Hernández de Córdoba expedition

Hernández de Córdoba expedition
Sponsor	Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, Cristóbal Morante, Lope Ochoa de Caicedo, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar
Start	Havana / accepted; other Cuban port possible; 8 February 1517 / accepted; other Feb date possible
End	Cuba; April 1517
Goal	To capture Amerindian slaves in Bay or Lucayan islands / probable; To discover new lands / possible;
Ships	2 caravels, 1 brigantine
Achievements	First non-Amerindian contact with Maya civilisation / disputed; First non-Amerindian discovery of Yucatán Peninsula / disputed;
Route
	; Possible route of the Hernández de Córdoba expedition / 2017 map / via Commons

Hernández de Córdoba expedition
	Part of Spanish colonization of the Americas
	; The Mayans of Chakán Putum attack the retreating Spaniards
Date	March 1, 1517 - April 30, 1517
Location	West coast of Yucatán Peninsula
Result	Chakán Putum victory
Belligerents
Chakán Putum	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Moch Couoh	Francisco Hernández de Córdoba †
Strength
Unknown	110
Casualties and losses
Unknown	55 killed; 52 wounded; 2 captured and sacrificed

The Hernández de Córdoba expedition was a 1517 Spanish maritime expedition to the Yucatán Peninsula led by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba. The expedition ended in disaster after battling the Mayan city-state of Chakán Putum, resulting in half the Spaniards being killed, and the other half being wounded. The expedition nonetheless brought back exciting news of vast lands inhabited by a rich and civilized people, namely, the Maya civilization. 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 invasion of the Aztec Empire.