The nearly simultaneous invasions of Honduras in 1524 by rival Spanish expeditions begins an era of conflict among rival Spanish claimants as well as with the indigenous population.

The major initial expeditions are led by González Dávila, who hoped to carve out a territory for his own rule, and by Cristóbal de Olid, who is dispatched from Cuba by Cortés.

Once in Honduras, however, Olid succumbs to personal ambition and attempts to establish his own independent authority.

Word of this reaches Cortés in Mexico, and to restore his own authority, he orders yet another expedition, this one under the command of Francisco de Las Casas.

Then, doubting the trustworthiness of any subordinate, Cortés sets out for Honduras himself.

The situation is further complicated by the entry into Honduras of expeditions from Guatemala under Pedro de Alvarado and from Nicaragua under Hernando de Soto.

The Pipil are a determined people who stoutly resist Spanish efforts to extend their dominion southward.

The first such effort by Spanish forces is led by Pedro de Alvarado, a lieutenant of Hernan Cortes in the conquest of Mexico.

It meets with stiff resistance from the indigenous population.

Alvarado's expeditionary force enters El Salvador—or Cuzcatlan, as it is known by the Pipil—in June 1524.

The Spaniards are defeated in a major engagement shortly thereafter and are forced to withdraw to Guatemala.

Two subsequent expeditions are required—in 1525 and 1528—to bring the Pipil under Spanish control.

It is noteworthy that the name of the supposed leader of the native resistance, Atlacatl, has been perpetuated and honored among the Salvadorans to the relative exclusion of that of Alvarado.

In this sense, the Salvadoran ambivalence toward the conquest bears a resemblance to the prevailing opinion in Mexico, where Cortés is more reviled than celebrated.

Cortes returns to Mexico in April 1526, and the remaining Spaniards resume their strife.

Some order is again restored in October of this year when the first royal governor, Diego Lopez de Salcedo, arrives.

Lopez de Salcedo's policies, however, drive many indigenous people, once pacified by Cortes, into open revolt.

His attempt to extend his jurisdiction into Nicaragua results in his imprisonment by the authorities there.

After agreeing to a Nicaraguan-imposed definition of the boundary between the two provinces, Lopez de Salcedo is released but does not return to Honduras until 1529.

Olid seems to gain the upper hand in the initial struggle for power in Hoinduras, capturing both Gonzalez Davila and Las Casas.

His captives, however, having managed to subvert the loyalty of some of Olid's men, take Olid prisoner, then promptly behead him.

None of the conspirators, although later condemned for this action by a Mexican court, will ever suffer any real punishment.

The arrival of Cortés in Honduras in 1525 temporarily restores some order to the Spanish conquest.

He establishes his own authority over the rival claimants, obtain the submission of numerous indigenous chiefs, and tries to promote the creation of Spanish towns.

His own headquarters is located at Trujillo on the Caribbean coast.

The discovery of Honduran gold and silver deposits attracts new settlers and increases the demand for indigenous labor.

The enforced labor, however, leads to renewed resistance by the native people that culminates in a major uprising in 1537.

The leader of the uprising is a capable young Lenca chieftain known as Lempira (after whom the Honduran national monetary unit will eventually be named).

Lempira establishes his base on a fortified hill known as the Pefiol de Cerqum and until 1538 successfully defeats all efforts to subdue him.

Inspired by his example, other native inhabitants begin revolting, and the entire district of Higueras seems imperiled.

Lempira is ultimately murdered while negotiating with the Spaniards.

Resistance rapidly disintegrates after his death, although some fighting continues through 1539.

The early 1530s are not prosperous for Honduras.

Renewed fighting among the Spaniards, revolts, and decimation of the settled indigenous population through disease, mistreatment, and exportation of large numbers to the Caribbean islands as slaves leave the colony on the edge of collapse by 1534.

The Spanish crown renames the depressed province as Honduras-Higueras, subdividing it into two districts.

Higueras encompasses the western part while the rest remains known as Honduras.

The decline in population of the province continues, and only the direct intervention of Pedro de Alvarado from Guatemala in 1536 keeps Higueras from being abandoned.

Alvarado is attracted by the prospect of gold in the region, and, with the help of native Guatemalans who accompany him, he soon develops a profitable gold-mining industry centered in the newly established town of Gracias.

The Mixtec are one of the major civilizations of Mesoamerica in pre-Columbian times.

Important ancient centers of the Mixtec include the ancient capital of Tilantongo, as well as the sites of Achiutla, Cuilapan, Huajuapan, Mitla, Tlaxiaco, Tututepec, Juxtlahuaca, and Yucuñudahui.

The Mixtec also make major constructions at the ancient city of Monte Albán (which had originated as a Zapotec city before the Mixtec gained control of it).

The work of Mixtec artisans, who produce work in stone, wood, and metal are well regarded throughout ancient Mesoamerica.

At the height of the Aztec Empire, many Mixtecs pay tribute to the Aztecs, but not all Mixtec towns become vassals.

They put up resistance to Spanish rule until they are subdued by the Spanish and their central Mexican allies led by Pedro de Alvarado.

The Mixtec area, both historically and currently, corresponds roughly to the western half of the state of Oaxaca, with some Mixtec communities extending into the neighboring state of Puebla to the north-west and also the state of Guerrero.

The Mixtec people and their homelands are often subdivided into three geographic areas: The Mixteca Alta or Highland Mixtec living in the mountains in, around, and to the west of the Valley of Oaxaca; the Mixteca Baja or Lowland Mixtec living to the north and west of these highlands, and the Mixteca de la Costa or Coastal Mixtec living in the southern plains and the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

For most of Mixtec history the Mixteca Alta is the dominant political force, with the capitals of the Mixtec nation located in the central highlands.

The valley of Oaxaca itself is often a disputed border region, sometimes dominated by the Mixtec and sometimes by their neighbors to the east, the Zapotec.

Most of Mixtec territory is incorporated into the Aztec empire between 1486 and 1519, when the Spanish arrive to find the Aztecs the dominant political power in Mesoamerica.

The importance given to the news, objects, and people that Hernández had brought to Cuba can be gleaned from the speed with which the following expedition has been prepared.

The governor Diego Velázquez places his nephew Juan de Grijalva, who has his complete confidence, in charge of this second expedition.

The news that this "island" of Yucatán has gold, doubted by Bernal but enthusiastically maintained by Julianillo, the Maya prisoner taken at the battle of Catoche, feeds the subsequent series of events that is to end with the Conquest of Mexico by the third flotilla sent, that of Hernán Cortés.

Governor Velázquez provides all four ships, in an attempt to protect his claim over the peninsula.

The small fleet is stocked with crossbows, muskets, barter goods, salted pork and cassava bread.

According to Hernán Cortés, one hundred and seventy people traveled with Grijalva, but according to the court historian Peter Martyr there were three hundred people.

The principal pilot is Antón de Alaminos; the other pilots are Juan Álvarez, Pedro Camacho de Triana, and Grijalva.

Other members include Francisco de Montejo, who will eventually conquer much of the peninsula, Pedro de Alvarado, Juan Díaz, Francisco Peñalosa, Alonso de Ávila, Alonso Hernández, Julianillo, Melchorejo, and Antonio Villafaña.

Bernal Díaz del Castillo serves on the crew; he is able to secure a place on the expedition as a favor from the governor, who is his kinsman.

They embark from the port of Matanzas, Cuba, with four ships in April 1518.

Juan de Grijalva, after rounding the Guaniguanico in Cuba, sails along the Mexican coast and discovers Cozumel.

The Maya inhabitants flee the Spanish and will not respond to Grijalva's friendly overtures.

The Maya are believed to have first settled Cozumel by the early part of the first millennium CE, and older Preclassic Olmec artifacts have been found on the island as well.

The island is sacred to Ix Chel, the Maya Moon Goddess, and the temples here are a place of pilgrimage, especially by women desiring fertility.

There are today a number of ruins on the island, most from the Post-Classic period.

The largest Maya ruins on the island are near the downtown area and have now been destroyed.

Today, the largest remaining ruins are at San Gervasio, located approximately at the center of the island.

The fleet sails south from Cozumel, along the east coast of the peninsula.

The Spanish spot three large Maya cities along the coast, one of which is probably Tulum, a busy Maya commercial center with dazzling white buildings.

On Ascension Thursday the fleet discovers a large bay, which the Spanish name Bahía de la Ascensión.

Grijalva does not land at any of these cities and turns back north from Ascensión Bay.