The name of Campeche is derived from the Mayan name of a settlement called �Ah-Kin-Pech� where the city of Campeche is now. When the Spanish first arrived to the area in 1517, they made contact there and his panicized the pronunciation. The original mean �place of snakes and ticks.�
The first people to dominate the state were the Mayas, who arrived to Campeche from Guatemala, Honduras and Chiapas. The main Mayan cities were Edzna, Xtampak, and later Calakmul and Bec�n. The Mayan civilization reached it height between 600 and 900 From 1000 on, the Mayan cities collapsed and were abandoned for unknown reasons. This led to the establishment of smaller settlements and a mixing of the Mayan and Chontal people in the south of the state, which had commercial ties to the central highland cultures of Mexico. From the 11th century to the 16th century, Campeche was divided into smaller dominions.
The first Spaniard in the area was Francisco Hern�ndez de C�rdoba y Ant�n de Alaminos in 1517, who landed at a settlement called Can-Pech, part of the Sol Garrapata dominion. He renamed it San L�zaro. He moved onto the territory of Chakanputon (today Champot�n) where he and his men were attacked by the warriors of this dominion. Hernandez de Cordoba died of his wounds from this battle, prompting the Spanish to call this bay the �Bah�a de Mala Pelea� (Bay of the Bad Fight) . The conquest of Campeche and the rest of the Yucat�n Peninsula began in earnest in 1540, under Francisco de Montejos, senior and junior .
The Spanish introduced sugar cane and other crops in the area, starting in the 1540s, but the main value of the area was the port of Campeche, established in 1540 where the old Mayan village used to be. During the colonial era, it was commercial port equal toHavana and Cartagena even though piracy was a constant threat. It shipped valuable exports such as agricultural goods, tropical hardwoods and dyewood, then a widely used textile dye in Europe. It also
