FRANCISCO FERDINAND DE CORDOBA

Francisco Ferdinand de Cordoba was born in 1517, going on to become a Spanish explorer, as well as a slave trader for Nicaragua and Mexico.  Sailing from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula in the early part of 1517, Cordoba took with him three ships along with 110 soldiers.  Heading out, he ultimately became the first European to travel to this area, as well as the first to see the Mayan people.  Being sent to Mexico by Diego Velazquez, who was Cuba’s first governor, Cordoba was searching for treasure.

On this trip, Cordoba discovered what he thought was an island, calling it Yucatan.  While there, he discovered the people to have a rich culture much greater than the Caribbean people had.  These people were the Mayans, which we know from history were very wise and advanced well before their time.  Wearing cotton clothing, these people lived in homes made from stones, which all formed cities.  They also harvested maize, a staple of their diet.

During his time there, Cordoba found what he believed to be silver and gold however, he discovered something bad as well, Mayan people performed human sacrifice.  In fact, the Mayans attacked the Spanish, killing half of Cordoba’s men with many others being seriously wounded.  Wounded himself, he headed back to Cuba to complete the report of his findings, only to later die from the wounds sustained.

The following year in 1518, Juan de Grijavlva was sent on an exploration trip, to see what new discoveries he could in the same land.  Ending up on an island close to Cozumel, Mexico, he then headed northeast up the coast.  However, while he met with some resistance from the Mayan people, he soon discovered that some of these people were very hospitable and friendly.  Moving on, Grijalva followed the coast to the Panuco River, looking for a mighty lake kingdom that the Indians had told him of, which would be the Aztec Empire.

Although Francisco Ferdinand de Cordoba died in 1517, he would leave a legacy of being a great Spanish conquistador who was fallen during an expedition.  However, his work led to the discovery of the Yucatan Peninsula, and future expedition after he was killed.  During his time on the seas, he captained three ships, worked with excellent pilots such as Juan Alvarez and Camacho de Triana, and published important reports of his time at sea.