History
Valladolid has seen its fair share of turmoil and revolt over the years. The city was first founded in 1543 near the Chouac-Ha lagoon some 50km from the coast, but it was too hot and there were way too many mosquitoes for Francisco de Montejo, nephew of Montejo the Elder, and his merry band of conquerors. So they upped and moved the city to the Maya ceremonial center of Zací (sah-kee), where they faced heavy resistance from the local Maya. Eventually the Elder’s son, Montejo the Younger, took the town. The Spanish conquerors, in typical fashion, ripped down the town and laid out a new city following the classic colonial plan.
During much of the colonial era, Valladolid’s physical isolation from Mérida kept it relatively autonomous from royal rule, and the Maya of the area suffered brutal exploitation, which continued after Mexican independence. Barred from entering many areas of the city, the Maya made Valladolid one of their first points of attack following the 1847 outbreak of the War of the Castes in Tepich, not far south on the border with Quintana Roo. After a two-month siege, the city’s defenders were finally overcome.
Valladolid
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