Spanish missionaries laid the groundwork for the extension of colonial administration in the extreme south of Petén from 1596 onwards , but no further Spanish entry of central Petén took place Process_start until 1618 and 1619 when missionaries arrived at Arriving the Itza capital , having travelled Traveling from the Spanish town of Mérida in Yucatán .

In 1695 a military expedition tried to reach Arriving Lake Petén Itzá from Guatemala ; this was followed in 1696 by missionaries from Mérida and in 1697 by Martín de Ursúa 's expedition from Yucatán that resulted in Causation the final defeat Conquering of the independent kingdoms of central Petén and their incorporation Dispersal into the Spanish Empire .