The Spanish conquest of Guatemala was a protracted conflict during the
Spanish colonization of the Americas, in which Spanish colonizers
gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of
Guatemala into the colonial viceroyalty of New Spain. The Maya kingdoms
resisted integration into the Spanish Empire with such tenacity that
their defeat took almost two centuries. Pedro de Alvarado arrived in
Guatemala from the newly conquered Mexico in early 1524, commanding a
mixed force of Spanish conquistadors and native allies, mostly from
Tlaxcala and Cholula. The Itza Maya and other lowland groups in the
Petén Basin were first contacted by Hernán Cortés in 1525, but
remained independent and hostile to the encroaching Spanish until 1697,
when a concerted Spanish assault led by Martín de Urzúa y Arizmendi
finally defeated the last independent Maya kingdom. The indigenous
peoples of Guatemala lacked key elements of Old World technology such as
a functional wheel, horses, steel and gunpowder; they were also
extremely susceptible to Old World diseases, against which they had no
resistance.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Guatemala>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: The Great Fire of New York broke
out during British occupation of New York City, destroying up to 1,000
buildings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_New_York_(1776)>
1860:
Second Opium War: Anglo-French forces earned a decisive victory
against Qing Dynasty troops in the Battle of Palikao, allowing them to
capture Beijing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palikao>
1938:
The Great New England Hurricane made landfall on Long Island,
New York, killing at least 500 people and injuring about 700 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_New_England_hurricane>
1942:
The prototype model of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, a four-
engine heavy bomber that became one of the largest aircraft to see
service during World War II, flew for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress>
1999:
A 7.6 Mw earthquake struck Jiji, Nantou County, Taiwan, killing
2,416 people, injuring over 11,000 others and causing about
NT$300 billion in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/921_earthquake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
infanticide:
The murder of an infant.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infanticide>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I
hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it.
If at the end your cheerfulness is not justified, at any rate you will
have been cheerful.
--H. G. Wells
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._G._Wells>
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