chiefdom · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Champotón

1441 CE – 1537 CE (approx.) · capital Champotón

A Maya province on the Campeche coast whose warriors killed the first Spanish expedition's leader in 1517, later Montejo's base for conquering Yucatán.

Origins

Champotón, the Chakanputun of the Maya chronicles, was an ancient coastal town associated with the Itza before their rise at Chichen Itza. After the fall of the League of Mayapan around 1441 it emerged as an independent province on the western coast of the Yucatán peninsula.

Rule and society

The province was ruled by the Couoh lineage from the town of Champotón at the mouth of a river, which lived from fishing, salt and coastal trade. In 1517 its lord Moch Couoh led warriors who defeated Francisco Hernández de Córdoba's expedition, mortally wounding him. Grijalva's expedition fought there again in 1518.

Decline and legacy

In 1537 Francisco de Montejo the Younger established a Spanish base at Champotón, from which the conquest of Yucatán was launched. The province was absorbed into the Province of Yucatán, and the town survives in Campeche state.

Lineage

League of Mayapan 1220 CE – 1441 CEChampotónProvince of Yucatán 1542 CE – 1821 CE

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Champotón. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/champoton
MLA
“Champotón.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/champoton. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Champotón.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/champoton.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Champotón’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/champoton (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻