This article focuses on the links between the Maya and Europe in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, exploring the impact of the Spanish on the life and times of the Maya, as seen through the eyes of one man – Gonzalo Guerrero, who was shipwrecked off the Yucatan peninsula in 1511, and who, when given the opportunity to rejoin the Spanish expedition to conquer Mexico under Hernan Cortes, decided to stay with the Maya and fight the Spanish. It also reminds us that the Maya continued to be important in the area long after the ‘decline’ around AD 900.

The article also tries to explore links between significant individuals studied in Key Stage One and the Maya, thus helping the children to build on prior learning.