The Caste War of Yucatán (1847–1901) began with the revolt of native Maya people of Yucatán (Mexico) against the population of European descent (called Yucatecos) in political and economic control. A lengthy war ensued between the Yucateco forces in the north-west of the Yucatán and the independent Maya in the south-east. It officially ended with the occupation of the Maya capital of Chan Santa Cruz by the Mexican army in 1901, although skirmishes with villages and small settlements that refused to acknowledge Mexican control continued for over another decade. 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Maya people are a Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. ... Yucatán is the name of one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula. ... Chan Santa Cruz is a former name for the town now named Felipe Carrillo Puerto in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, as well as the name of an independent Maya Indian state which the town was the capital of for much of the second half of the 19th century. ...

Background to the War

In Spanish colonial times, Yucatán (like most of New Spain) was under a legal caste system, with officials born in Spain at the top, the criollos of Spanish descent in the next level, followed by the mestizo population, then the native hidalgos, descendants of the Pre-Columbian nobility who had collaborated with the Spanish conquest of Yucatán, and at the bottom were the mass of native indios. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Caste systems are traditional, hereditary systems of social stratification. ... In the Spanish colonial caste system (castas), a criollo was a person of unmixed Spanish ancestry born in the colonies. ... Mestizo (Portuguese, Mestiço; French, Métis: from Late Latin mixticius, from Latin mixtus, past participle of miscere, to mix) is a term of Spanish origin used to designate the people of mixed European and indigenous non-European ancestry. ... The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... The Spanish Conquest of Yucatán was a long and involved process taking some 170 years to complete. ...

With independence there was much rhetoric of a new equality before the law, but little actually changed other than the Creoles taking over the role of the Spaniards at the top of the political pyramid.

The opening of the Caste War is traditionally thought to have been the execution of three Maya at Valladolid, Yucatán, for planning an uprising which may have been originally intended to be political rather than a race war. The War seemed rooted in the defense of communal lands against the expansion of private ownership, and as a reaction to the economic and political power and the cultural bigotry of the European Yucatecos. Valladolid is a small city in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. ...

The Caste War

The greatest success of the Maya revolt was reached in the spring of 1848, with the Europeans driven from most of the peninsula other than the walled cities of Campeche and Mérida, with Yucatecan troops holding the road from Mérida to the port of Sisal. The Yucatecan governor Miguel Barbachano had prepared a decree for the evacuation of Mérida, but was apparently delayed in publishing it by the lack of suitable paper in the besieged capital. The decree became unnecessary when the republican troops suddenly broke the siege and took the offensive with major advances. The majority of the Maya troops, not realizing the unique strategic advantage of their situation, had left the lines to plant their crops, planning to return after planting. It is said that the appearance of flying ants swarming after heavy rains was the traditional signal to start planting for the Maya rebels, leading them, in this instance, to abandon the battle. 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... View of Campeche, showing Cathedral and part of old city fortifications Campeche is a city of Mexico located at 19°85′ N 90°53′ W, on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. ... Cathedral on the Plaza Mayor, the oldest in North America [1]. Mérida is the capital city of the Mexican state of Yucatán. ... Sisal is a seaport town in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. ... Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo (1806 - 17 December 1859) was a liberal Yucatecan politician, who was 5 times governor of Yucatán between 1841 and 1853. ... This article is about swarms in biology. ...

Yucatán had considered itself an independent nation, but during the crisis of the revolt had offered sovereignty to any nation that would aid in defeating the Indians. The Mexican government was in a rare position of being cash rich from payment by the United States under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo for the territory taken in the Mexican-American War, and accepted Yucatán's offer. Yucatán was officially reunited with Mexico on 17 August 1848. European Yucateco forces rallied, aided by fresh guns, money, and troops from Mexico, and pushed back the Maya from more than half of the state. The Mexican Cession (red) and the Gadsden Purchase (orange) The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was the treaty that ended the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. ... Combatants United States Mexico Commanders Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott Stephen W. Kearney Antonio López de Santa Anna Mariano Arista Pedro de Ampudia Strength 60,000 40,000 Casualties KIA: 1,733 Total dead: 13,283 Wounded: 4,152 25,000 (Mexican government estimate) The Mexican-American War was fought... August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the 1850s a stalemate developed, with the Yucatecan government in control of the north-west, and the Maya in control of the south-east, with a sparsely populated jungle frontier in between. // Events and Trends Technology Production of steel revolutionised by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time First transatlantic telegraph cable laid First safety elevator installed by Elisha Otis Science Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species, putting forward the theory of evolution...

In 1850, the Maya of the south east were inspired to continue the struggle by the apparition of the "Talking Cross". This apparition, believed to be a way in which God communicated with the Maya, dictated that the War continue. Chan Santa Cruz (Small Holy Cross) became the religious and political center of the Maya resistance and the rebellion came to be infused with religious significance. Chan Santa Cruz also became the name of the largest of the independent Maya states, as well as the name of the capital town (now the city of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo). The followers of the Cross were known as "Cruzob". Chan Santa Cruz is a former name for the town now named Felipe Carrillo Puerto in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, as well as the name of an independent Maya Indian state which the town was the capital of for much of the second half of the 19th century. ... Felipe Carrillo Puerto is the name of a municipality and its chief town in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, named for the assassinated local politician Felipe Carrillo Puerto. ...

The government of Yucatán first declared the war over in 1855, but hopes for peace were premature. There were regular skirmishes, and occasional deadly major assaults into each other's territory, by both sides. The United Kingdom recognized the Chan Santa Cruz Maya as a de facto independent nation, in part because of the major trade between Chan Santa Cruz and British Honduras (now Belize). 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... British Honduras was the former name of a British colony on the east coast of Central America, now the independent nation of Belize. ...

Negotiations in 1883 led to a treaty signed on 11 January 1884 in Belize City by a Chan Santa Cruz general and the vice-Governor of Yucatán recognizing Mexican sovereignty over Chan Santa Cruz in exchange for Mexican recognition of Chan Santa Cruz leader Crescencio Poot as "Governor" of the "State" of Chan Santa Cruz, but the following year there was a coup d'état in Chan Santa Cruz, and the treaty was declared cancelled. 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Memorial Park, Belize City The Swing Bridge, Belize City Belize City is the largest city in the Central American nation of Belize. ... A coup détat (pronounced ), or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government against the volonté générale formed by the majority of the citizenry, usually done by a smaller supposedly weaker body that just replaces the top power figures. ...

The Independent Maya Communities

The Chan Santa Cruz state, stretching from north of Tulum to the Belize border and a considerable distance inland, was the largest of the independent Maya communities of the era but not the only one. The Ixcanha Maya community had a population of some 1,000 people who refused the Cruzob's break with traditional Catholicism. In the years of stalemate, Ixcanha agreed to nominal recognition of Mexico in exchange for some guns to defend themselves from Cruzob raids and the promise that the Mexican government would leave them alone. As Chan Santa Cruz was more of a worry, the Mexicans let Ixcanha govern itself through 1894. Tulum against the blue sea Tulum (sometimes rendered as Tuluum) is a Pre-Columbian walled city of the Maya civilization located on the Caribbean Sea coast of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. ... This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ...

Another important group was the Icaiche Maya, in the jungles of the lower center of the peninsula, who in the 1860s battled against the Mexicans, the Cruzob, and made raids and invasions against British Honduras as well, under their leader Marcos Canul. Canul's forces occupied Corozal Town in 1870 and attacked Orange Walk Town on 1 September 1872. The British mounted a retaliatory raid, including in their weaponry incendiary rockets which set the houses of Icaiche on fire from a good distance away, to the awe of Icaiche's residents. Canul was deposed and the new Icaiche leaders promised respect and friendship with the British. They soon made an agreement with Mexico similar to that of Ixcanha. Corozal Town is a town in the nation of Belize. ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Orange Walk Town is the second largest town in the nation of Belize, with a population of about 14,000. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

The Gradual End of the War

In 1893 the United Kingdom was enjoying good relations with Mexico's Porfirio Díaz administration, and British investment in Mexico had become of much greater economic importance than the trade between the Cruzob and Belize. The UK signed a treaty with Mexico recognizing Mexican sovereignty over the region, formalizing the border between Mexico and British Honduras, and closing their colony's border to trade with the Chan Santa Cruz "rebels". As Belize merchants were Chan Santa Cruz's main source of gunpowder, this was a serious blow for the independent Maya. 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Term of office: 29 November 1876 to 30 November 1880 (first term) – 1 December 1884 to 1910 (second term) Preceded by: Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada (1876), Manuel González (1884) Succeeded by: Manuel González (1880), Francisco León de la Barra interim (1911) Date of birth: 15 September... Smokeless powder Gunpowder, whether black powder or smokeless powder, is a substance that burns very rapidly, releasing gases that act as a propellant in firearms. ...

The Mexican army had twice before managed to fight their way to the town of Chan Santa Cruz in previous decades, but was driven back both times. In 1901 Mexican general Ignacio Bravo led his troops to the town to stay, occupying with a large force and over the next years subduing surrounding villages. Bravo telegraphed the news that the war was over on 5 May (the Cinco de mayo) that year. While this is the date most frequently given for the end of the war, fighting continued, although on a smaller scale. With their capital lost, the Cruzob split into smaller groups often hiding in small hamlets in the jungle, and their numbers were seriously lessened by the epidemics of measles and smallpox that came with General Bravo's troops. 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a highly contagious disease unique to humans. ...

The Chan Santa Cruz Maya, under the influence of the persistent Talking Cross Cult, remained actively hostile well into the Twentieth Century. For many years, any non-Maya who entered the jungles of what is now the Mexican state of Quintana Roo would have been killed. The combination of new economic factors such as the appearance of the Wrigley Company's chicle hunters and the political and social changes resulting from the Mexican Revolution eventually reduced the hatred and hostility. In one form or another, war and armed struggle had continued for more than 50 years and an estimated 40,000 - 50,000 people had died in the hostilities. Quintana Roo is a state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. ... The Wm. ... Binomial name Manilkara chicle (Pittier) Gilly Chicle is the gum from Manilkara chicle, a species of sapodilla tree. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

The war was officially declared over for the final time in September 1915 by General Salvador Alvarado. General Alvarado, sent by the revolutionary government in Mexico City to restore order in Yucatán, implemented reforms which more-or-less eliminated the conflicts that had been the cause of the wars. 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Salvador Alvarado is a municipality in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. ...

Although the war had been declared over many times before in previous decades, records show that the last time the Mexican army considered it necessary to take by force one of the area's villages which had never recognized Mexican law was in April 1933, when five Maya and two Mexican soldiers died in the battle for the village of Dzula – the last skirmish of a conflict lasting over 85 years. 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

see also: Chan Santa Cruz Chan Santa Cruz is a former name for the town now named Felipe Carrillo Puerto in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, as well as the name of an independent Maya Indian state which the town was the capital of for much of the second half of the 19th century. ...

Further reading

• The Caste War of Yucatan by Nelson Reed, Stanford University Press, 1964
• The Machete and the Cross: Campesino Rebellion in Yucatan by Don E. Dumond, University of Nebraska Press, 1997
• Yucatan's Maya Peasantry and the Origins of the Caste War by Terry Rugeley, University of Texas Press, 1996
• Xuxub Must Die: The Lost Histories of a Murder on the Yucatan by Paul Sullivan, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004
• Maya Wars: Ethnographic Accounts from Ninteenth-Century Yucatan edited by Terry Rugeley, University of Oklahoma Press, 2001

External links

• Tales From The Yucatan: The Caste War of the Yucatan
• The Caste Wars of the Yucatan and Northern Belize