It is to many not a well documented battle but one that proved decisive for the Spanish Conquistadors, a victory against the strong Chontal Maya and their path to the Aztec empire would be open, but in defeat they would be expelled from the mainland altogether.
Hernan Cortés led the Spanish expedition into Tobasco in what is now a modern day Mexican state but back then it was independently ruled by a sub group of the once strong Maya Civilisation; the Chontal. They proved to be a thorn in the Spanish crown's side.
What you see before you is a skirmish or a mini battle if you like that took place before the main battle. It was fought between the Spanish as they tried to take over a village that lay on the bank of the Grijalva River from which they could then launch their conquest further into Mayan territory.
The Mayan warriors who stood four hundred strong put up a brief resistance against the Spanish who numbered in the region of five hundred before dispersing in fear of the Spanish guns which they perceived as thunder and their horses which they took as demons from hell.
After they had control of the village the Spanish marched on to the town of Cintla where they were greeted by five divisions of Mayan warriors each numbering eight thousand strong and so, five hundred brave Spanish troops stood against forty thousand Maya and that's when the battle truly begun...
To find out the rest of the story, please wait patiently for the publication of my second book; Captive.
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