Revolutions in the Yucatan

An excerpt from Santiago Lopez's Revolutions in the Yucatan


     After Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808 and overthrew the King, New Spain no longer had a primary governance.  Juntas were established across the country to act as a government authority in the absence of the King. The people in New Spain took advantage of this opportunity to strive for independence.  In 1812 the Spanish Constitution was  written and declared individual rights to freedom, education, property, etc.  Also all citizens were seen as equals and the only religion permitted was Catholicism.  Through this constitution, taxation was suppose to be lowered or even abolished. Leaders of the Sanjuanista Movement organized Maya resistance to church taxation which also became apart of the Constitution.  However, once Napoleon was defeated, Fernando Vll returned as the King of Spain and refused to recognize this Constitution.  All legislation passed during the King's absence was abolished. 

     After tasting a bit of independence, New Spain, particularly Mexico, was not ready to give it up.  Mexico began their fight for independence and finally gained it in 1821.  Soon after, leaders of the Yucatan gained their independence in 1824. 


     After the Sanjuanista Movement (Spanish Constitution) of 1812-1814, small groups of liberal Creoles attempted to organize the peasants against the Catholic Church and the colonial rule. This lead to resistance against all authority and taxes.Before this rebellion, the issuance of taxes was the subtext of peasant relations with both Church and state who each maintained their own collection process. "For over three decades tax resistance and revolt would furnish the peasantry with ample occasions to rehearse its eventual role as a revolutionary force." (1)

     Though taxes were frustrating, they were not the root of all peasant difficulties. Other issues such as ownership to land and individual rights assisted the strive for independence from Spain.  Even though Mexico's fight for independence, the Mexican War of Independence, was won after much bloodshed, Yucatan's independence was gained without even a single gun shot.


     After independence was gained, other revolutions resulted from it. The revolution of Santiago  Imãn, a Creole merchant and military officer, occurred in the mid-19th century.  "Imãn mobilized and armed the Mayas by promising once of he things they wanted most: the abolition of church taxes." (2)  His revolt succeeded only briefly but gave the Maya military a sense of organization gave them experience.

 1. Terry Rugeley,Maya Wars: ethnographic accounts from nineteenth-century 

Yucatán, (University of Oklahoma Press, 2001), 9-10.

2. Terry Rugeley, Yucatan's Maya Peasantry and the Origins of the Caste War, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), Vll-Vlll.

The Origins of the Caste War

An excerpt by Santiago Lopez's The Origins of the Caste War (1927)

[Reforming Spanish America] 

Throughout the 18th Century, the Bourbon Reformation's (or Bourbon Reforms) goal was to advance Spain and modernize Spanish American administrations.  In places such as Merida and Campeche, leaders met to discuss moderate ideas and modified local administrations.  This interference in local affairs aggravated the creole elites but was tolerated because of a fear of takeover by the mestizos or any other lower caste group. Spanish peninsulares (leading Spanish officials) attempted to resist the creole elites from having anymore authority, which eventually monopolized power in the old colonial system.  

Bourbon Reforms of Spain stimulated commercial growth and "modified administrations but did not drastically alter Yucatan's long established internal divisions." (1) By the end of the 1700s many administrative units or paridos were created.  The greatest and most influential parido was Merida. At the time Merida was the center for most economical developments. It was "the Rome of the peninsula." (2) Although it was a beautiful city, it still contained poverty and abuse which can later on be credited for contributing to many revolts.  The second most influential parido was Campeche which was at neck and neck with Merida.  Eventually, the tension and rivalry between the two cities was suppressed after being invaded by fellow Amerindians and the Yucatan became divided. 

From the peninsulares trying to modernize and modify the Spanish American administrations, the strive for independence was increasing.  Shortly after the Mexico War of Independence occurred,  the Yucatan declared their own independence from Spain in 1821 becoming the Patriotic Confederation. (3) However, the Mexican Empire did not accept Yucatan's strive for independence and attacked the Yucatan's two main paridos, Merida and Campeche. During their struggle with the Mexican Empire, Yucatan Republic's leaders integrated many Maya soldiers into their armies to help defend their region.  

After Maya soldiers were given the weapons and ability to defend themselves, they were able to maintain more control than before. 

 Eventually, after high taxes and oppression, the Mayas wanted liberty and independence.  Thus, in 1847 the Caste War of the Yucatan begun.  

(The actual Caste War will be explained and discussed in the next chapter)

(1) Terry Rugeley, Yucatan's Maya Peasantry and the Origins of the Caste War, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), 2. 

(2) Terry Rugeley, Yucatan's Maya Peasantry and the Origins of the Caste War, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), 3. 

(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_War_of_Yucat%C3%A1n

Terry Rugeley,Maya Wars: ethnographic accounts from nineteenth-century 

Yucatán, (University of Oklahoma Press, 2001).

Administrative Order in the Yucatan

An entry from Alonso de Velasco: a nobleman in Merida, Mexico


     The administration system in the Yucatan was similar to most others.  After the conquest, we were required to establish a form of order over the indigenous inhabitants of all surrounding areas.  Coming from Spain, which had a very organized system of running things, I saw the desperate need for control and order in the Yucatan but the Indians did not have the same feelings regarding this issue.  In the beginning, the Mayas saw the colonial system as one of the main reasons for the collapse of their cultural society.  However, we were trying to better the lives of the natives and establish some order for them.  

     Our overall purpose was to establish a system of indirect rule and tribute exaction as well as acquiring labor. We also needed a system of separate republics to prevent a possible takeover and any possible attempts at independence from the Crown.  At one point, we were looked upon in a somewhat positive light when our fellow officials legitimated statuses of local nobles, validated boundary agreements, and reduced some tribute burdens. 
     Since the number of natives was far more greater than the population of Spaniards, the colonial system of government and taxation had to be more indirect.  With this, two factors were crucial to maintain order: political stability and the partial cooperation of the indigenous elite.  However, Spanish officials were concerned with confirming the social status and political positions of the already established Maya leaders.  After awhile we ended up just replacing them with our own selections for local official positions.  
     The Crown entrusted the execution and (to a limited extent) interpretation of its laws in the Indies with members of the audiencia.  Tomas Lopez Medel, who was a member of the Guatemala audiencia, is known for reforming colonial administration in the Yucatan.  Lopez Medel was a true representative of a royal official.  He was energetic and inflexible reminding the communities of the systematic world of Spain which many may have forgotten due to the distance and disorder.  He forced agreements between the Spanish town councils and the friars on the amount of tribute and service to be extracted from the Indians and also fixed the wage scales for the carriers transporting colonial goods. (Clendinnen).  In addition, he ordered Indians who still lived scattered all over the areas to be gathered together in "good and convenient places, or properly organized villages." (Clendinnen). Feeling like he completed his task, Lopez Medel returned to Guatemala taking his image of authority with him.  

     For several years there was no specific leader of the Yucatan.  When the Crown finally realized how far local administrators failed to apply Lopez Medel's ordinances, they gave the order of jurisdiction in the Yucatan to Don Diego Quijada, a professional bureaucrat. He became the alcalde mayor or chief of the secular government.  Quijada was a grateful servant to Spain.  His initial task was to convey the residencia, which was the judicial review of conduct in office, of his predecessor. He handled the task well and became a great mayor.  However once he became involved with Fray Diego de Landa, a bishop of the Yucatan who lead the Inquisition, Quijada questioned his own servitude to Spain. Landa threatened to denounce him before the viceroy if he decided to go against him.  Eventually Quijada was convicted of being committed and supportive to Landa who was tried and convicted for his cruel ways of executing the Inquisition. 
     Eventually Velazquez de Gijon became governor of the Yucatan.  He was a Spanish aristocract who showed no intimidation by the clerics and was no anxious newcomer.   After years of trying to establish an administration system and maintain order, the government succeeded in creating a successful system but will always face problems with keeping order. 


 Inga Clendinnen, Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniards in Yucatan, 1517-1570, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987)


Matthew Restall, Maya Conquistador, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998)

Inquisition in the Yucatan

An entry from Diego Montejo, a Spanish missionary through the Inquisition


August of 1572:
     Since I first arrived in 1543 I've experienced and witnessed the struggle of the intertwining of the Spanish and Maya culture. It has been a long journey and I have never lost focus of my main objective of converting the Mayas to Christianity.
     The Inquisition had began in New Spain as early as the 1520s and was not formerly established until only last year, 1571. Over the past years I was determined to steer the Mayas away from their ritual practices of idolatry. However, they still practiced idolatry as well as sorcery, witchcraft, and bigamy in secrecy while making us believe they had converted.  With the recurring idolatry and religious syncretism, this became the prime concern of the Mexican Church. Also, the situations of resistance in the Yucatan showed similarities to those in central Mexico and Oaxaca.

    
 The Mayas in the Yucatan struggled with the Inquisition mostly because of their desire to preserve their long cultural and religious traditions  They wanted to maintain what they could of their traditional way of life. Many performed ritual ceremonies worshiping idols in secret locations beyond the boundaries of the settlements.
    Once knowledge of these ceremonies started circulating among the friars (main supporters of the Inquisition) investigators and some locals were sent out to uncover the idols and sites of ceremonies. Those who went against the Church and worshiped idols were brought to the leader of the Inquisition in the Yucatan at the time, Fray Diego de Landa.

     Fray Diego de Landa lead the Inquisition in the Yucatan while waiting for the arrival of their resident bishop.  From his first discovery of Mayas practicing idolatry in 1562, over the next three months, Landa proceeded with mass arrests, brutal and indiscriminate torture, and excessive punishments of those accused. "More than 4,500 Indians were put to the torture during the three months of this episcopal inquisition." (1) Landa claimed his actions were accordingly in relation to the legal issues of the Inquisition.  Torture was part of the interrogations but not to the extend Landa enforced. These trials are the most known in our region.
     Landa remained in power until "Bishop Francisco Toral, a veteran Franciscan missionary from Mexico, finally arrived officially ending Landa's inquisitorial authority ."(2) Toral was appalled with Landa's behavior and was determined to prove that is actions were unjustified.  So through the Episcopal Inquisition we were not only experiencing resistance from the Mayas but also were dealing with disagreements amongst the leaders. After several months of disagreeing, Landa resigned and returned to Spain.  After an ongoing battle, "Landa returned this year, 1572, after Toral died." (3)
     In the end, any sacred books or Maya manuscripts were burned to symbolize the destruction of the "demons worshiped in secret by the Yucatan communities."(4) From the Maya perspective this represented the destruction of their own identity and the perception of a life which had taken centuries to develop.


{From a later entry by an unknown Spaniard in 1800}
"Throughout the 1600s resistance towards Catholicism continued.  The Inquisition began to prosecute mulattoes and zambos for mixed crimes of idolatry and sacrifice in the late 17th century."(5) Prosecutions in 1721 of mestizos represented a look at evolving syncretism. Finally, the last Indian idolatry case in the Yucatan "occurred in 1785 when charges were made against a father and his sons for mestizo idolatry."(6)


1.  Inga Clendinnen, Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniards in Yucatan, 1517-1570, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987) 76. 
2. David E. Timmer, "Providence and Perdition: Fray Diego de Landa Justifies His Inquisition against the Yucatecan Maya, "Church History 66, no. 3 (1997): 478.
3.  David E. Timmer, "Providence and Perdition: Fray Diego de Landa Justifies His Inquisition against the Yucatecan Maya, "Church History 66, no. 3 (1997): 479.
4.  Brian R. Hamnett, A Concise History of Mexico, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) 66.
5.  Richard E. Greenleaf, "The Mexican Inquisition and the Indians: Sources for the Ethnohistorian," The Americas 34, no. 3 (1978): 333. 
6. Richard E. Greenleaf, "The Mexican Inquisition and the Indians: Sources for the Ethnohistorian," The Americas 34, no. 3 (1978): 333. 

Change from a Conquest

 A entry from Antonio de Lopez, a Maya interpreter for Spanish bishops


April 12th of the year 1564:
     It has been years now since the Spanish conquered my home town right outside of Merida. Since then, life is quit different from what it use to be.  After the Spanish arrived, they wanted to regulate our lives and modify our way of living to their standards.
      While growing up, the lineage and traditions of my people were the most important aspect of life. When the Spaniards came and enforced Christianity upon us, our lineage was threatened. To continue our heritage, the chiefs and lords of my people would preach about our rites and ancient ceremonies in remote locations to hide it from the Spaniards. When we were discovered, all these activities or ceremonies became forbidden.  Anyone who had knowledge of these meetings were required to denounce them.  After this all village gatherings were suppressed.  
     During one incident where idolatry was discovered by the Franciscan friar Diego de Landa, thousands of Mayas were arrested and tortured.  Some were tied to whipping posts and many were left paralyzed. More than 4.500 natives were collected from several different locations and than tortured during a three month "inquisition."(1) Many died while others disappeared or committed suicide. This process was labeled a "episcopal inquisition" by bishop Landa but represented little resemblance to inquisitional forms. (2)

     The Spaniards developed monasteries with infirmaries and schools in Merida and Campeche to help the process of conversion. "Over 2,000 boys went to these monasteries, myself included, being taught to read and write Mayan in European script and most importantly were taught the elements of the Christian Faith."(3) After time, threats to burn monasteries and friars became constant threats of revolt.
    The most commonly known change my people and I went through was being baptized as a Christian.  When our children were born they went through a baptism ceremony and were given a Christian name. Also, in order for a native chief to be confirmed in his position he must first submit to be baptized. 

    The Spaniards also wanted to enforce their notion of propriety in sexual and familial relationships. "The friars were to decide which of a man's several women was his legitimate wife and would compel him into accepting her by even using flogging at times."(4) Our life at home had to change as well.  While one was consuming a meal proper table manners were to be enforced. You must sit around a table in chairs, eat on a clean table cloth, and say Grace before eating.  Previously, we lacked tables, chairs, and such. 
    Since the Spaniards preferred a more structured living, many of us were forced to leave certain areas and relocate to new sites which were determined by what was seen as being more suitable to the friars. The places where we spent our childhood was then torched and burned after we were driven out. 
   Eventually Maya leaders turned more and more towards diplomacy in order to manipulate the "invaders" and also ended up adjusting their views to meet the requirements of Spanish rule.(5)
    The transition from pre-conquest to post-conquest was difficult for my people and weighted a heavy tole physically and materially on our well-being.  Many suffered from smallpox and unknown epidemics. Overall, the change was great and the transition was tough but we were still able to maintain some of our lineage, our language, and the way we related to each other. 


    1. Kenneth J. Andrien, The Human Tradition in: Colonial Latin America, (Lanham: SR Books, 2002) 14.
    2. Matthew Restall, The Maya World: Yucatec Culture and Society, 1550-1850, (California: Standford University Press, 1997) 154.
    3. Inga Clendinnen, Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniards in Yucatan, 1517-1570, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987) 52-59.
    4. Inga Clendinnen, Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniards in Yucatan. 58-59.
    5. Matthew Restall, Maya Conquistador, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998) 150. 

Indigenous Inhabitants of the Yucatan

Las entradas de mi viaje en el extranjero (Entires from my voyage abroad)


March 16 of the year 1543: Es nuestra primera semana...Translated in English:


It is our first week in this dense but extravagant land, the Yucatan.  The pure sight of  the surrounding landscapes makes me almost forget the dreary, damp trip over. My name is Diego Montejo, I'm a Spanish missionary and my intentions are to record and observe the inhabitants and their surroundings while present in this new territory.  Although there is a language barrier between us, I've still been able to discover much about the inhabitants. 


Agriculture
     The indigenous people who inhabit this land are referred to as the Mayas. Their elaborate way of life is quite different than what we are use to but similar is some ways.  The foundation of their civilization derives from their systems of agriculture. They prepare their plots by using a method called slash-and- burn. The variety of crops being cultivated includes maize, chile peppers, cotton, beans, and several kinds of fruit trees which are stored in these above-ground cribs made of wood and also several under-ground storage units. From these various crops the Maya create simple foods and stews which seem to be their topical cuisine.Also, each Maya household contained its own garden of a variety of fruit and vegetables.  Along the river drainages of territories further West, groves of cacao trees, which produce cacao beans that serve as money in regional markets, are harvested. 

    Their much more civilized and sophisticated than I assumed.  The Mayas, especially in the Yucatan are heavily involved in trading with other regions throughout Mexico.  They export honey, cotton mantles, and most importantly salt. 


New Life and Traditions
    The Maya rituals for new born infants is unusual than the rituals of my homeland. When a Maya infant is first born, it is immediately washed than pinned to a cradle where their heads are then compressed between two boards for two days.  This process results with the child's head becoming permanently fore-and aft flattened.  Something I find to be outrageous is seen as a mark of beauty to them. 
    In this region, every adult Maya has two names: the first coming from the mother and the other deriving from the father. Being that I've only been here for a short period of time, i'm not clear on the meaning for this yet. 


The Universe and their beliefs

    The trait I find most intriguing in regards  to the Mayas is their elaborate keeping of time or in other words, their calendar. The Mayas seem to believe the universe is passing through a series of stages ending with the destruction of the world. Their entire life is derived around this calendar or what they refer to as the Great Cycle of the Long Count.  The yearly harvests, events, rituals, etc are all performed according to the layout and destiny of this Long Count.  If I were to calculate the arrival of Armageddon by referencing their calendar, the universe would be annihilated on December 23 2012. I personally find it inaccurate simply because if we are able to cross entire oceans and find new lands now, I can imagine by 2012 ships will be flying.
    The indigenous Mayas seem to praise a variety of gods and goddesses, one portraying to every aspect of their lives.  The Sun God and the Rain God were manifested through sunlight, thunder and lightning.  Several war gods are venerated by soldiers and the Merchant God, Ek Chuah is worshiped by the merchants and cacao growers. 


Sacrifice
    Since I have arrived I have witnessed one of the most barbaric rituals.  This inhumane act is something i'm not all to familiar with at this time but I have learned that the procedure is performed by the Chief Priest of the settlement and is assisted by four elderly men. The account    which I had witnessed was in honor of the Rain God.  The four assistants held down the arms and legs of the victim while the chest was opened and the heart removed. The individual who cut open the victim was given the title Nacom which apparently is similar to a war leader. This Maya ritual was again, dictated by the Maya calendar.  


   After encountering this act, one must believe that my men and I were sent here for a reason and that are occupation of this territory is much needed.  


   Until i write again, the bewilderment of what is yet to come intrigues me. 


Diego Montejo




Adams, Richard E.W. The Origins of Maya Civilization. Albuquerque: University of new Mexico
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Coe, Michael D. The Maya. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc. 1993.
McKillop, Heather. The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives. California: ABC-CLIO Inc. 2004.