A Short History of Yucatán

Yucatán is one of the 31 states which make up Mexico.  Originally the state of Yucatán covered the entire Yucatán Peninsula, but eventually the area was divided, and two other states, Campeche (on the Gulf coast) and Quintana Roo (on the Caribbean coast) were created.

When the Spanish arrived in the early 1500's, the Mayan civilization was still very much alive.  There were numerous Mayan cities across the peninsula, although they could not compare in grandeur to the great cities that had flourished in earlier centuries.  Among the Mayan cities that were populated at the time at the Spanish Conquest were Tulum, Izamal, T'ho, and Dzibilchaltún.

Francisco de Montejo the Elder was an officer in the army of Hernán Cortés (known to us as Cortez) and participated in the conquest of the mighty Aztec Empire of central Mexico.  In 1527, six years after the fall of the Aztecs, Montejo organized an expedition to subdue the Mayas of the Yucatán.  The Mayas offered fierce resistance, and Montejo had to withdraw.  He led a second expedition in 1531, but that too ended in failure.  In 1540, his son, Francisco de Montejo the Younger led another expedition.  By playing upon rivalries between different Mayan tribes, the son succeeded in subjugating the western half of the peninsula.  On January 6, 1542, the younger Montejo founded the city of Mérida as his administrative capital.  He chose the site of the Mayan city of T'ho.  The pyramids and other buildings of T'ho were razed to the ground, and the stones were used to build his colonial city.  A short time later, a cousin of Montejo (who was also named Francisco!) pushed into the eastern part of the peninsula (although much of the remote jungle remained outside of Spanish control). 

(image from the web)
Francisco de Montejo the Younger

The Cathedral of Mérida, completed in 1598, is the oldest cathedral on the American continent.  A wall was built around the city to defend it against occasional Mayan rebellions.

 

Throughout the colonial period Yucatán was an unimportant backwater of the Spanish Empire.  The area lacked the mineral resources of central Mexico, and it was isolated from Mexico City.  Spanish settlers established cattle ranches throughout the area, and used the natives as laborers.

 

When Mexico fought for its independence from Spain, sleepy Yucatán was far removed from the fighting.  It wasn't until the end of the War of Independence in 1821, that Yucatán declared its independence, and then joined the new nation of Mexico.  However, in 1841, Yucatán, unhappy with the centralization of power under President Santa Ana, declared itself an independent republic.

 

 In 1847, while the Republic of Yucatán was in negotiations with the Mexican government, the most violent event in the peninsula's history erupted.  The long-oppressed Mayas revolted in a bloody conflict known as the Caste War.  As many as 200,000 people may have died during the war.  Atrocities were committed by both sides.  The Mayan rebels swept across the peninsula killing whites and mestizos, and soon controlled most of the Yucatán.  Only the cities of Mérida and Campeche held out against the Mayas.  The desperate governor of the Republic of Yucatán offered the annexation of the peninsula to the United States.  The U.S. House of Representatives passed the annexation bill, but it was defeated in the Senate.  Mérida was besieged by the Mayas, and the siege was only broken when the natives left to plant their corn fields.  In 1848 the Republic of Yucatán negotiated the reunification of the peninsula with Mexico.  Mexican troops arrived, pushed the Mayas back, and regained control of the northwestern half of the peninsula.  The Mayan rebels still held the sparsely populated southwestern half of the peninsula however.  The United Kingdom, which owned the neighboring colony of British Honduras (present day Belize) found it advantageous to support the Mayas.  The British government recognized the de-facto Mayan government, and arms were shipped to them across the border.  It wasn't until 1893, when the United Kingdom ended its support, that the Mexican government reasserted its control over most the southeastern part of the peninsula.  Many isolated Mayan villages held out for years against Mexican authority, however, and it wasn't until 1933 that the last skirmish between federal troops and Mayan resistance was fought. 

 

In the meantime, as the Caste War wound down, the white landowners found a new source of wealth.  The fiber of the henequen plant (or sisal) was used to make rope.  The haciendas (large estates) became vast henequen plantations.  In the late 1800's and early 1900's, Yucatán was the source of most of the world's supply of rope.  The landowners became enormously wealthy, and, for a time, Mérida boasted more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world.  Of course these fortunes were made with the cheap labor of the Mayan peasants who were little better than slaves.  The Mayas, who had come so close to overthrowing their white oppressors, were worse off than ever before.

 

 

The former mansions of the hacienda owners still line the

Paseo de Montejo in Mérida.

 

The winds of change which swept across Mexico as a result of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 came to Yucatán.  In 1922, a socialist by the name of Felipe Carrillo Puerto became the governor of the state of Yucatán.  He embodied the ideals of the Revolution.  He supported women's political rights, and built hundreds of schools.  He began land reform, confiscating plantations and distributing land to the Mayan peasants.  Of course, this made him unpopular with the landowners.  In 1924 he was seized by dissident army officers and murdered before a firing squad.

 

(image from the web)

Felipe Carrillo Puerto

 

The huge henequen plantations continued on for a time, but by the end of World War II, sisal rope was largely replaced by synthetic fibers.  Almost all of the haciendas were abandoned, and their ruins can be seen across the peninsula.  Some, however, have been restored and converted into luxury hotels, restaurants, or museums.  Although the Mayan people no longer suffer under peonage, many remain significantly poorer than the rest of the population.

 

 

Hacienda Ochil, outside of Mérida, is now a fine restaurant specializing in Yucatecan cuisine.

 

Yucatán's isolation from the rest of the country ended in the mid-twentieth century.  In the 1950's a railroad connecting the peninsula to Mexico City was built.  In the 1960's a highway was finally completed, and commercial jet service to Mérida Airport began.  Today Mérida is a prosperous city with a population of nearly a million people.  Many professional people from other parts of Mexico have been attracted by the warm climate, good schools and low crime rate. (It is said that Mérida has a higher percentage of PhDs than any other city in the country.)  It has all the amenities of a modern city while retaining the charm of its colonial past.  Tourism is a major industry.  Travelers who seek something more than the commercialized beach resorts of the Caribbean coast come here to experience the rich history and culture.  Mérida has had a real estate boom as many American and Canadian retirees have come to live here.  Scores of colonial homes bought by ex-pats have been beautifully renovated.

 

 

Lovely old houses along a street in Mérida's "centro histórico".

 

The state of Yucatán still faces many problems, but this fascinating corner of Mexico also holds much promise for the future.  It is one of my favorite parts of Mexico, and I hope to see it continue to improve while still maintaining its unique atmosphere.