Английская Википедия:Hernández de Córdoba expedition
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use shortened footnotes Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Use British English Шаблон:Stack begin Шаблон:Infobox military conflict Шаблон:Infobox expedition Шаблон:Stack end The Hernández de Córdoba expedition was a 1517 Spanish maritime expedition to the Yucatán Peninsula led by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba. The enterprise proved disastrous and little profitable for the Spaniards, with half of them fatally wounded, the rest grievously injured, and all in all, very little gold to show for their troubles. It was nonetheless deemed an immediate and exciting success, having brought back news of vast lands inhabited by a rich and civilised people, namely, the Maya civilisation. The expedition is popularly credited as the first non-Amerindian contact with the Maya, and first non-Amerindian discovery of the Peninsula, though both these achievements are disputed in scholarly literature. It is deemed the opening campaign of the Spanish conquest of the Maya, and one of the precursor expeditions which led to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.Шаблон:Refn
Prelude
By the mid-1510s, Spanish settlements in the New World dotted only a few of the Antilles and some mainland coast in the southern Caribbean.Шаблон:Sfn The generally-deprived conquistadors had yet to find that which had been promised them since the earliest Columbian voyages, namely, western maritime passage to the East Indies, Amerindians to force into encomienda or enslavement, and above all, copious amounts of gold.Шаблон:Sfn The latter had proved dear and scarce, and the people they enslaved were being decimated not only by their captors' cruelty, but also European diseases such as smallpox.Шаблон:Sfn
In 1516, three wealthy Cuban settlers, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, Cristóbal Morante, and Lope Ochoa de Caicedo, got together to undertake an expedition to the Lucayan archipelagoШаблон:Sfn for the purpose of capturing and enslaving more people. Each man reportedly contributed between 1,500 and 2,000 castellanos for the undertaking, with Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar further contributing a brig and authorisation.Шаблон:Sfn With Hernández de Córdoba named captain, the organisers promptly enlisted Bernardino Íñiguez as veedor, Alonso González as chaplain, a certain Morales as notary, and Antón de Alaminos, Camacho de Triana, and Juan Álvarez as pilots, and two ships, along with the necessary Spanish sailors and soldiers, native Cuban servants, and provisions.Шаблон:Sfn
Expedition
Departure
There are, curiously, few historical sources which precisely date the fleet's departure from Cuba. Though a majority of sources date the departure to 1517, only Bartolomé de las Casas and Bernal Díaz del Castillo date it to February 1517, and only the latter fixes a day, giving 8 February as the fleet's departure date from Havana.Шаблон:Sfn Following Castillo, the fleet hugged the Cuban coastline for twelve days, up to Cape San Antón, from where they put out to sea on 20–21 February.Шаблон:Sfn At this point, historical sources differ greatly.Шаблон:Sfn Some sources state the fleet's route was fixed, while some claim it was not.Шаблон:Sfn Still some in the former group further assert a storm was encountered which blew the ships off course, or claim strong currents were encountered which similarly took them off course, while others state the ships were intentionally steered off course upon a change of plans.Шаблон:Sfn Furthermore, the time it took to cross the Yucatán Channel is variously given as four, six, 21, or 40 days.Шаблон:Sfn Castillo, the only chronicler to give precise dates, claims a treacherous crossing of 21 days, implying a 13–14 March arrival in the Yucatán Peninsula.Шаблон:Sfn Unfortunately, Castillo also gives a precise date, 4 March, as the day when a flotilla of five Maya canoes from Cape Catoche approached the fleet, thereby implying at least a 3–4 March arrival at the Peninsula.Шаблон:Sfn Given such uncertainty, the historian Fernando Tola de Habich favours an arrival 'in the first days of March 1517.'Шаблон:Sfn
Northern prong
As with departure details, there is likewise much disagreement among historical sources regarding the fleet's exact point of arrival in the Peninsula.Шаблон:Sfn Tola de Habich favours an approach to some northerly cape on the mainland, rejecting as most improbable accounts of (i) an arrival to some northeasterly island, (ii) to Eccampi, (iii) to the province of Yucatán, and (iv) a forthwith coasting to Campeche.Шаблон:Sfn The scholar thus proffers Cape Catoche, Punta de Yucatán, and Punta Mujeres as the fleet's possible points of arrival, with the last of these deemed Шаблон:Em.Шаблон:Sfn Furthermore, while it is certain that, shortly upon first approaching the Peninsula, the ships disembarked at Cape Catoche, and thereafter coasted down to Campeche, exactly what occurred between first arrival and Campeche is, again, uncertain.Шаблон:Sfn Tola de Habich suggests as likely the crew's disembarking at Punta Mujeres, there coming upon 'a small salt-harvesting town, perhaps abandoned, where they found a small Maya temple with golden figurines of goddesses; from here they surely espied a larger town at some nearby headland, which prompted the fleet towards it: this was the town called Cairo by Peter Martyr, an appellation repeated by Castillo in his chronicle, adding the adjective Great.'Шаблон:Sfn The historian situates Great Cairo in Cape Catoche, describing the momentous encounter between civilisations as follows.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Blockquote Accounts of this encounter are quite varied; nevertheless, a few common threads emerge, such as an encounter with local fishermen, descriptions of residents, golden ornaments, masonry buildings, temples, pyramids, towns, and 'Spanish awe at what they saw.'Шаблон:Sfn Particularly notable is the anecdote regarding the name Yucatán, purportedly uttered by locals to mean 'I do not understand you' upon the Spaniards' asking them what they called their land.Шаблон:SfnmШаблон:Refn Tola de Habich favours an alternative theory though, first reported by Castillo, which ascribed the name to Шаблон:Em local christened Melchor.Шаблон:Sfnm Melchor was one of two local fishermen from Catoche pressed by the crew for service, the other being Julián (so named by the Spanish).Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Refn Similarly notable is the Spaniards' reported awe or terror upon reaching the Catoche town, their task suddenly looming large and foreboding compared to what they had expected.Шаблон:Sfn At this point, there was reportedly talk of returning to Cuba to prepare a stronger fleet, but 'their curiosity got the better of them, as well as their hope of finding more gold and, undoubtedly, the sense that they had nothing to lose.'Шаблон:Sfn And so, from Catoche, the fleet coasted southwards, encountering no resistance, and possibly no other coastal towns either.Шаблон:Sfn
Western prong
The cruise from Catoche to Campeche took 15 days per Castillo, or 110 Spanish nautical leagues per Martyr, with all sources agreeing the fleet arrived in Campeche on St Lazarus's feast day.Шаблон:Sfnm The welcome agreement ends here though, as details of the Spaniards' reception differ among sources.Шаблон:Sfn Tola de Habich deems a cordial, even admiring, welcome likely, with residents and the batab coming up to shore to witness the fleet's entry, and the Spanish seizing the moment with a grand gun salute.Шаблон:Sfn At this point, the captain and Шаблон:Em a small number Шаблон:Em all his men disembarked, leaving Шаблон:Em all sailors manning the ships (as was custom).Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Refn The Spanish found in Campeche a large town of, reportedly, close to 3,000 houses, presumably of limestone, in addition to at least one temple and some shrines, and perhaps a small pyramid.Шаблон:Sfn Accounts of their stay in Campeche are varied; though two notable events are mostly agreed upon – a banquet, and a visit to the temple.Шаблон:Sfn Sources describe at least five different menus for the welcome banquet afforded to the Spaniards, though all accounts suggest a great feast of many courses, heavy on fowl, game, maize, and seasonal fruits, though curiously lacking fish, greens, and beverages.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Refn Having dined and rested to their hearts' content, the men were reportedly then invited to visit Campeche's most important site – its temple.Шаблон:Sfn Tola de Habich quotes las Casas and others 'to get a clear idea of what they [Córdoba and company] saw and what it meant to them.'Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Blockquote According to Tola de Habich, the temple would likely have impressed and terrified the men, this being their first encounter with such monumental and beastly statues, and their first indication of human sacrifice, in the New World.Шаблон:Sfn In spite of this, the Spaniards sojourned a few days in Campeche, possibly prompted by their hosts' hospitality, and thereafter continued on their way.Шаблон:Sfn
The fleet coasted southwest for some ten or 15 leagues, whereupon they sighted a town variously called Moscobo, Champotón, Nochopobón, and Potonchán in historical sources.Шаблон:Sfn Though this settlement is often identified as Шаблон:Em Potonchán (now known as Frontera, Tabasco) Шаблон:Em Champotón (now known as Champotón, Campeche), the scholar Jorge N Iturriaga has recently argued that Шаблон:Em the latter is correct.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Refn Elated to find a source of fresh water, the much dehydrated men reportedly all disembarked with their pipas and arms aboard the brig and bateles, leaving the sailors and large ships a league offshore.Шаблон:Sfn Events onshore, as narrated in historical sources, are 'very strange and on many points quite incomprehensible.'Шаблон:Sfn Nevertheless, Tola de Habich accepts the following series of events as likely.Шаблон:Sfn
On land, the Spaniards, used to kindly receptions at Punta Mujeres, Cape Catoche, and Campeche, were now rather coldly received by armed locals who indicated their arrival was unwelcome.Шаблон:Sfn Córdoba's men, 'stubborn' but in dire need of water, landed regardless and set to sating their thirst and filling their pipas at the riverbank.Шаблон:Sfn Nightfall apparently crept up on the landed party, forcing the men to camp ashore for what must have been a tense night under the watchful eye of their aggrieved hosts.Шаблон:Sfn The men next awakened at dawn to a growing audience of a great many locals dressed for battle, 'with cotton armour down to their knees, and bows and arrows, and spears and bucklers, and swords like two-handed montanes, and slingshots and stones, and plumes of the kind they usually don, and their faces masked in black and white.'Шаблон:Sfn War drums now beat in their periphery, accompanied by a great roar, and an opening salvo of arrows and stones from all sides.Шаблон:Sfn Frenzied combat ensued, reportedly amidst the local war captain's shouted orders of al calachoni, 'target the [Spanish] captain.'Шаблон:Sfn Within 'little more than half an hour,' Córdoba, grievously injured, seeing nearly half his men fallen, a few captured, and little more than half alive but seriously injured, called for immediate retreat.Шаблон:Sfn The survivors now rushed seawards to their brig and bateles, the locals in dogged pursuit even into sea.Шаблон:Sfn
The Spanish managed to reach the safety of their fleet, whereupon the full weight of their loss dawned on them – reportedly, 55 men killed, 2 captured, 52 injured, an unknown number of sailors dead or injured, and all water and pipas lost.Шаблон:Sfn As Tola de Habich puts it, the engagement 'was a vicious carnage [...] the Spaniards' most catastrophic military defeat yet since arriving in the New World.'Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Refn Now in dire straits and unable to man both ships and the brig, the captain had the latter scuttled, and, with great effort, the surviving men put out to sea aboard the ships.Шаблон:Sfn
Return
Most historical sources say the Spanish made a beeline for Cuba, which account Tola de Habich favours, but Castillo rather notes the fleet first anchored at Estero de los Lagartos in search of water, and finding none, were next led to Florida by Alaminos, from where they finally returned to Cuba after a native Floridian attack (though they had reportedly, at last, found water).Шаблон:Sfn
As with the fleet's departure, there are likewise precious few details regarding the fleet's return to Cuba.Шаблон:Sfn What is certain, Tola de Habich notes, is that both ships arrived in Cuba sometime in April 1517, whereupon the governor Velázquez was debriefed.Шаблон:Sfn
Aftermath
Córdoba died shortly upon arriving home at Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, purportedly from injuries sustained during the expedition.Шаблон:Sfnm His surviving men are thought to have endured a lengthy convalescence, with only 'a few' joining further expeditions west.Шаблон:Sfn
In Santiago, expeditionary reports of lands of 'greater wealth, organisation, and social and material development [than heretorfore known in the New World]' reportedly 'excited' Velázquez, who immediately got to work outfitting the 1518 Grijalva expedition, which would notably return with news of the gold-rich Aztec Empire.Шаблон:Sfnm The governor was similarly quick to claim credit for the discovery, successfully petitioning for the title of adelantado of Yucatán, granted him on 13 November 1518 in Zaragoza, which authorised his conquest and settlement of the Peninsula.Шаблон:Sfn
In the Maya Lowlands, at 'about the time of the Córdoba expedition a new and terrible disease devastated the [Yucatán] peninsula[; i]t was almost certainly smallpox, perhaps introduced by the expedition, though there is nothing to suggest that in the records, or by some forgotten victims of shipwreck, or brought by a long chain of Indian carriers from Panama.'Шаблон:Sfn
Legacy
In scholarship
The quasi-first-hand of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, and the second-hand account by Bartolomé de las Casas, have become influential sources in scholarly literature, though at least some historians have come to question their accuracy, with Fernando Tola de Habich recently calling them 'the most outlandish' accounts of the expedition.Шаблон:Sfn Nevertheless, the Castillo chronicle remains influential in scholarly literature. For instance, it is followed by Tola de Habich (to some extent), Jorge Victoria Ojeda (mostly), and Inga Clendinnen (mostly).Шаблон:Sfnm
Quite a few of the campaign's details have come to be questioned. Firstly, the fleet's earliest point of arrival is commonly regarded as Isla Mujeres, following a 16th-century chronicle which listed 'a punta which he [Córdoba] named de las MujeresШаблон:Spaces' as the fleet's first landing point.Шаблон:Sfnm However, Tola de Habich argues that said chronicle, and still other historical sources, do Шаблон:Em lend support for Isla Mujeres as the first landing point, but rather indicate some cape on the Шаблон:Em, possibly Punta Mujeres or Cape Catoche.Шаблон:Sfn Similarly, Victoria Ojeda, following Marshall H Saville, rejects Isla Mujeres as the first landing point, deeming Cape Catoche as the likelier place.Шаблон:Sfnm Secondly, the expedition's objective is variously reported as either to kidnap people to force into enslavement in the Lucayan archipelago or Bay Islands, or to discover new lands.Шаблон:Sfnm Tola de Habich deems the former 'the most probable and supported [by evidence],' but nonetheless concedes the aim may have Шаблон:Em been the latter one.Шаблон:Sfn Victoria Ojeda makes a similar assessment.Шаблон:Sfn Thirdly, since the influential 16th century chronicle of Castillo, quite a few historians have confused Potonchán for Champotón.Шаблон:Sfn In a recent paper, the independent scholar José N Itarriaga clarifies that the Hernández de Córdoba expedition landed at Champotón, a pre-Columbian city coincident with the modern Mexican city of Champotón, Campeche, and Шаблон:Em at Potonchán, a pre-Columbian city coincident with the modern Mexican city of Frontera, Tabasco.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Refn
Both achievements credited to the expedition have been disputed. For instance, while it is popularly regarded as the first non-Amerindian discovery of the Yucatán Peninsula, Victoria Ojeda notes the feat might rather be attributed to the 1508–1509 Pinzón–Solís voyage, or the 1511 stranding of Gonzalo Guerrero, Jerónimo de Aguilar, and company.Шаблон:Sfn Tola de Habich makes a similar observation, further noting the Peter Martyr map as possible evidence in support of the former.Шаблон:Sfn Curiously, the 1562 Chronicle of Chac Xulub Chen, by Ah Nakuk Pech, seems to attribute non-Amerindian discovery to the latter.Шаблон:Sfn Similarly, some scholars ascribe first non-Amerindian contact with the Maya civilisation to the 1502 Honduran leg of Columbus's fourth voyage, or the aforementioned 1511 stranding.Шаблон:Sfnm Tola de Habich nonetheless underlines the importance of this expedition as the one which 'opened the doors' to Mesoamerica, thus leading to Spanish conquest thereof.Шаблон:Sfn
In culture
The Cape Catoche settlement, Great Cairo, attained mythic proportions in the collective memory of 16th century Spanish society, becoming a vast city 'five times greater than Paris,' dotted with 'many rich palaces.'Шаблон:Sfn Victoria Ojeda attributes this simply to the novel sense of astonishment the settlement occasioned amongst Córdoba's men.Шаблон:Sfn In a similar vein, the story of Yucatán's being a great island, bound by the Ascension Bay (east) and Laguna de Términos (west), is thought to have been spread by the expeditionary pilot, Antón de Alaminos.Шаблон:Sfn This belief would not be corrected until further expeditions to what became New Spain.Шаблон:Sfn In the northern Maya Lowlands, Victoria Ojeda thinks the arrival of Córdoba's men would have been interpreted by Maya priests as fulfilment of prophecies of the arrival of bearded men, which omen was said to augur times of 'weeping skies, scarcity of corn, and great hunger.'Шаблон:Sfn
The 500th anniversary of the Hernández de Córdoba expedition, in 2017, was commemorated with a number of celebrations throughout the Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico, including in Campeche, Cancún, Isla Mujeres, and Mexico City.Шаблон:Sfn The 400th anniversary was commemorated by the federal government of Mexico via the 1917 dedication of a public monument in Isla Mujeres.Шаблон:Sfn
Tables
Crew
| Surname | Forename | Post | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aguilar | Hernando de | ? | – |
| Alaminos | Antón de | Pilot | Crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions |
| Álvarez | Juan | Pilot | Also known as el Manquillo; crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions |
| Aragón | Juan de | ? | – |
| Ávila | Pedro de | ? | – |
| Ávila Quiñones | Gaspar de | ? | Previously also known as Dávila Quiñónez |
| Béjar | Benito de | ? | Crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions |
| Benavides | Alonso de | ? | – |
| Bernal | Juan | ? | Crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions |
| ? | Bernardino | Sailor | Reportedly levantisco |
| ? | Berrio | ? | Captured in Florida |
| Boto | Alonso | ? | Captured in Champoton |
| Camacho | Pedro | Pilot | Crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions; also known as Camacho de TrianaШаблон:SpacesШаблон:Refn |
| Cuenca | Benito de | ? | Crew in Grijalva and Narváez expeditions |
| Díaz del Castillo | Bernal | ? | Crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions |
| Gibraltar | Nicolás de | ? | – |
| González | Alonso | Clergyman | – |
| Guisado | Alonso | ? | Participation possibly uncertain; reportedly crew in Grijalva and Narváez expeditions |
| Hernández de Alanís | Cristóbal | ? | Reportedly also known as Hernández de Mosquera, H. de Alanis, H. de la Puebla |
| Hernández de Córdoba | Francisco | Captain | – |
| Hernández Sevillano | Pedro | ? | Crew in Grijalva and Narváez expeditions; previously known as Perdo Hernández |
| Íñiguez | Bernardino | VeedorШаблон:SpacesШаблон:Sfnm | – |
| Jerez | Alonso de | ? | – |
| López | Diego | ? | – |
| López | Francisco | ? | Reportedly crew in Grijalva expedition |
| López Marroqué | Pedro | ? | – |
| Martín | Ginés | ? | – |
| Morales | ? | Scribe | – |
| Ojeda | Alonso de | ? | Participation previously uncertain; crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions; reportedly captured Xicoténcatl |
| Ortiz de Zúñiga | Alonso | ? | Participation uncertain; likely crew in Grijalva expedition; reportedly crew in Narváez expedition |
| Ovide | Pedro de | ? | – |
| Pérez de Ardón | Juan | ? | Possibly also known as Juan Peréz |
| Perón | Pedro de Toledo | ? | – |
| Porras | Diego de | ? | Reportedly crew in Cortés expedition |
| Portillo | Cindo de | ? | Participation previously uncertain; crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions; also known as friar Cindo de Villasinda, friar Cintos de San Francisco; see C de San Francisco |
| ? | ? | ? | Known as portugués viejo; captured in Champotón; PortugueseШаблон:SpacesШаблон:Sfn |
| Prieto | Pedro | ? | – |
| Ramos de Lares | Martín | ? | – |
| Ruiz de Alaniz | Juan | ? | Reportedly cousin of C Hernández de Alaniz |
| San Francisco | Cintos de | ? | Friar; reportedly returned to New Spain with Marquis del Valle; see C de Portillo |
| San Juan | ? | ? | Possibly also known as el Entonado or San Juan de Uchila |
| Vázquez | Martín | ? | – |
| Vivanco | ? | ? | Participation uncertain but known crew in early New Spain expeditions |
| Zaragoza | Miguel | ? | Crew in Grijalva and Cortés expeditions |
Concordance
Шаблон:Table alignment Шаблон:Static row numbers
See also
- Fourth voyage of Columbus, 1502–1504 expedition thought to have had contact with Maya civilisation
- Pinzón–Solís voyage, 1508–1509 expedition thought to have coasted the southeastern Peninsula
- Juan de Grijalva, leader of 1518 expedition occasioned by the Hernández de Córdoba expedition
Notes and references
Explanatory footnotes
Short citations
Full citations
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