File

The Maya and the British early encounters
1750s to 1890s
1. 1st Century of British
Occupation (context)
2. The 1779 British
records sent to Merida
by the Spanish
3. “Attack of Wild Indians”
– reported in 1788 and
1802
4. George Arthur 1817
report
Lesson 1
“The land has an owner? How’s that? How is it to be sold? How is it to be
bought? If it does not belong to us, well, what? We are of it. We are its children. So it is always, always. The land is alive. As it nurtures the worms, so it nurtures
us. It has bones and blood. It has milk and gives us suck. It has hair, grass
straw, trees. It knows how to give birth to potatoes. It brings to birth houses. It
brings to birth people. It looks after us and we look after it. It drinks chicha,
accepts our invitation. We are its children. How is it to be sold? How bought?”
- Eduardo Galeano quoting an indigenous group
A
B
C
excerpt from Colonialism and Resistance in Belize Essays in Hisorical Sociology
by O. Nigel Bolland, 3rd edition 2004, page 102
context
early British settlement
to control the FOREST
central and northwest BELIZE
17th Century British mahogany furniture for the elite in England
MAYA Depredations upon the Mahogany Works
an attack
take notice
excerpt from Colonialism and Resistance in Belize Essays in Hisorical Sociology
by O. Nigel Bolland, 3rd edition 2004, page 103
“we are surrounded by tribes of indians...”
- British Supt. George Arthur, 1817
Col. George Arthur
Superintendent of Belize
1814 - 1822
excerpt from Colonialism and
Resistance in Belize Essays in Hisorical Sociology
by O. Nigel Bolland, 3rd edition
2004, page 103
Activity:
How WE view the LAND
Write a brief reflection in your notebook on
how you think the view of LAND
of the 18th century Maya and British of Belize differ.
Lesson 2 - historical perspective
The Maya lived in small villages
and small homesteads
18th Century British Naval fleet
their GOAL = domination and expansionism
How the Maya viewed the British?
How the British viewed the Maya?
Belize City owes its existence to the harbor at the mouth of
Haulover Creek, a branch of the Belize River, down which the
Baymen (early British woodcutters) floated lumber from
their inland camps.
It had little significance until the Spanish briefly captured St
George’s Caye, the Baymen’s first main settlement, in 1779.
‘Belize Town’ then became and remained the British
headquarters in Belize. The settlement, at first just a few huts
surrounded by mosquito-ridden swamps, grew on a landfill of
mahogany chips and rum bottles deposited by the Baymen,
who would come to the coast after the rainy season to
dispatch their lumber overseas and spend most of the
proceeds on rum.
British
‘home’
base
During the 19th century the town grew on both sides of
Haulover Creek, with the British merchants’ homes and
buildings of the ruling elite clustered along and near the
southern seafront. African slaves and their descendants lived
By the 1880s the town
had a population of around 5000; the
in cabins inland of here.
great majority being Creoles descended from the British and
their slaves – though whites still held all the power and
wealth.
www.lonelyplanet.com/belize/belize-city/history
Early History of Belize TOWN (City)
British view
of MAYA
by
Lieutenant
COOK
1765
account
Cause and Effect of British expansionism into Forest
British view
Maya
agriculture a
threat
Maya viewed
British
expansionism as a
threat to their
territory and
their
independence
excerpt from Colonialism and Resistance in Belize - Essays in Hisorical Sociology
by O. Nigel Bolland, 3rd edition 2004, page 104
2 empires cut a deal
British and Spanish
Maya
Settlements
deep
in the forest
Convention of LONDON signed 14 July 1786,
Britain agreed to evacuate all British settlements from the Mosquito
Coast. In exchange, Spain agreed to expand the territory available to
British loggers on theYucatan Peninsula, and allowed them to cut
mahogany and other hardwoods that were increasing in value. Over
the opposition of the Mosquito Coast settlers, the agreement was
implemented, and the British evacuated more than 2,000 people.
1786 Map of Belize
entrance
of Belize River
British
cutting
deeper into
forest
detail 1786 Map of Belize showing logwood and mahogany areas
Activity: write 2 short letters
Letter # 1
you are a Maya leader living in the
interior of Belize in the 18th Century.
You witness strangers in the forest.
Describe to your fellow villagers what
impression you have of the “new”
people.
Explain what they are doing to the
forest and how that makes you feel.
Letter # 2
you are a British Mahogany camp
owner. As you go deeper into the
“bush” you encounter a hostile
people.
Describe these people and their
actions to your Colonial authorities.
Lesson 3
More BRITISH and the MAYA
19th century
1817-­‐ One person wrote: “the exposed and unprotected state of the settlers, surrounded by vast hordes of Indians who are all in the constant habit of breaking in upon their works.”
The Superintendent wrote: “we are surrounded by tribes of Indians who occasionally commit great depredations upon the Cutters.”
1839-­‐ Walker and Caddy described Duck Run near San Ignacio as “the highest spot (inhabited by British cutters) up the Belize River; they describe in their book: wild Indians in the vicinity, who…at various times emerge from the secret recesses of the forest for the purpose of plundering.”
June12, 1847-­‐ The Honduras Observer and The Belize Gazette reported: “on several occasions recently we have heard of depredations being committed on the property of the Mahogany Cutters in the Belize River, and, in one or two instances attacks on individuals, by what is called the “wild Indians.”
October 1847-­‐ A report from The Honduras Observer and The Belize Gazette stated that “there was a raid on a mahogany camp on the Rio Bravo.”
March 1848-­‐ Two woodcutters were complaining that “the Indians are surrounding and attacking the gangs in The New River,” and that “Indians are supposed to have crossed from the Rio Hondo and are armed with bows and arrows, several arrows were Xired at the people in charge of our provisions at Hill Bank. Indians were kept off by Xirearms in possession of the men.”
Foreign perspective
of the MAYA
A STRESSFUL VISIT FROM BERNABÉ CEN, 18691
We are again in the midst of excitement and alarm produced by the notorious
Indians of Santa Cruz. On the night of the 19th, a number of these armed
Indians went to Consejo2 & took a man and his wife and such of their things as
they thought worth taking and carried them to Bacalar, where generally about
200 Indian soldiers are stationed 30 miles distant from this. A trader from Consejo,
being there at the time they arrived, succeeded in purchasing the liberty
of the woman, but the man was carried on to Santa Cruz, where it is expected
he has been killed after their fashion. A little while since, in the presence of the
Santa Cruz Indians, this man called them a set of robbers, etc.
Things are now quite upset; and as we have no soldiers here and no
prospect of getting any, . . . no one here feels safe, and especially since the Indians
have said that they intend to come to Corozal for about 20 Spaniards,
whom they say have offended them. Many Spaniards and Indians have gone
out of the [area], and many more are going.
About 2 months since, a number of Indians paid a visit to Corozal, consisting
of officers, about 50 soldiers, & their head chief Bernabé Cen, whose name
is associated with indescribable horrors. They went about the streets armed,
contrary to the wishes of the magistrate, who had no power to enforce order.
They bought a large quantity of gunpowder and other articles. I went to see
them several times and spoke to their chief about the good that would result to
his people if he would allow a missionary to go work among them. I told him
that I should like to go and preach to them and teach their children. He did not
give me much encouragement, but he called to see [me], accompanied by many
others.
The son-in-law of Cen, a young captain, I was glad to find could read fluently
both in Spanish and Maya. He read some of our translations to the chief,
who approved of what he heard & wished to take some of the books with him.
In addition to Maya books, I gave him Bibles and other books in Spanish.
Knowing that they have an idea that no people is like them, I gave them a volume
of the British Workman & a volume of the Illustrated London News, which
happened to contain many views of soldiers on the battlefield.
Cen had his heavy cutlass by his side, which a day or two before I had in
my hands, as it was attached to a green cotton scarf made at Santa Cruz, which
he handed [to] me to see. He and his officers were breakfasting together at the
time on thin corn cakes, a little meat, which looked like deer, and a preparation
of corn to drink. They had . . . only a calabash, which contained their substitute
for coffee. What they left was handed to others of lower rank.
Rebels Visit the Corozal Community 119
1. The source of the following material is Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Archives (London),
microfiche, 30 November 1869, R. Fletcher, Corozal.
2. I.e., Punta Consejo.
GUNPOWDER
Lesson 4 -
The Caste
WAR
in the Yucatan
1. The revolt of native Maya people of Yucatán
(Mexico) against the population of European
descent (called Yucatecos) in political and
economic control.
Armed Chan Santa Cruz Mayas
2. The European Yucatecos were expanding their
territory and having private ownership of lands.
3. The Maya were defending their communal lands
4. Santa Cruz Maya- Cruzob
Maya house, Quintana Roo, Mexico
The revolt of native Maya people of
Yu c a t á n ( M e x i c o ) a g a i n s t t h e
population of European descent
(called Yucatecos) in political and
economic control.
MAYA rebellion
Merida - the political and
economic center of the
Yucatecos
Chan Santa Cruz - the
base of the Chan Santa
Cruz Maya who rose up
in Rebellion against the
Mestizo/ Yucatecos
Territory of the Icaiche Maya
who defended their land
Santa Cruz Maya FLAG
1847 - 1901
What is the Caste WAR?
Background
The Caste War of Yucatán (1847–1901) began with the revolt of native
a. the system of dividing
society into hereditary
classes.
b. any class or group of
people who inherit exclusive
privileges or are perceived as
socially distinct.
Maya people of Yucatán, Mexico against the population of European
descent, called Yucatecos, who held political and economic control of
the region. A lengthy war ensued between the Yucateco forces in the
north-west of the Yucatán and the independent Maya in the southeast. 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 more than two decades.
In 1847, two men from
Tihosuco and Tepich,
Cecilio Chi and Jacinto
Pat (featured in this
painting by Marcelo
Jimenez) met to make
plans for a Mayan
offensive
Commandante Marcelino Poot Ek
Independent Maya Groups,
Yucatecan defense lines, major
military actions, 1857 - 86
The Caste SYSTEM
In Spanish colonial times, Yucatán (like most of
New Spain) was under a legal caste system, with
peninsulares (officials born in Spain) at the top,
the criollos of Spanish descent in the next level,
followed by the mestizo population, then the
descendants of the natives who had collaborated
with the Spanish conquest of Yucatán) and at the
bottom were the other native indios.
The elites maintained the strictest discipline and
control over the Maya population in the east. The
Church, generally allied with the stronger
classes, also had a preponderant role where the
military organization was strongest.
The Montejo House in Merida is one of the oldest Spanishbuilt houses in the country. The sculpture on its façade
depicts two Spaniards with each foot on the head of a Maya
ROOT of WAR
Maya workers inside the Hacienda factory
Maya workers on a Hacienda
The Henequen
Haciendas were
owned by a group of
about 650 families in
the Yucatan
The War seemed rooted in the defense of
communal lands against the expansion of private
ownership, which was accentuated by the boom in
the production of henequen, or agave which was an
important industrial fiber used to make rope. After
discovering the value of the plant, the wealthier
Yucatecos started plantations, beginning in 1833, to
cultivate it on a large scale. Not long after the
henequen boom, a boom in sugar production led to
more wealth. The sugar and henequen plantations
encroached on Maya communal land, and Maya
workers recruited to work on the plantations were
mistreated and underpaid.
Yucatan, Hacienda (large estate)
Maya & British
conflict in late 19th
century
Objectives
•Describe the Maya raids lead by Marcus Canul on Bri5sh Camps during the 1800’s. •Describe the different phases in the process of the Bri5sh colonizing the Maya. Last major Maya attack on the British
In 1866, the Maya leader Marcos Canul led a raid
on a mahogany camp at Qualm Hill on the Rio
Bravo in what is today the Orange Walk District.
Two men died and a ransom was demanded for the
captured prisoners.
The Maya also demanded rent to be paid for the
use of the land the British occupied. Later that year
Canul's army defeated a detachment of British
troops. Five British soldiers were killed and 16
wounded.
The settlers were very scared. The British sent more
troops and weapons, went into Maya villages and
burnt their houses and fields. Their intention was
to drive the Maya out by destroying their food
supplies. Over the next five years the Maya rebuilt
their villages and replanted their fields. Canul and
his men continued to fight. In 1870 they took over
Corozal Town. In 1872 they attacked the British
barracks at Orange Walk, New River but they
could not capture it. Canul was mortally wounded,
and they retreated. This was the last major Maya
attack on the British.
The British had been determined to get the Maya from their lands so they could cut mahogany in the
areas surrounding the colony. They saw them as an obstacle to their mahogany business. They felt the
Maya could provide them with cheap labour, and try to prevent them from owing land.
In 1867, Governor Austin ruled that
"No Indians will be at liberty to reside upon or occupy or cultivate any
land without previous payment or engagement to pay rent whether to the
Crown or the owner of the land".
Phases of British-Maya relations within Belize
•Phase 1-­‐ 1788-­‐1817; Maya launched a series of small raids on Bri5sh camps in the western region; Maya retreated.
•Phase 2-­‐ 1817-­‐1847: li.le ac0vity the Maya went in land •Phase 3-­‐ 1847-­‐1872: violent warfare between the Maya and Bri5sh •Phase 4-­‐ 1872-­‐1900: consolida5on of Bri5sh dominion
Regional context
Caste War
Yucatan
1847 -1901