So back in the 8th century or so a lot of Mayan cities, mostly in the southern parts of their lands, were abandoned for reasons not entirely known to historians. This seemed to have been a major setback for their civilization causing loss of trade routes, a technological and cultural decline as well as the loss of what was at the time a fairly powerful "empire" of sorts.
Now, assuming this collapse didn't happen what sort of New World could we expect to see by the time the Spanish arrive? I would expect that there would be no Aztec triple alliance, and we might see a more unified resistance to colonization. I am not sure if this means the Mayans could survive being invaded by Europeans down the line, but it might mean the Spanish have to chose a slightly more peaceful form of colonization in Mexico than in OTL. This is of course pure speculation, and even if the Mayans can resist invasion they are still going to go through periods of massive disease outbreaks.
But what do you guys think? Can we make a scenario in which the Mayans can survive for at least a while as the regional power in Central America even after European arrival?
Now, assuming this collapse didn't happen what sort of New World could we expect to see by the time the Spanish arrive? I would expect that there would be no Aztec triple alliance, and we might see a more unified resistance to colonization. I am not sure if this means the Mayans could survive being invaded by Europeans down the line, but it might mean the Spanish have to chose a slightly more peaceful form of colonization in Mexico than in OTL. This is of course pure speculation, and even if the Mayans can resist invasion they are still going to go through periods of massive disease outbreaks.
But what do you guys think? Can we make a scenario in which the Mayans can survive for at least a while as the regional power in Central America even after European arrival?