Lakandon Chʼol

The Lakandon Chʼol were a former Chʼol-speaking Maya people inhabiting the Lacandon Jungle in what is now Chiapas in Mexico settled around the Laguna Miramar until the Spanish conquest of their territory. Upon the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, their capital was the city of Lakam-Tun, located on El Peñón Island, south of Laguna Miramar, which is where the name "Lacandon" given by the Spanish to the region and its inhabitants originated. After the destruction of their city by the conquistadors, they isolated themselves in the depths of the jungle and founded a new capital called Sac Balam, where they remained free and independent from Spanish rule for more than 100 years until 1695. In 1712, the few remaining Lakandon Ch'ol were forcibly displaced by the colonial authorities and became extinct by the mid-18th century.