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counterattacks, and the
Spanish closed the eight approaches to the mountain, although they were unable to make any advance. Five Spaniards died during the initial fighting, and many more were wounded, including Cáceres. Constant fighting dragged on for months, and the Spanish were unable to maintain supply lines through hostile territory and were often short of provisions. In spring of 1538 the rain season began, which added to the attackers' difficulties. Desperate to bring the siege to a conclusion, Cáceres called a parley with Lempira. The Lenca general approached in full battle regalia, including feathered headdress and cotton armour. He refused Cáceres' demand that he submit, at which point a hidden Spanish
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natural defences and, in late 1537, he openly declared war against the
Spanish. The natives, including women and children, abandoned their villages and lands and gathered at the fortress. The Peñol de Cerquín was crucial to Lempira's rebellion against the Spanish, and successful resistance there was a powerful symbol to indigenous peoples throughout the province of Honduras and beyond. In response to the open challenge to Spanish authority,
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Chávez launched an assault against the fortress, but was beaten back before he could reach the base of the Peñol, so he laid siege to it. Chávez' force was short of supplies, and the natives had stripped the area of any food that the invaders could make use of. Given the strength of the fortress, his men became rebellious, and wished to return to their homes in
Guatemala, and Chávez was forced to call off the siege.
27:
212:
Further
Spanish expeditions in the general area were moderately successful, and they believed the region largely pacified. However, the Lenca warlord Lempira was secretly gathering a strong force of warriors at the Peñol, together with weapons and provisions. Lempira fortified the already formidable
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valley of
Honduras, he sent his lieutenant Juan de Chávez southwards with 40–50 Spanish soldiers, and 1500–2000 native auxiliaries. Chávez approached the Peñol de Cerquín towards the middle of 1536, to find it defended by a great many indigenous warriors who had gathered there to resist the Spanish.
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in early 1536, but he did not attempt an assault. A few months later
Alvarado sent his lieutenant Juan de Chávez against the fortress; his initial assault was defeated, and the siege that followed it faltered due to supply problems. Over the next year, Spanish expeditions in the general region were
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shot
Lempira through the head. This was the signal for a surprise Spanish assault, which quickly overran the shocked and demoralised defenders. The Peñol de Cerquín rapidly fell to the invaders. Many warriors surrendered without further resistance, while a portion of them fled into the surrounding
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laid siege to the fortress at the beginning of
November. In spring of 1538, Lempira agreed to a parley with the Spanish, and was shot dead during the negotiations. The surprise Spanish assault that followed quickly overran the demoralised defenders, and the fortress fell to the European invaders.
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with eighty
Spanish soldiers and a large number of native auxiliaries from Mexico and Guatemala. Cáceres arrived below the fortress around 1 November 1537. Cáceres immediately laid siege to the Peñol, hoping to starve the defenders into submission. There followed a series of attacks and
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moderately successful, and the
Spanish considered the area pacified. Unknown to the Spanish, Lempira had been fortifying the Peñol in secret, and he amassed a great number of warriors and a great quantity of supplies there before openly declaring war in late 1537. The Spanish captain
204:. Alvarado was anxious to relieve a beleaguered Spanish garrison elsewhere, so he did not attempt an attack against the gathered warriors in what was obviously a strong fortification, and passed onwards without engaging the defenders. When Alvarado had established himself in the
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The summit of the Peñol de Cerquín presents a ridge line with a surface area of approximately 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft). The available surface area was increased by narrow terraces supported by retaining walls on both sides. Investigators Doris Stone and
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were made using the picketing technique, while quadrangular forms and a spiral were cut into the rock with unbroken lines. A polychrome ceramic fragment is similar in style to
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produced his monumental Historia General de los Hechos de los Castellanos en las Islas y Tierra Firme del Mar Oceáno, which included an account of the battle of Cerquín.
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valley, and the presence of petroglyphs suggest that the Peñol de Cerquín had an early history as a sacred site, later pressed into service as a fortress by Lempira.
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fortress in southern Honduras during the Contact Period (1520–1540). The Peñol de Cerquín was a key Lenca stronghold during the Great Revolt of 1537 against the
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wrote a report that included the testimonies of various Spanish soldiers who had been present at the siege of the Peñol de Cerquín. In the early 17th century,
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both described the site, and reported the presence of fortifications, retaining walls, and engraved rocks, as well as artefacts that included ceramic remains,
143:. The Peñol de Cerquín is to the south of the town, on the far side of the Sierra de las Neblinas, in the region of the hamlet of San Antonio La Mina.
164:. Investigators in the 1940s climbed the Peñol and described finding the remains of a number of buildings, and the possible remains of a reservoir.
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There is a quantity of rock art at the site, either engraved or picketed depending upon the form. Small oval and sub-circular
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strengthened the fortifications considerably, and used it as his base of operations. The hardened veteran Spanish
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passed close to the Peñol de Cerquín in 1536, with eighty mixed Spanish infantry and cavalry, and some 3000
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568:. Chaillon, Meuse, France: Report submitted to the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia (IHAH).
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in the 1950s. A French team led by Eric Gelliot carried out further investigations in 2011–2012.
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Francisco de Montejo to the king of Spain, dated 10 June 1539. Also in 1539, Spanish bishop
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mountains. Many elderly, women, and children were also captured by the Spanish.
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Gelliot, Eric; Philippe Costa; Simon Mercier; Sébastien Perrot-Minnot (2011).
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Gelliot undated, p. 1. Gelliot, Costa, Mercier, and Perrot-Minnot 2011, p. 2.
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considered the fortress to be as strong as anything they had seen in Europe.
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Archaeological sites and cultural dynamics in the area of Lempira, Honduras
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The area of the Peñol de Cerquín was investigated by Italian archaeologist
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580:. Westport, Connecticut, US: Greenwood Press. pp. 284–285.
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Gelliot, Costa, Mercier, and Perrot-Minnot 2011, pp. 9–10.
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The first Spanish expedition to pass the Peñol was led by
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The Peñol de Cerquín is located in the southeast of the
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Gelliot, Costa, Mercier, and Perrot-Minnot 2011, p. 11.
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Gelliot, Costa, Mercier, and Perrot-Minnot 2011, p. 16.
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Gelliot, Costa, Mercier, and Perrot-Minnot 2011, p. 1.
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Informe final del proyecto arqueológico Lempira 2011
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The Conquest and Colonization of Honduras: 1502–1550
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The Peñol de Cerquín was described in a letter from
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Gelliot, Costa, Mercier, Perrot-Minnot 2011, p. 21.
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103:was the name of an ancient Lenca province, while
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259:in the 1940s, and by the American archaeologist
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577:Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism
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39:Location of the Peñol de Cerquín in Honduras
574:Olson, James S.; and Robert Shadle (1991).
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559:. Academia.edu. Accessed on 2017-03-11.
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553:Gelliot, Eric (undated, 2013–2017).
536:Chamberlain, Robert Stoner (1966)
424:Chamberlain, 1953, 1966, pp. 57–58.
406:Chamberlain, 1953, 1966, pp. 54–55.
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460:Chamberlain 1953, 1996, pp. 81–82.
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593:Diccionario de la lengua española
505:Chamberlain 1953, 1966, p. 89-90.
433:Chamberlain 1953, 1966,74, 79–80.
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658:Archaeological sites in Honduras
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591:Real Academia Española (2017).
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202:native Guatemalan auxiliaries
193:Spanish conquest of Honduras
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135:. The site lies within the
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111:, meaning a rocky crag, or
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663:Fortifications in Honduras
603:. Accessed on 2017-03-11.
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370:Gelliot undated, pp. 1–2.
54:[peˈɲoldeseɾˈkin]
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629:14.180611°N 88.492528°W
678:Sieges involving Spain
397:Gelliot undated, p. 2.
316:Gelliot undated, p. 1.
50:Spanish pronunciation:
668:Mountains of Honduras
634:14.180611; -88.492528
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241:Cristóbal de Pedraza
231:Historical documents
215:Francisco de Montejo
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280:Honduras portal
673:Mesoamerican sites
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219:Alonso de Cáceres
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620:88°29′33.1″W
617:14°10′50.2″N
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261:Doris Stone
224:arquebusier
169:petroglyphs
147:Description
647:Categories
530:References
548:640057454
141:Erandique
96:Etymology
267:See also
162:obsidian
129:Honduras
119:Location
179:of the
158:metates
109:Spanish
101:Cerquín
71:Lempira
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653:Lenca
601:peñón
597:peñol
286:Notes
181:Copán
131:, in
113:butte
105:peñol
63:Lenca
599:and
582:ISBN
544:OCLC
206:Naco
57:): "
44:The
139:of
127:of
107:is
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48:(
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