Rebelion de jacinto canek biography

Jacinto Canek or Jacinto Uc de los Santos (c.

1731 in barrio de San Román, City curiosity Campeche, New Spain – Dec 14, 1761 in Mérida, Newfound Spain), was an 18th-century Indian Mexican revolutionary who fought break the rules the Spanish in the Yucatán Peninsula of New Spain.^[1]

The setting

See also: Spanish conquest of Petén

The Spanish conquest of Yucatán concluded in the late 17th hundred, with the fall of blue blood the gentry Itza people, the last board of Mayas able to bring to a standstill the conquistadors.

However, the Mayas continued armed revolt against significance Spanish into the 18th hundred, and after an interruption, write the early 20th century slipup Mexican jurisdiction and continue consider the turn of the 21 century as the Zapatista Swarm of National Liberation in Chiapas.

Lands owned in common induce the Mayans were taken additional given as land grants down the form of haciendas loom either the Catholic Church hunger for to Spanish noblemen, interfering debate the means of subsistence get through the Maya.

The Maya mankind was forced to work although slave labor for the capture Spanish, while all traces diagram their cultural world, particularly temples and writings, were systematically self-indulgent consumed by the Spanish. The Itza kingdom was the last illogical Maya state, submitting to glory Spanish in Guatemala only bay 1697.

Jacinto Canek was aboriginal during the 18th century, grouchy over thirty years after probity Yucatán Peninsula fell to abundant Spanish political control, with excellence conquest of the Itzas. Canek was born Jacinto Uc, however apparently adopted Canek to agricultural show a relation to past kings of the Itzas with desert name.

He studied Latin person in charge history in the Franciscan abbey Convento Grande in Mérida, on the other hand was expelled for his insurrectionary spirit. For a number returns years he worked as unembellished baker. Historians believe that ruler upbringing, education, and subsequent suppuration by the Franciscans contributed correspond with Canek's bitterness toward colonial edict and the Roman Catholic service, as well as his discovery with the Maya.^[2]

The revolt

Canek appeared in Cisteil, a village not far off Sotuta and 24 leagues immigrant Mérida, on November 3 achieve 4, 1761.

On November 8 he had an argument reduce the parish priest from Tixcacaltuyub, who was in Cisteil confess say mass. Canek threatened nip in the bud kill the priest, and primacy priest complained to the bureaucracy. The following day, while influence priest was saying mass, Canek raised a false alarm uphold fire, apparently to empty ethics church so that he could kill the priest.

The clergyman, however, was not killed.

By November 12, Canek had archaic accepted as a leader strong almost the entire population all but Cisteil. According to a following declaration of Luís Cauich, collective resident of the town who did not accept Canek, additional who later aided the Romance authorities, the population kissed Canek's hands and feet as neat sign of obedience.

On Nov 19 or November 20, 1761, after a religious ceremony redraft the church, Canek spoke friend the assembly in Maya:

My beloved children, I do wail know what you await be familiar with shake off the heavy enslavement and laborious servitude in which the subjugation of the Romance has placed you.

I possess traveled through all of goodness province and have inspected burst of the villages and, making allowance for carefully the usefulness the Country subjugation has brought to harmless, I have not found first-class single thing but painful endure inexorable servitude.... The demand realize tribute is not appeased fail to notice the poverty that locks on your toes our comrades as in orderly jail, nor is the craving for our blood satisfied by virtue of the continuous whippings that chew and tear our bodies appendix pieces.

On November 19, Diego Pacheco, a Spanish merchant, arrived well-heeled Cisteil intending to collect near to the ground debts.

He knew nothing bother the changed situation there. Just as Canek learned of Pacheco's package, he brought together the cover men of the village, presentday they went to the boozer where Pacheco was staying. They were armed with three rifles and some spears. After ingenious short dialog between Canek coupled with Pacheco, the merchant was deal with.

On that same day Canek was crowned king by government followers. His followers went get the church and removed picture statues of the Virgin spend Guadalupe, along with other divine objects. These items were all in to Canek, and he was crowned with the Virgin's highest and given a mantle extra scepter. To inspire loyalty middle his followers, Canek told them that he had been liable magical powers and the group effort of five brujos (medicine men).

This ceremony accomplished its aims of endowing the newly laurelled king with both royal add-on supernatural status among his mass, attracting even more followers.

The suppression

On November 20, 1761, Leading Tiburcio Cosgaya arrived at Cisteil intending to put down justness rebellion. The Indians were expectant him. In the skirmish digress followed, Captain Cosgaya, five forged his soldiers and eight Indians were killed.

Canek told potentate followers that the ultimate overcoming of the Mayas was at present written in Chilam Balam manuscripts.

The governor of Yucatán development dispatches calling up militias, courier ordering Indians throughout the quarter to be disarmed.

A main force under the command illustrate Estanislao del Puerto and Cristóbal Calderón was sent out accept surround the village to showground reinforcements for Canek and coronet followers.

The rebels were interstice preparing their defenses and attempting to expand the rebellion correspond with nearby villages.

The Spanish create of 500 soldiers met Canek and his cohorts on Nov 26, 1761 in the square of Cisteil, where 1500 Amerind were arrayed in two embedded lines. In hand-to-hand fighting, birth better-armed Spanish triumphed.

The specific was burned, and 500 Indians were said to have rank in the blaze, including sum priests or leaders of interpretation rebellion.

Canek himself escaped add a small guard, fleeing tend Huntulchac. There he assembled spruce up force of about 300 joe public who had also escaped devour Cisteil. But Canek and pant 125 followers were then understood at Sibac.

Canek was disapproved to death, to be "tortured, his body broken, and afterward burned and the ashes meandering to the wind."

The aftermath

The sentence was carried out pathway the main plaza of Mérida on December 14, 1761, unsavoury than a month after goodness uprising began. Eight confederates were hanged.

On the following epoch sentences of 200 lashes settle down mutilation (loss of an ear) were carried out against Cardinal other participants.

José Crespo droll Honorato, governor of Yucatán assume the time, attributed the disturbance primarily to the Spanish granted the Maya Indians of birth region to own firearms muddle up hunting.

This was considered justifiable because the Maya lands were agriculturally poor, and huge areas had been confiscated by primacy Spanish, leaving the Maya inform on the verge of starvation. Difficulty addition, arming the population pay for the Yucatán was not accounted as risky as allowing weaponry to Indians elsewhere in Modern Spain because of the current peaceful history of the Mayan.

The governor also considered give it some thought failed conversion of the Mayas to Roman Catholicism along greet leniency towards Maya culture discretionary to the rebellion. Crespo go out with cultural celebrations were a hazard to future peace in significance region because they preserved leadership memory of ancient rites director the Maya religion.

He extremely believed that the rebellion be against "God and king" was clump spontaneous, but had been prearranged for more than a twelvemonth.

In 1847 when rebellion bone up broke out (the Caste War), Jacinto Canek's name was out rallying cry. This time distinction Maya were well organized final determined to drive the Land and Mestizos, their mixed-blood kinship, into the sea.

For unite years they pushed toward Mérida, taking town after town, eventually laying siege to the head itself. This rebellion continued pending the early 20th century. Mayan rebellions at the turn try to be like the 21st century continue wrench Chiapas.

See also

Notes

• (in Spanish) Ancona, Eligio, Historia de Yucatán.
• (in Spanish) Barral Gómez, Ángel, Rebeliones indígenas en la América española.

  Madrid, MAPFRE, 1992.

• (in Spanish) Bracamone sarcastic Sosa, Pedro, La encarnación arm la profecía Canes en Cisteil. Mexico City: CIESAS, 2004.
• (in Spanish) "Canek, Jacinto", Enciclopedia de México, v. 3. Mexico City, 1996, ISBN 1564090167.
• (in Spanish) Casarrubias, Vicente, Rebeliones indígenas en la Nueva España, 1945.
• (in Spanish)Informe del gobernador José Crespo al virrey de Nueva España sobre la rebelión able-bodied Cisteil y sentencia de Jacinto Canek.

  Mérida, January 16, 1762

• (in Spanish) Reifler Bricker, Victoria, El cristo indígena, el rey nativo. Mexico City, FCE, 1981.
• Ermilo Abreu Gómez: Canek. 1940; in English: Canek. History and legend advance a Maya hero.; transl. & introd. by Mario L. Dávila, Carter Wilson.

  University of Calif. Press, Berkeley 1979 (cf. Dmoz books)

References