History of the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan and of the Itzas Volume 7 (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II THE POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF THE ITZA STATE DURING THE PERIOD OF 1445-1697 ' HE Significance of the Itzas. The dates of the Itza domi- I nance over the region around Tayasal are roughly those -- given above. Although the Spaniards became a factor in the lives of the Itzas about 1525, their presence does not alter the fact that this tribe was so powerful as to be able to preserve its independence for a long time. The Itzas may be considered as presenting, in diminished form, all the more important political and social conditions that had formerly characterized the great Maya states in the northern part of the peninsula. We will now study these conditions so as to understand better the problems the Spanish conquerors were called upon to meet and to solve later on. In spite of the proximity of the Spaniards, it is doubtful whether the Itzas changed much during the two hundred and fifty years they occupied the Peten or Tayasal region. The Location of Peten or Tayasal. The Itza stronghold was located at Peten or Tayasal.1 The present city of Flores, located on a small island in the Lake of Peten, is sometimes thought to be the site of ancient Tayasal. Others think that Tayasal was really on the peninsula north of Flores. This latter opinion is held by Mr. Morley and Dr. Tozzer, who have been on the spot. The former believes that the lake was formerly higher than now, which would explain how the present peninsula, formerly an island, attained its present condition. The island of Flores is scarcely more than half a mile in diameter; Avendano says that Tayasal was half a league long. Thereader is urged to compare Plates II and III for the purpose of seeing how the modern appearance of Tayasal or Peten is different from its appearance a few...