Sandwiched In

Sandwiched In: Clash of Civilizations: Maya Survival and Adaptation During the Spanish Colonial Period

Port Native and University of Southern California lecturer Ken Seligson will return to PWPL for this lecture. In 1502, during his final voyage to the Americas, Christopher Columbus encountered a large Maya trading canoe off the coast of Honduras. Soon after this first contact, the Spanish Empire initiated a destructive conquest and colonization effort in the Maya area that lasted for several centuries and led to the blending of Old and New World traditions. A brutal missionary program sought to eradicate Prehispanic practices but the cultural synthesis that exists today in southeastern Mesoamerica is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of the Maya people.