Caste Wars

When Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821, the Maya didn't celebrate. The new government didn't return their lost land or treat them with respect. In 1847 a Mayan rebellion began in Valladolid. The Maya were rising up against centuries of being relegated to the status of "lower caste" people. Hence the conflict was called the Guerra de las Castas, or "War of the Castes." A year later, they had killed hundreds of Mexicans and the battle raged on.

Help for the embattled Mexicans arrived with a vengeance from Mexico City, Cuba, and the United States. By 1850 many Maya had been mercilessly slaughtered, their population plummeting from 500,000 to 300,000. Survivors fled to the jungles and held out until government troops withdrew in 1915. The Maya controlled Quintana Roo from Tulum, their headquarters, and finally accepted Mexican rule in 1935.