Yucatan (state)

Toponymic legend says that when the Spaniards first came ashore on the Yucatan Peninsula, they asked the locals: “What is this place?” The local Indians, not understanding in Spanish, answered yucatan (“I don't understand”), and the Spaniards took it for the name of the locality ^[1] .

Probably the origin of the language, which call themselves Yokot'anob or Yokot'an - “ Chontal speaking”.

In the north, the state of Yucatan is washed by the Gulf of Mexico . It borders with other states of Mexico: Campeche in the west, Quintana Roo in the east. Yucatan is located in the transition between the tropical forests of the Petensky Basin and the deciduous forests of northern Yucatan. The relief is a flat and flat state with the highest altitudes up to 200 m above sea level. The surface of the Yucatan consists of sedimentary rocks. The state has no rivers and lakes. The coast abounds in lagoons. On the territory of the state there are karst dips and underground rivers ( the Sak Aktun system ) and lakes ( cenotes ). The largest such reservoir is Chichén Itzá. The shores are mostly overgrown with mangrove forests . The state climate has 3 types: hot and rainy, warm and semi-warm. Rainfall per year falls on average 1300-1500 mm. The average annual temperature is +27 ° C.

Pre-Spanish period

The origin of the first human settlements has not been scientifically confirmed, although the presence of the first people dates from the end of the Pleistocene, or the Ice Age (about 10,000–12,000 years ago).

Evidence of this was found in the Loltún caves and Tulum caverns (Women of the Palm Trees). A man from the flooded Chan Hall Cave on the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula near the ancient city of Tulum also lived about 13 thousand years ago. DNA from his bones could not be extracted ^{[2] [3]} .

The first Maya came to the peninsula around 250 BC. er from Petén (Petén) (now northern Guatemala), for settling southeastern Yucatan (modern Bacalar , Quintana Roo ).

In 525, a chan (chane) (a Mayan tribe that preceded itza) marched to the east of the peninsula, founding the city-states of Chichen Itza (Chichén Itzá), Isamal (Izamal), Motul (Ek Balam), Ichaccio ( Ichcaanzihó) (modern Mérida) and Champotón . Later, the ancestors of the Toltecs tutul shiu (Tutul xiúes), who came from the Gulf Coast settled in the region from which they came together and Kokom, and finally, after many years and many battles, the Mayapan league was formed (as part of Itza, Shiu and Kokom) which broke up in 1194. The period of anarchy and fragmented possessions began, which the Spaniards discovered in the 16th century.

Spanish period

In 1513, the Spanish conquistador H. Ponce de León (Juan Ponce de León) already captured the island of Borinquén (now Puerto Rico ) and "discovered" Florida . A. de Alaminos (Antón de Alaminos), who was together with de Leon at this “discovery”, suspected that they could find new lands in the west of Cuba . Under their influence, D. Velázquez (Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar), with the support of the governor of Cuba, organized an expedition under the command of F. E. de Cordoba , with the participation of captains C. de Morante (Cristóbal de Morante) and L. de Ochoa (Lope Ochoa de Caicedo ) to explore the seas to the west of the island. This expedition departed from the port of Aharuko (Ajaruco) on February 8, 1517 to Havana and after going around the island and going southwest of the Yucatan peninsula, on March 1 the expedition landed on the peninsula. There are discrepancies about where the researchers landed. Some say that it happened on the island of Mujeres (Isla Mujeres), others that on Cape Katoch (Cabo Catoche), where the researchers saw a large city called by them “Gran Cairo”.

The conquest of Yucatan was completed only two decades after the conquest of Mexico. This was done by the conquistadors F. de Montejo Elder (Francisco de Montejo el Adelantado), his son F. de Montejo and Leon "Junior" (Francisco de Montejo y León "el Mozo") and his nephew F. de Montejo "Nephew" (Francisco de Montejo, el sobrino). The “elder” was on the expeditions of H. de Grihalva (Juan de Grijalva) and was with E. Cortes (Hernán Cortés) in the third expedition, in which Mexico was conquered. Subsequently, he was appointed head of the expedition to conquer the Maya Indians, but failed in his first attempt in 1527-1528. In 1529 he was appointed governor of Tabasco (Tabasco) in order to pacify him and conquer Yucatan and Cozumel . From Tabasco Montejo began a new campaign in the Yucatan (1531–1535) and all the time lost to the Indians. Around 1535, after numerous bloody battles with the natives, he achieved complete pacification of Tabasco and began to plan his new foray into the Yucatan.

Monteho "Senior" was the governor of Tabasco, later held the same position in Honduras , and Chiapas . Montejo "Junior" completed his father's mission. He founded the cities of San Francisco de Campeche and Merida. The city of Merida was founded on the ruins of the Mayan city of Ichkanzihóo (T'hó), and the Spaniards used stones from the Mayan ruins to build it. On June 11, 1542, the provincial government moved from Santa Maria de la Victoria (Tabasco) to Merida. The newly founded Merida was besieged by the Mayan troops of N. Kokom (Nachi Cocom) (overlord or Halach uinik in Maya). It was a struggle for the final conquest of Yucatan, and with this victory the Spaniards strengthened their possessions in the west of the peninsula. Monteho "The Elder" appointed his nephew F. de Montejo a "nephew" to conquer eastern Yucatan, which he did after long bloody battles on May 28, 1543 with the establishment of the city of Valladolid (Valladolid). As vice-governor and chairman of the court, Montejo "Junior" managed captaincy-general (to which Tabasco province was attached) in the absence of his father, until his return in 1546, who took control of Yucatan.

After the beginning of the Spanish colonization of America, from 1565 the Yucatan Peninsula was ruled by an ordinary governor subordinate to the Mexican Audience. However, at the end of the 16th century, in order to prevent other states from entering the Caribbean region, Spanish monarchs began to create captaincy generals in certain areas. In 1617, the governor of Yucatan received the title of " captain-general ", becoming more independent from the viceroy of New Spain in administrative and military matters. Unlike other properties in the New World, in Yucatan they did not introduce Correhidors . Becoming captaincy-general, Yucatan nevertheless remained in the viceroyalty of New Spain ; the viceroy could intervene in administrative matters when necessary, and the Audience in Mexico accepted appeals on judicial matters. Captaincy General Yucatan was located in the territory of the modern Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Yucatan, as well as (nominally) Belize and the Guatemalan department of Petén.

The brutal policy of inequality in relation to the indigenous peoples was normal in the colony, which led to retaliatory measures and frequent uprisings. In November 1761, a Mayan from the city of Cisteil H. Kaneck (Jacinto Canek) led an armed uprising against the government, which was quickly suppressed. The captured rebels were taken to Merida, where they were convicted and tortured. The city of Sisteyl for the edification of the Indians was burned and covered with salt.

In 1786, as part of the reforms of the Bourbons , the captaincy-general was transformed into the Quartermaster Yucatan, which occupied the same territory. Because of its geographical distance from the center of New Spain, especially from Mexico City , Yucatan was not affected by military trials during the Mexican War of Independence, however, the war affected the enlightened people in Yucatan. In 1820, L. de Savala (Lorenzo de Zavala), a member of the Sanjuanistas group (a group of Creoles who met in the church of St. John (in Spanish San Juan) in the center of the city of Merida), created the Patriotic Confederation (Confederación Patriótica), which time divided into two groups: supporters of Spanish rule in accordance with the Cadiz constitution , and the other led by Savala, who sought complete independence from Spain. M. Carrillo Albornoz (Mariano Carrillo Albornoz), the then governor of Yucatán, sent Savala and MG Sosu (Manuel García Sosa) as deputies of the Cadiz Cortes (Spanish Parliament) to Madrid, while other liberals were imprisoned.

In 1821, the Mexicans offered the crown of the new Mexican Empire to Ferdinand VII or another member of the Spanish royal dynasty. After the refusal of the Spanish side to recognize the independence of Mexico, the Army of the Three Guarantees (ejército Trigarante) under the leadership of A. de Iturbide (Agustin de Iturbide) (future emperor Agustin I) and V. Guerrero (Vincente Guerrero) reduced political and economic dependence on Spain. While all this was happening in Yucatan, the iguala plan (the proclamation of the independence of Mexico) was proclaimed in the state of Guerrero (at that time part of Mexico's Quartermaster).

Mexican independence period

The successor of Albornoz, H.M. Echeverria (Juan María Echéverria), on September 15, 1821, proclaimed the independence of the peninsula and sent two of its representatives to negotiate with the Mexican government to incorporate Yucatan into the Mexican Empire. November 2, 1821 Yucatan became part of the country. Sawala, who held republican and liberal views, objected to the establishment of a monarchy, arguing that among the supporters of Agustin I there were many people from the old leadership of the vice-kingdom — clergy, nobility, generals (including people like A. L. de Santa Anna (Antonio López de Santa Anna)). Despite this, on July 21, 1822, Agustin Iturbide was crowned in Mexico City in the Cathedral. In December 1822, the generals Santa Anna and G. Victoria (Guadalupe Victoria) signed Plan de Casa Mata, the pact, through which they sought to abolish the monarchy and transform Mexico into a republic. Initially a supporter of Iturbide, Santa Anna adopted Republican principles. Agustin I was forced to abdicate and left the country.

In May 1823, after the resignation of Iturbide, Victoria became the first president of Mexico, and Santa Anna became the governor of Yucatan. Yucatan joined Mexico as the Federal Republic of Yucatan or the First Federal Republic (Primera República Federal) on December 23, 1823. Both were founding states of the United Mexican States. The new federal constitution of Mexico fully satisfied the ideals of the Yucatans. The state was ruled by two ruling junta. In 1824, F. A. Tarrazo (Francisco Antonio Tarrazo) became the first governor of the state.

In Mexico in the 19th century there was an irreconcilable struggle, often armed, between the liberal federalists and the centralist conservatives. The federalists advocated a balance of power between the three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Centralists - for the concentration of all power in the hands of the President of the Republic. The federalists were in power from the birth of the Republic until 1835, and this period corresponds to calm, peaceful relations between Mexico and Yucatan. In 1835, centralists came to power in the country, and they began to appoint the governor of Yucatan. As soon as Yucatan lost more and more of his autonomy, his people thought about the more serious possibilities of their own independence and the formation of a second republic. An important precedent for this was the events in Texas , where the republic was proclaimed, and the republics of Central America. Oddly enough, L. Savala became the first vice president of Texas. In the Yucatan began unrest. The Federal Army of Yucatan under the command of Captain S. Imam (Santiago Imam) took the city of Valladolid and published a report on February 12, 1840, stating that federalism should be restored as a form of government to combat poverty in the country. The act demanded the restoration of the Mexican Constitution of 1824. Six days later, in the presence of the garrison troops of Merida under the command of A. Torrens (Anastasio Torrens) and many supporters, Captain S. Imam proclaimed the independence of the Yucatan territory. On June 6, 1840, the city of Campeche surrendered to the Yucatan federalists after a military siege. The central government of Mexico declared war on Yucatan. March 16, 1841 at the first meeting of the city council in Merida, a crowd led by M. Barbachano (Miguel Barbachano Terrazo) - the future governor of Yucatan - burst into the room, calling for Yucatan independence. Some members of this group lowered the Mexican flag, without thinking about the consequences, and raised in its place a flag called Yucateо. Officially, a few days later the Mexican flag was lowered on ships and buildings in favor of the Yucatan flag.

Republic of Yucatan

In October 1841, the local chamber of deputies adopted the Law on the independence of the Yucatan Peninsula. In the autumn of 1841, Mexican President Santa Anna sent a messenger to Yucatan to establish a dialogue with the separatists. The negotiations were successful, and at the end of November agreements were signed, according to which, however, Yucatan retained its customs and tariff legislation and the free flow of goods into the ports of the Republic.

In Mexico City, the agreements with Yucatan were ignored. The central government demanded that the Yucatan join Mexico and fully accept the plan of Takubaya, according to which the Yucatan territory should have entered, taking into account all the laws adopted by Congress. It also required Yucatan to break off all relations with the Republic of Texas , because Mexico was at war with the Texans. Having lost patience and failed in the persuasion of the authorities of Yucatan, President Santa Anna sent troops to the peninsula. In August 1842, after the capture of the strategically important Carmen Island, government forces imposed a blockade on the coast of Yucatan. For several days, presidential troops took several cities of a separate republic. However, after learning of the numerical superiority of the separatists, the Mexican general, Peña, surrendered and agreed to withdraw his troops by sea to Tampico (the state of Tamaulipas). Despite this, Santa Anna refused to recognize the independence of Yucatan and forbade the entry of ships under the flag of Yucatan to the ports of Mexico, and vice versa. This stopped all Yucatan trade with Mexico, which led to deep economic problems in the republic. The head of state M. Barbachano, knowing that Santa Anna was defeated in the war in Yucatan, decided to negotiate with the central government. Yucatan offered several conditions to the central government. Santa Anna, nevertheless, agreed to several conditions that gave full autonomy to Yucatan. On December 5, 1843, the Yucatan resumed trade with Mexico and the Republic retained its sovereignty.

This situation did not last long. On February 21, 1844, the Mexican government ruled that the unique rights and autonomy granted to Yucatán were unconstitutional. At the end of 1845, the Mexican Congress abolished the conventions of December 1843, and of the Assembly of Yucatán, which declared its independence on January 1, 1846. In addition to the frictions between Yucatan and the center, the separate republic faced internal divisions between supporters of two personalities - M. Barbacciano and S. Mendes. This rivalry led to the formation of two Yucatan governments.

In August 1846, the interim president of Mexico, H. M. Salas, restored the federal constitution of 1824 and the federal system of government. Barabachano greeted this news enthusiastically and agreed to return Yucatan to the bosom of Mexico, but Mendez replied that he would start a war and defend Yucatan's independence and declared that the entry of Yucatan into Mexico would involve him in a war with the United States . In October 1846, the US Navy took Ciudad Carmen and blocked the territory.

On July 30, 1847, a Mayan uprising began in Tepich, paying high taxes under the worst working conditions, against whites and mestizos. This uprising, which lasted until 1902, is known in history as the War of Caste . The government of Mendez faced a serious problem of internal security and trade protection. Mendes sent a delegation to Washington, the capital of the United States, to convince the American government of the neutrality of the Yucatan in the US-Mexican war and lift the blockade. Apparently, the annexation of Yucatan by the United States was supposed. The president of the latter seized upon this idea and held the Bill of Yucatan in the House of Representatives of the US Congress, which, however, was not adopted by the Senate, as the war of the USA and Mexico dragged on and was burdensome for the budget, and America was not needed by the Yucatan Indians. In desperation, President S. Mendez offered Yucatan sovereignty to the Spanish governor of Cuba, then to the British governor of Jamaica, but no one responded to his proposals. The rebellion was so great that it threatened the existence of a non-indigenous population on the peninsula. Finally, having made some concessions, the Yucatan government managed to persuade some Indians to lay down their arms. The other part continued to fight for the complete destruction of the whites. In April 1848, M. Barbachano, a supporter of unity with the rest of Mexico under federal conditions, again became president of Yucatan.

In Mexico

On August 17, 1848, the Yucatan constitution of 1825 was restored, and this territory again became part of Mexico as a state with elected governors. M. Barbachano received the post of governor. In 1852, due to internal struggles between rival political groups, the Campeche region was separated, and federal territory was formed there. April 29, 1863 in the presidency of B. Juarez (Benito Juárez) Campeche received the status of a state with elected governors.

Over time, the Mexican authorities managed to extinguish all the centers of the Mayan uprising. It officially ended with the occupation of the Mayan capital of Chan Santa Cruz by the Mexican army in 1901, although skirmishes in villages and villages that refused to recognize the central government continued for another decade. Due to the conflict, on November 24, 1902, President P. Diaz (Porfirio Diaz) signed a decree establishing the federal territory of Quintana Roo in eastern Yucatan (later it became a state). In just over 50 years, the Yucatan lost more than 2/3 of its original territory.

At the end of the 19th century, the production of hechena , which in other places is called sisal, grew rapidly. Heneken, grown in Yucatan, was used around the world to produce ropes and twine, and became known as a sisal rope, named after the seaside town of Sisal, from where the rope went. Today, sisal is a quiet fishing and resort village. The hehenken production provided financial autonomy to the isolated Yucatan. Fiber factories (known as sosquil (Maya: sos kí)) produced twine and rope used in many areas. Heneken became the main export of Yucatan, making many local families very rich. Hundreds of flourishing Hacienda produced agave throughout the state, until the production of synthetic materials began after World War II. The incredible influx of wealth during this period was concentrated mainly in Merida. This allowed the city to install street lighting and tram lines earlier than in Mexico City. According to rumors, at the beginning of the 20th century the city had the largest number of millionaires per capita in the world. With the decline in the production of heneken, hacienda were not abandoned, on the contrary, they were repaired and used as private villas, hotels and event venues. In 1922 the candidate from the Socialist Party of the Southeast (Partido Socialista del Sureste, PSS) F. Carrillo Puerto (Felipe Carrillo Puerto) came to power - the first socialist governor in America.

In 1926, the right-socialist Institutional-Revolutionary Party (PRI) came to power in the state, the governors of which were elected until the early 2000s. Until the mid-20th century, most of Yucatan’s contacts with the outside world occurred with foreign countries, and not with the interior regions of Mexico. In the 1950s, Yucatan was connected to the rest of the country by rail, and from the 1960s, the highway that ended the relative isolation of the state. Commercial jets began arriving in Merida in the 1960s. Airports were also built in other cities, such as Cozumel and the resort of Cancun. In the 1980s, tourism began to develop, which gradually became one of the main sectors of the economy.

In 1976, the representative of the indigenous people of the Maya F. Luna Kan (Francisco Luna Kan) was first elected as the governor. In 2001, the PRI lost the gubernatorial election of the right-wing party of the National Action (PAN), of which P. Patron Laviada became the governor. In 2007, the socialists regained the governor’s post when I. Ortega (Ivonne Ortega Pacheco) was elected the new governor of Yucatan. In the 2000s, Yucatan became one of the main tourist sites, the birthplace of one of the many Indian peoples - the Maya and the objects of world cultural and historical heritage. Also here is the lowest crime rate in the country, and in 2011 Merida received the prize “City of the World”.

Administratively divided into 106 municipalities

In the structure of GDP, branches of the economy are distributed as follows: trade - 21%, finance - 19%, production - 13%, agriculture - 7%, construction - 6% and mining - 1%. However, the basis of the economy is agriculture. The main crop is agave hen. Also grown corn, citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, grapefruits ), chili peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, hikama , papaya . The forest industry is developed, where cedar cultivation prevails. On farms cattle, pigs, poultry, and beekeeping are developed. In coastal waters there is intensive fishing (sea bass, octopus, lobsters, sharks). The state industry is represented by the production of food, beverages and tobacco (60.2% of industrial production), 14.3% is occupied by the textile industry, 8.9% by the production of non-metallic mineral products, 7.4% by products from oil and coal, 2, 5% machinery and equipment, 1.7% - furniture production, 1.6% - metalworking industry. Developed trade and tourism. The main tourist attractions are the ruins of the cities of the Mayan Indians, such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal , Kabah , Labna , etc.

The coat of arms of the state of Yucatan is a green shield with a rounded tip and a wide gold border. In the center of the shield is a golden flying deer, jumping over the golden image of the henchen plant, the main agricultural crop that grows from the same gold stones that hint at the not very fertile soil of the state. In the upper left corner of the shield is a shining golden sun. The golden border features two symbols of Maya and Spaniards. Mayan green arches and green Spanish windows with golden windows. Under the shield is the golden motto ribbon, in which in green letters is inscribed the word YUCATAN - the name of the state. This emblem was adopted on November 30, 1989 after the competition, which was won by the sketch of H. F. Peona (Juan Francisco Peón Ancona). Prior to that, the state used the coat of arms of the city of Merida - the state capital. The state of Yucatan has no officially approved flag. Often used white cloth with the image of the coat of arms in the center. In the 1840s, the tricolor of the Republic of Yucatan was used. This flag is a rectangular cloth with a wide green vertical stripe near the flagpole. There are five white five-pointed stars on it, staggered. To the right of the green strip, three horizontal stripes are red, white and red. White stars represented the five departments of Yucatan - Mérida, Campeche, Valladolid, Izamal and Tekax. Work is underway to recognize this flag as the official flag of the state.

• Pospelova N.M., Chesnokova O.S. Toponymy of Mexico: the names of the states and their capitals // Bulletin of the Russian University of Peoples Friendship. Series: Russian and foreign languages ​​and methods of teaching: Journal. - 2005. - № 1 . - pp . 227–237 .
• Yucatan // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 extra.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.