History of Guadalajara
History of Mérida
History of Oaxaca
Northern Mexico
Central Mexico
Southern Mexico
History of Guadalajara
History of Mérida
History of Oaxaca
Northern Mexico
Central Mexico
Southern Mexico
MAYAN KINGDOMS AND LONG CONQUEST
Pre-Hispanic Era
This region has been inhabited for many centuries.
A stele found in Ichpaatán, a village in Chetumal Bay, bears an inscription dating back to 593 BC.
On the other hand, Dzibanché, located 14 kilometers southwest of Bacalar, has a wooden lintel with a date from 618 BC.
Colonial Era
Between 1461 and 1500 AD, the cacicazgos emerged, small domains without unity or common authority, whose population was decimated by epidemics, hurricanes, and wars waged among themselves, fueled by the irreconcilable rivalry between the Xius and the Cocomes.
The main cacicazgos established in present-day Quintana Roo were: Ekab, Chauac-Há, Tazes, and Cupules in the north and center; and most of Cochuah and the entirety of Chactemal (Chetumal) in the south. The latter extended from the Caribbean Sea to the boundaries of Petén Itzá.
The first contact with the Spanish was accidental. In 1511, when Pedro de Valdivia's ship wrecked on the Víboras reefs off the coast of Jamaica, several men in a small boat landed on the Mexican shores of the Caribbean. Most of them were killed, and the survivors, Gonzalo Guerrero and Jerónimo de Aguilar, were brought before Nachancán, the cacique of Chactemal. Gonzalo Guerrero adapted to Mayan customs, married the chief's daughter, and had three children with her. The Indians considered him a captain when they went to war. In 1519, Hernán Cortés encountered Jerónimo Aguilar and made him his interpreter.
History of Chetumal
With the Spanish colonization, Francisco de Montejo and his son arrived and fought in Maya lands from 1530 to 1535 but were unable to overcome the resistance of the indigenous people in the central and eastern regions. One of their captains, Alonso Dávila, explored the cacicazgo of Nachancán, which the natives called Uaymil and Chetemal. He passed through Tulum, where he abandoned the idea of founding a city, and arrived at Bakhalal, which he found depopulated. The local cacique, advised by Guerrero, had retreated into the jungle with his men and their families to launch a surprise attack against the Spanish. Dávila established a settlement in Chetemal called Villa Real, but due to attacks by the Indians, he had to embark and sail to Champotón.
The Spanish conquest of the territory of Quintana Roo was painful and prolonged. This struggle ended with the foundation of Salamanca, carried out by Melchor Pacheco on the ruins of the ancient Bacalar, in 1545. However, even in 1639, much of the eastern Maya population continued to rebel against the Spanish.
During the three centuries of Spanish domination, the region remained desolate due to the lack of good land for agriculture and the continuous resistance of the Mayans.
19th century
During the 19th century, there were a series of conflicts between the Whites (Yucatecos) and the Mayans, and by the mid-1850s, the war worsened. By the end of the century, the people of the region felt a strong affinity with the government of Belize and expressed their desire to come under the protection of the Queen of England. The proposal was not accepted by the British government; however, the English cooperated in the campaign to pacify the Mayans.
Modern Era
Southern Quintana Roo entered the 20th century as an abandoned and forgotten region. It was declared a Federal Territory in 1902, and it was not until 1974 that Quintana Roo was elevated to a Free and Sovereign State, making it the youngest state in Mexico.
WITH CARIBBEAN FLAIR AND MANY SURPRISES TO BE REVEALED
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