Yucatan,
A peninsula of
Mexico, comprising the States of
Yucatan and Campeche; area,
Yucatan, 35,203 square miles; Campeche, 18,087; population in 1895,
Yucatan, 298,850; Campeche, 88,302.
The peninsula was discovered by
Francis Hernandez Cordova, who, with three caravels and 110 men, sailed from
Havana on Feb. 8, 1517.
They first saw land at Cape Catoche, the eastern point of
Yucatan, an Aztec name for the great peninsula.
He landed at several places, but was driven off by the naked barbarians, who used bows and arrows skilfully.
Cordova was afterwards mortally wounded by some of the natives north of Campeche, who killed forty-seven of the
Spanish intruders, allowing only one man to escape.
On his return from
Yucatan,
Cordova's vessel touched the coast of
Florida.