandon Forest, which is largely mountainous with lowland tropical plains at its easternmost extreme.[12]

Map of principal settlements in Chiapas during the Spanish conquest. Highland regions are shaded.

The earliest human inhabitants of Chiapas were foragers living in the northern highlands and along the coastal strip from approximately 6000 BC until about 2000 BC.[13] For approximately the last two millennia BC, the majority of the territory that is now covered by the state of Chiapas was occupied by Zoque-speaking peoples. Gradually, Mayan-speakers began to make inroads from the east and, from about 200 AD, Chiapas was divided roughly equally between the Zoques in the western half and Maya in the eastern half; this distribution continued up to the time of the Spanish conquest.[14]

A broad swathe of western Chiapas was held by the Zoques, covering the Depresión Central, the middle Grijalva basin, the Chimalapas and parts of the Pacific coastline.[15] The main Zoque settlements in the Depresión Central were Copainalá, Mezcalapa, Quechula and Tecapatán. Their settlements on the western side of the Grijalva River included Citalapa, Jiquipilas, Ocozocuautla and the Corzos valley. Coyatocmó was a small Zoque settlement that grew into the modern state capital, Tuxtla Gutiérrez.[16] The Aztecs exacted tribute from the Zoques, and dominated trade routes running through their territory.[17] In pre-Columbian times, the Depresión Central featured two of the largest cities in the region, Chiapa and Copanaguastla.[7] The area around Chiapa de Corzo was occupied by the Chiapanecas, whose ethnicity and language are unknown.[18] The Chiapanecas were militarily powerful before the Spanish conquest; they had forced a number of important Zoque settlements to pay them tribute, and had successfully resisted being incorporated into the Aztec Empire. The Chiapaneca territory lay between the territories of the Zoques and the Tzotzil Maya, in the upper and middle Grijalva basin; their main settlements were Acala, Chiapa, Ostuta, Pochutla and Suchiapa.[17]

The central highlands were occupied by a number of Maya peoples,[18] including the Tzotzil, who were divided into a number of provinces; the province of Chamula was said to have five small towns grouped closely together.[19] The Tojolabal were another Maya people, with territory around Comitán.[20] The Coxoh Maya held territory in the upper reaches of the Grijalva drainage, near the Guatemalan border,[21] and were probably a subgroup of the Tojolabal.[22] Soconusco was an important communication route between the central Mexican highlands and Central America. It had been subjugated by the Aztec Triple Alliance at the end of the 15th century, under the emperor Ahuizotl,[23] and paid tribute in cacao.[4] The Cholan Maya-speaking Lakandon (not to be confused with the modern inhabitants of Chiapas by that name) controlled territory along the tributaries of the Usumacinta River spanning eastern Chiapas and southwestern Petén in Guatemala.[24] The Lakandon had a fierce reputation amongst the Spanish.[25]

Rumours of strangers on the Atlantic coast reached Chiapas long before the physical presence of Spaniards in the region. This was followed by messengers from the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II, to the Kʼicheʼ Maya of the Guatemalan Highlands, warning them to prepare for war against the Spanish intruders. This was soon followed by news that the great Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had fallen to the conquistadores.[26] A mixed embassy that included Chiapanecas, Kʼicheʼs and Kaqchikel Maya visited Hernan Cortés in the recently conquered Aztec capital, and were well received.[19]

In 1522, Spanish ships explored the Pacific shore of Chiapas when Andrés Niño followed the coast from Panama northwest to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.[27] In December that year, Cuzcacuatl, who was lord of the Tzotzil Maya town of Zinacantan, travelled to the Spanish settlement at Villa del Espíritu Santo (modern Coatzacoalcos) to pledge an alliance with the newcomers.[28]

The Spanish conquest had as its principal aims the physical incorporation of the indigenous peoples of Chiapas into the Spanish Empire, and their spiritual conversion to Christianity. This involved the dismantling of indigenous power structures, the destruction of pagan temples and idols, the concentration of indigenous populations in centralised settlements that could be more easily controlled and evangelised, the incorporation of these new settlements into the Spanish system of tributes and taxes, and the introduction of Christian imagery. One side of this involved armed struggle and the imposition of Spanish colonial administration by force; the religious side of this struggle was the generally peaceful conversion of indigenous populations to Christianity. In Chiapas, such evangelisation efforts were generally carried out by the Dominican Order. The Dominicans became involved in the concentration of Indians into new settlements, the construction of churches and convents, and the religious instruction of the natives.[29]

The 16th-century Spanish conquistadores were armed with broadswords, rapiers, crossbows, matchlocks and light artillery. Mounted conquistadores were armed with a 3.7-metre (12 ft) lance, that also served as a pike for infantrymen. A variety of halberds and bills were also employed. As well as the one-handed broadsword, a 1.7-metre (5.5 ft) long two-handed version was also used.[30] Crossbows had 0.61-metre (2 ft) arms stiffened with hardwoods, horn, bone and cane, and supplied with a stirrup to facilitate drawing the string with a crank and pulley.[31] Crossbows were easier to maintain than matchlocks, especially in a humid tropical climate.[32]

Metal armour was of limited use in the hot, wet tropical climate. It was heavy and had to be constantly cleaned to prevent rusting; in direct sunlight, metal armour became unbearably hot. Conquistadores often went without metal armour, or only donned it immediately prior to battle.[33] They were quick to adopt quilted cotton armour based upon that used by their native opponents, and commonly combined this with the use of a simple metal war hat.[34] Shields were considered essential by both infantry and cavalry; generally this was a circular target shield, convex in form and fashioned from iron or wood. Rings secured it to the arm and hand.[30]

While the encomienda colonial labour-supply system was in the process of being established, slave raids became a part of the cycle of conquest. The Spanish would round up indigenous peoples, brand them as slaves, and trade them at ports on the Gulf of Mexico for horses and weaponry, allowing further conquest and the acquisition of new slaves for trade.[35]

The Tzotzil Maya of highland Chiapas used spears, thrown rocks, bows and arrows, and large flexible cotton shields that protected the warrior from head to foot and could be rolled up for storage. Towns were sometimes defended with walls and barricades, built from packed earth and stone, and reinforced with tree trunks. Defenders would hurl stones down from above, or pour boiling water mixed with lime and ashes upon attackers.[36] As the Spanish became established in Chiapas, indigenous resistance took the form of flight to inaccessible regions.[37]

Pedro de Alvarado passed through Soconusco with a large army in 1523

Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado passed through Soconusco with a sizeable force in 1523, en route to conquer Guatemala.[39] Alvarado's army included hardened veterans of the conquest of the Aztecs, and included cavalry and artillery;[40] there were also a great many indigenous allies from Cholula, Tenochtitlan, Tezcoco, Tlaxcala, and Xochimilco.[41] Alvarado was received in peace in Soconusco, and the inhabitants swore allegiance to the Spanish Crown. They reported that neighbouring groups in Guatemala were attacking them because of their friendly outlook towards the Spanish. Alvarado's letter to Hernán Cortés describing his passage through Soconusco is lost, and knowledge of events there come from the account of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, who was not present, but related the report of Gonzalo de Alvarado.[42] By 1524, Soconusco had been completely pacified by Alvarado and his forces.[43] Over the next fifty years, native population levels collapsed catastrophically as a result of exposure to Old World diseases,[44] with an estimated 90–95% drop. In spite of this, the colonial administration demanded twice as much tribute in cacao as had been paid to the Aztecs prior to the Spanish invasion,[45] and cacao continued to be an important crop throughout the colonial period.[46] Due to the economic importance of cacao to the new colony, the Spanish were reluctant to move the indigenous inhabitants far from their established cacao orchards. As a result, the inhabitants of Soconusco were less likely to be rounded up into new reducción settlements, where the planting of a new cacao crop would have required five years to mature.[47]

Spanish jurisdiction over the province of Soconusco was subject to frequent changes. Immediately after the conquest, it was held in encomienda first by Hernán Cortés, then by Jorge de Alvarado. By 1530, the Audiencia Real of Mexico had jurisdiction over the province of Soconsusco, which was now held in encomienda by the Spanish Crown. It was governed by colonial officers appointed in Mexico. In 1556, Soconusco passed into the jurisdiction of the Audiencia Real of Guatemala, with independent governors appointed by the Crown. From 1564–69, Soconusco was passed back into the jurisdiction of Mexico, before once again becoming an independent province administered by the Audiencia Real of Guatemala, where it remained until the late 18th century.[45]

Ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the inhabitants was equally chaotic; it was first placed under the Diocese of Tlaxcala but was transferred to the Diocese of Guatemala in 1536. The Dominican Order was active in Soconusco during the early years of colonial rule, but withdrew in 1545 due to the low levels of indigenous population and the unhealthy climate. In 1545 it became a part of the Diocese of Chiapa. It was returned to Guatemala in 1561, and back to Chiapa in 1596.[45]

Highland Chiapas, known as Chiapa, fell under the jurisdiction of New Spain until 1530, when it was transferred to Guatemala. In 1540, Chiapa became a self-governing province for four years, after which it once again fell within the jurisdiction of Guatemala. The province of Chiapa was governed from Ciudad Real, now known as San Cristóbal de las Casas.[6]

Pedro de Portocarrero, a young nobleman, led the next expedition into Chiapas after Alvarado, again from Guatemala. His campaign is largely undocumented but in January 1528 he successfully established the settlement of San Cristóbal de los Llanos in the Comitán valley, in the territory of the Tojolabal Maya.[56] This served as a base of operations that allowed the Spanish to extend their control towards the Ocosingo valley. One of the scarce mentions of Portocarrero's campaign suggests that there was some indigenous resistance but its exact form and extent is unknown.[20] The Coxoh Maya, who inhabited a small area along the San Gregorio River between Comitán and the Guatemalan border,[57] were probably conquered in 1528.[58] The Spanish concentrated them into five small reducciones, three of which were established along the Royal Road (Spanish: Camino Real) running from San Cristóbal to Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala.[59] Portocarrero established Spanish dominion over a number of Tzeltal and Tojolabal settlements, and penetrated as far as the Tzotzil town of Huixtan. He travelled no further into Tzotzil territory, since those lands had already been given in encomienda to residents of Villa de Espíritu Santo.[60]

By 1528, Spanish colonial power had been established in the Chiapas Highlands, and encomienda rights were being issued to individual conquistadores. Spanish dominion extended from the upper drainage of the Grijalva, across Comitán and Teopisca to the Ocosingo valley. This area was incorporated into the Villa de San Cristóbal district, also including Chamula, Chiapan, and Zinacantán. The north and northwest were incorporated into the Villa de Espíritu Santo district, that included Chʼol Maya territory around Tila, and Zoque territory around Quechula and Tecpatán.[20]

In the early years of conquest, encomienda rights effectively meant rights to pillage and round up slaves, usually in the form of a group of mounted conquistadores launching a lightning slave raid upon an unsuspecting population centre.[61] Prisoners would be branded as slaves, and taken to a port to be sold, in order that the conquistadores could purchase weapons, supplies, and horses. In some cases the conquistadores would round up the elders, chain them up, whip them and set their war dogs upon them, in order to force the natives to hand over tribute such as food and clothing.[37]

Establishment of the Dominicans

Santiago Matamoros was a readily identifiable image of Spanish military superiority

In 1542, the New Laws were issued with the aim of protecting the indigenous peoples of the Spanish colonies from their overexploitation by the encomenderos. In an effort to enforce the New Laws, a fleet of 27 ships set out from Spain on 19 July 1544, carrying friar Bartolomé de las Casas and his religious followers. Las Casas arrived in Ciudad Real with 16 fellow Dominicans on 12 March 1545.[65] The Dominicans were the first religious order to attempt the evangelisation of the native population. Their arrival meant that the colonists were no longer free to treat the natives as they saw fit without the risk of intervention by the religious authorities.[66]

The Dominicans soon came into conflict with the established colonists. They refused to take confessions or give sacraments to Spaniards who mistreated Indians, and even went so far as to imprison a dean and excommunicate the president of the Audiencia Real. Colonial opposition to the actions of the Dominicans reached such dangerous levels that the Dominicans were forced to flee Ciudad Real in fear of their lives. They established themselves nearby in two indigenous villages, the old site of Villa Real de Chiapa and Cinacantlán. Las Casas based himself in the former, and friar Tomás Casillas took charge of Cinacantlán. From Villa Real, Bartolomé de las Casas and his companions prepared for the evangelisation of all the territory that fell within the Bishopric of Chiapa.[65] The territory of Chiapas was subdivided into a number of regions based on prehispanic divisions; these were the Chiapaneca, Lakandon, Mokaya, Tojolabal, Tzeltal, and Zoque.[67] The Dominicans promoted the veneration of Santiago Matamoros (St. James the Moor-slayer) as a readily identifiable image of Spanish military superiority.[68]

It soon became evident that the Dominicans needed to reestablish themselves in Ciudad Real, and the hostilities with the colonists were calmed.[69] In 1547, while de las Casas was in Spain, Francisco Marroquín, bishop of Guatemala, placed the first stone for the new Dominican convent in Ciudad Real.[70] The Dominicans dedicated themselves to destroying indigenous temples and idols, and preached sermons with destructive imagery, such as from the Book of Revelation, that were more familiar to the Mesoamerican worldview. Saints were associated with animals, in much the same way as the Indians identified themselves with nahual spirit-forms. Different Mesoamerican otherworlds were tied to Christian concepts, where the Mictlan world of the dead became Hell, Ihuicatl became Heaven, and Tlalocan became Paradise.[71]

By the mid-16th century, the Spanish frontier expanding outwards from Comitán and Ocosingo reached the Lacandon Forest, and further advancement was impeded by the region's fiercely independent inhabitants.[64] At the time of Spanish contact in the 16th century, the Lacandon Forest was inhabited by Chʼol people referred to as Lakam Tun. This name was Hispanicised, first to El Acantun, then to Lacantun and finally to Lacandon.[72] The Lakandon Chʼol of the time of the Spanish conquest should not be confused with the modern Yucatec-speaking Lacandon people occupying the same region.[73] The main Lakandon village was situated on an island in Lake Miramar, also referred to as Lakam Tun by the inhabitants.[74] The Lakandon were aggressive, and their numbers were swelled by refugees from neighbouring indigenous groups fleeing Spanish domination. The ecclesiastical authorities were so worried by this threat to their peaceful efforts at evangelisation that they eventually supported military intervention.[64] The first Spanish expedition against the Lakandon was carried out in 1559, commanded by Pedro Ramírez de Quiñones.[75]

From time to time the Spanish launched punitive military expeditions against the Lakandons to try to stabilise the northern frontier of the Guatemalan colony; the largest expeditions took place in 1685 and 1695.[76] Repeated expeditions into the Lacandon Forest succeeded in destroying some villages but did not manage to subdue the inhabitants of the region, nor bring it within the Spanish Empire. This successful resistance against Spanish attempts at domination served to attract ever more Indians fleeing colonial rule.[64]

Resistance against the Spanish continued, and hostile Chʼol killed a number of newly baptised Christian Indians.[77] Franciscan friars Antonio Margil and Melchor López were active among the Lakandon and Manche Chʼol between 1692 and 1694; they eventually outstayed their welcome and were expelled by the Chʼol.[78] In 1695, the colonial authorities decided to act upon a plan to connect the province of Guatemala with Yucatán, and soldiers commanded by Jacinto de Barrios Leal, president of the Real Audiencia of Guatemala,[79] conquered a number of Chʼol communities.[80] The most important of these was Sakbʼajlan on the Lacantún River in eastern Chiapas, which was renamed as Nuestra Señora de Dolores, or Dolores del Lakandon, in April 1695.[81] This was one part of a three-pronged attack against the independent inhabitants of Chiapas and neighbouring Petén; a second group joined up with Barrios Leal having marched from Huehuetenango, in the Guatemalan Highlands. The third group, under Juan Díaz de Velasco, marched from Verapaz, Guatemala, against the Itza of northern Petén.[25] Barrios Leal was accompanied by Franciscan friar Antonio Margil who served as an advisor as well as his personal confessor and chaplain to his troops.[77] The Spanish built a fort and garrisoned it with 30 Spanish soldiers. Mercederian friar Diego de Rivas was based at Dolores del Lakandon, and he and his fellow Mercederians baptised several hundred Lakandon Chʼols in the following months and established contacts with neighbouring Chʼol communities.[82]

Antonio Margil remained in Dolores del Lakandon until 1697.[77] The Chʼol of the Lacandon Forest were resettled in Huehuetenango, in the Guatemalan Highlands, in the early 18th century. The resettled Lakandon Chʼol were soon absorbed into the local Maya populations there and ceased to exist as a separate ethnicity.[83] The last known Lakandon Chʼol were three Indians that were recorded as living in Santa Catarina Retalhuleu in 1769.[84]

Conquistador Diego Godoy accompanied Luis Marín on his reconnaissance of Chiapas, and wrote an account of the battle against the inhabitants of Chamula in a letter to Hernán Cortés a few days after the encounter. His letter survives and is entitled Relación hecha por Diego Godoy a Hernando Cortés. Many years after the events he described, Bernal Díaz del Castillo wrote his Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España, which included an account of the conquest of the Chiapas highlands.[19] Bernal Díaz had also accompanied Luis Marín on his 1524 incursion into Chiapas.[85] Gonzalo de Alvarado described the fierce resistance offered by the natives against Pedro de Alvarado's 1525 expedition in his Probanza de Gonzalo de Alvarado.[86]