The conquest of Petén , a region now incorporated Cause_to_be_included into the modern republic of Guatemala , climaxed in 1697 with the capture Conquering of Nojpetén , the island capital of the Itza kingdom , by Martín de Ursúa y Arizmendi .

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 .