In 1686 the King (Charles II), calling the Viceroy's attention to the
great number of unconverted tribes in Guatemala, Yucatan, and
elsewhere, ordered further reductions to be made, at once, but as
gently as possible.
The Inception of the Plan to Subdue the Itzas, 1689. In 1689 Captain
Juan de Mendoza wrote to the court to tell how the reductions had been
begun, and to ask that he might be placed at the head of fifty
soldiers. On the advice of Guzman, who had now returned from Guatemala
to the Spanish court, his wish was granted. The following plan for
the reduction of the Choles and the Lacandones was decided upon.
(Villagutierre, p. 190.)
Three entradas were to be made at the same time. One from the province
of Guatemala, which was in the hands of the Dominicans; a second from
Huehuetenango, which was Mercedarian; and the third from Chiapas, which
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