The Caste War of Yucatán: The History and Legacy of the Last Major Indigenous Revolt in the Americas

• Includes a bibliography for further reading 
• Includes a table of contents  

When the Spaniards "discovered" Yucatán, they thought it was an island. Although they later realized that it was part of the vast country that Cortés had conquered, they were not very wrong to think of it as an isle, considering the zealous and independent spirit that has characterized its inhabitants then and now. Although it has been part of Mexico for 170 years, it was encouraged by the example of Texas, compelling the peninsula to twice proclaim its independence and create the short-lived Republic of Yucatán. Many presidents in Mexico had to repress the great peninsula that, despite its longing for independence, had a vibrant foreign trade with the world capitals and a privileged geographical location, even as it lacked the abundance of resources that Texas and California possessed. 

It was especially the cultivation of henequen, a resistant fiber obtained from an agave that’s useful for many industries, that propelled the economic development in Yucatán. This helped interest many capitalists when it came to settling in Mérida, one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico and the Americas, the so-called "white city."