The whites of Yucatan had survived the great Indian uprising known as the Caste War of Yucatan. While the Caste war was over the fighting was not. The failure of the Yucatecans to crush the rebellion in its infancy (had that been possible) doomed them and their posterity to a bitter struggle that would last to the turn of the century.
The human cost was already
tremendous. A look at census figures for
1846 and 1850 (by which time the worst
losses had already been absorbed) shows a
population drop from 504,635 to 247118,
a 50% decline. This included a75%
populationdrop in the frontier
departments of Valladolid and Tekax.
After accounting for Indian rebels and the
people (both Indian and white) that fled
Yucatan there remained around 147,000
unaccounted for - presumably killed. Thus
about a third of Yucatan's population died
by disease, famine, or battle during the
uprising. A survey of material losses
shows up to 19 towns, 124 haciendas, and
211 ranchos, sacked and abandoned at the
end of the war. [10]
The rebellion was over and for the
first time in the Americas a rebellion by
native Indian peoples against whites had
succeeded in establishing a viable
independent state. The warfare that
continued after 1855 was no longer a
rebellion of native people but rather a war
between independent sovereign states
Mexico and the Indian state of Chan Santa
Cruz.
There would be more bloody battles,
massacres and decades of skirmishing and
raiding along a hostile frontier. Finally in
1901 Mexican General Ignacio Bravo
would lead a modern army into the
rainforests of southeastern Yucatan and
conquer the Indian nation born of the
machete and musket.
[1] These were divisions in name
only and actually were regimental and
brigade sized collections of units.
l.Encyclopedia Britannica, 1878
2.Haythomthwaite, Philip THE ALAMO
AND THE WAR OF TEXAN
INDEPENDENCE 1835-36, London: Osprey
Men at Arms Series, 1986
3.Jones, Grant (editor)
ANTHROPOLOGY AND HISTORY IN
YUCATAN, Austin Texas: University of
Texas Press, 1977
4.Katcher, Philip R.N. THE MEXICAN -
AMERICAN WAR 1846-1848, London: Osprey
Men at Arms Series, 1976
5.Morison, Samuel E. "OLD BRUIN'
COMMODORE MATTHEW C. PERRY,
Boston Massaschusetts: Little, Brown and
Company, 1967
6.Reed, Nelson THE CASTE WAR OF
YUCATAN, Stanford California: Stanford
University Press, 1964
Specials thanks are due to Ron
Vaughn, Andy Preziozi, and Nick Stern
for their help and contributions in
preparing this article.
Machete and Musket Part II The Yucatan Indian Uprising 1847-1855
NOTES
[2] Samuel E. Morison, OLD
BRUIN, COMMODORE MATTHEW C.
PERRY(Boston, MA. Little, Brown and
Company,1967) p.248 quoting Matthew
Perry. Throughout the War with Mexico
Perry had recognized Yucatan neutrality
(with the exception of Carmen which was
occupied by US. forces as a source of
contraband). While blockading the
Mexican Coast maintained cordial
relations with Mendez and the
Yucatecans. He had stationed his ships off
Yucatan partly as a show of force against
the indians, though (being in the bush) the
indians never realized it.
[3] Nelson Reed, THE CASTE WAR
OF YUCATAN (Stanford, CA. Stanford
University Press, 1964) p.98
[4 Reed, CASTE
WAR, p.99 quoting Leandro Poot.
[5] Reed, CASTE WAR, p.100
quoting Francisco Puc.
[6] Compare this
with other desperate native cultures that
faced defeat: The Sioux Indian Ghost
Dance and the Maori Hau Hau movement
among others.
[7] Reed, CASTE WAR, p.137
[8] In Later years some overzealous
Cruzob would carry the fight into Belize
(British Honduras).
[9] Reed, CASTE WAR, p.156
[10]
Reed, CASTE WAR, p.112 quoting
Leandro Poot.
SOURCES
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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