Boca Iglesia

"Here began the Conquest of Mexico" Situated in the extreme northeast of the Yucatan Peninsula, 6 kilometers south of Cabo Catoche is found the last vestiges of what was the village of Ekab which existed as a prosperous community until the middle of the 17th centure. The settlement disappeared as a result of constant attacks from Mayan rebels and pirates of French and English origin. According to historians of the Spanish conquest, this was the place where the army of Franciso Herandez de Cordoba disembarked and became considered the official disdicoverer of theYucatan and Isla Mujeres, in the first days of March 1517. The natives of the place convinced the intruders to visit their homes, but after disembarking, the discoverers were ambushed and forced to retreat. r, the Spanish Crown, pressured by rivals France and England, allowed Holy Catholic church, in 1519, in a precipitatous move, to form a papal presence by instituting a bishop in the place where Hernandez de Cordoba disembarked The architecture is one of most medieval style, similar to styles used by in Spain in times of the crusades against pirates. Their fences were made in the form of arrows. This can best be appreciated around the Convent, a building adjacent to the main church, recognized as a parish for the Indians. To build these Catholic structures, the pagan temples of the natives were demolished to provide sufficient material to start the construction. The most relevant episode in the history of Ekab was the attack that happened in the village in 1571 when the French pirate Pierre Sanfroy whom with twenty other pirates took the village by surprise during the holy week of that year. Intent on extorting the villagers and offending the catholic religion, he used the altar as his bedroom and damaged fine ornaments on the walls of the building. Sanfroy was persued by the Yucatecan government until he was captured in Cozumel where most of his men died in combat. Sanfroy and 3 of his men were taken to the Holy Inquisition and subjected to a long a stifling judgement. Finally, they were condemned not for the damage caused to the village of Ekab, but for being rascals and being enemies of the Church