The Mayan civilization, when it suffered the Spanish invasion, was already in decline for several reasons discussed among historians. We will work on them now. One of the problems that led to the degradation of the Mayan cities defended here is agriculture.
With a tributary mode of production, it was necessary to remove food from the land for the sustenance and maintenance of the State-class. Considering that the soil of the Yucatan plain was poor, it was necessary to apply a rotation of plantations, to allow the land to rest. The problem we encountered there was the great population growth.
The demand for new land to cultivate, in the New Empire, provoked the crisis of the system and the war, as a way to extend the control of the cities over a larger territory. With the war between the city-states, the Mayan civilization went into decline.
According to some, there were other facts that only worsened the situation of the population in addition to wars such as earthquakes and plagues, but these facts used to explain the decline revolve around what is demonstrated here:the lack of land for cultivation. Thus the Spanish domination was facilitated by the decay of the Mayan cities, which were already shaken.
Mayan Civilization
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson related to the subject: