Valladolid, an elegant colonial town founded during the XVI century in the site of Zaci (ancient capital of the province of the Cupules), is known as the Heroic City because of the many epic events that make up its history. Scene of many rebellions and struggles between conquerors and conquerers. Valladolid is a city founded in 1543 by the Spanish Conqueror Francisco de Montejo, the nephew. It is situated in the State of Yucatán, 160 kilometers from Mérida, the capital of the State.

THE 24th of May of 1543

 FOUNDATION OF VALLADOLID

Relatively calm or more calm than the provinces in the east of the Yucatan. The Nephew returned from his camp at Chouachá, where on the 24th of May of 1543 with legal authority he founded the municipality of Valladolid after the city of the same name in Castilla of Spain. The writing of Oswaldo Baqueiro Anduze, in his "Ciudad Heroica" relates the foundation near the village of Chohuac-Ha.

"...reunited all of the Spanish traveling together, Maya in the troops and Chiefs who were allies. Before this group assembled Captain Montejo, the all powerful Captain General of the Yucatán.  Everyone listened with attention and no one interrupted for any reason. Like this the Captain brought all of the formalities and things of great importance. In front of the government scribe Juan López Mena, he described that this location was the most suitable place to establish the town and he did this in the name of the King of Spain and in the name of Saint Evangelio; so it is written and so it is done."

The writer documented testimonies to his words so they could not be contradicted by those present and to document the event for history. Don Francisco ended his words like a good Christian... in the name of the all powerful God almighty we name this village the villa of Valladolid.

The new town was formed under the holy Virgin of the Remedies and named the patron saint San Jerbes. The first government was formed by mayors Bernaldino de Villagómez and Francisco de Cieza, friends of the conquest; scribes Luis Díaz Alonso de Arévalo, Francisco Lugones, Pedro Díaz de Monxibar, Juan de la Torre, Blas González, Alonso de Villanueva and Gonzalo Guerrero, buyer and interpreter. Pedro de Molina scribe, Juan de la Cuenca; butler Baltazar de Gallegos.

FIRST NEIGHBORS

The first people to inhabit the new city were: Andrés González Bellavides,Juan de Azamar, Juan López de Mena, Blas González, Marcos de Salazar, Alfonso Baes, Francisco Hernández Calvillo, Juan Nuñez, Alvaro Osorio, Juan Enamorado, Toribio Sánchez, Juan Gutiérrez Picón, Marcos de Ayala, Martín Ruiz de Arce, Diego de Ayala, Juan de Cárdenas, Juan López Ricalde, Rodrigo Cisneros, Alonso González, Francisco Martín, Francisco Hernández, Esteban Ginoves o Jinoves, Juan Bote, Juan de la Cruz, Juan Morales, Martín Garrucho, Francisco Palma, Gaspar González, Pedro Zulojano, Francisco Hurtado, Pablo de Arreola, Pedro de Lugones, Mizer Esteban, Francisco Ronquillo, Pedro Castilla, Santiesteban Antonio Ruiz, Pedro Duran, Damián Dovalle, Martín Recio, Miguel de Tablada, Juan de Palacios, Pedro de Valencia, Gerardo Díaz, Alonso Parrado, Belez de Mendoza, Martín de Velasco, Francisco Rodríguez.

On top of the beloved hill of Chohuac-Ha on the very south of the lagoon you could find a road that led to the town of Aké where you could go to Cochuah it was there they installed the signs serving as symbols of authority.

DON'T GIVE UP THE SPIRIT OF LIBERTY

As the conquest of the east was happening the Maya concocted a plan. In the writings of Rodrigo Alvarez and partly in the chronicle of Chicxulub, or Chaxulubchen, it is said that the chiefs of Sací (the Mayan name of Valladolid) watched the advance of the Nephew as he built the villa at  Chouac-Ha and they had something else in mind. Not only to kick out the Spanish from the east but from the whole Península, with the help of the Tazes, Cupules, Cochuajes and dissidents from the Cocomes and T'Hoo.

THE CAMPAIGN IN SACI

Montejo, the Nephew in organizing the birth of Valladolid in Chouachá and building the walled defenses of the city underestimated the power of the Cupules. He had received notices that they were planning an uprising so he ordered Captain Francisco de Cieza to take a well armed contingent to surprise the actions of the Cupules. A soldier on the trip Rodrigo Alvarez (1575) writes the following about the incursion: " .... it was fortunate that Cieza with only 20 men confronting an uprising in the province of the Cupul. They attacked the heart of Sací; The speed of the attack performed without waiting made it possible to take the fortified village and capture the leaders punishing them with a firm hand and they executed some of the priests as an example.  This influenced the spirits of the Cupul and the attack by so few men fooled the Maya. Cieza, went cautiously in front of the demonstrations. Then he went from Valladolid to Chouachá bringing the leaders of Sací and abundant provisions. In no way could this be considered the end to the rebellion of the Cupules and Cohchuajes".

During this chapter, Montejo The Nephew, was sent to Tabasco to meet his wife Andrea del Castillo who had come to the Yucatán from New Spain. Rodrigo Alvarez, the one who had been entrusted with the control of the Maya close to the city of Merida, was in the middle of the rebellion and existing problems as he was trying to hold back the most aggressive Chiefs. He was moved to Mérida to stop the uprising before it got out of control.

This happened at the end of 1543 or the beginning of 1544 and is recorded in the chronicle of

Chicxulub or Chac Xulub Chen, which says:

"It was in 1544 in time as we know it, they year in which Caucá (Chouachá) the Mr. Foreigner, The Captain Asiesa (Cieza). In Cauacá there were many mounted riders and they were given a tribute of honey, turkeys and corn. It was in Cauacá when after being put in jail Caamal of Sisal, paid the price for all of the towns. One year he guided the road of the Spanish when they were in the land of Saci. This led Caamal to understand and it was made first in Sisal and  he was named Juan Caamal of the Cruz because he spoke the truth. He was the first to love the cross in Cauacá and had many words of the foreigners. And you know, later he was the first to enter Sisal, he was there a long time and died there. He also showed the road to the Spanish during the war with the Cochhuajes. The foreigners were, you know, held back for one year in Cauacá and breaking up Sací and putting the men in prison but the first was Caamal".

The previous chronicle is that of Rodrigo Alvarez written years after the fact. The chief Caamal

had alot of influence and carried alot of weight with the town of Sací, who were against Cieza, and he only had 20 men with him. As we all know now his actions were very heroic because often we find references about some Spanish who would run away against thousands of Maya.

We see how Caamal was a powerful aide to the Spanish in Chouachá during that year, and that it was sufficient time to convince or somewhat control those in Sací, after the input from Caamal who became christianized and could speak some Spanish.

But we didn't consider the Nephew ready at the moment he needed to go and conquer the Cupules. He just had a stroke of good luck thanks to chief Caamal who came to the aid of the Spanish. Don't mistake just how valuable he was during the campaign against the Cupules and Cochuajes.

Montejo and Cieza thought that they needed more help from the Maya of Uaymil and Chectemal to close the circle around the hostile Cupules. Asking the chief of Cozumel, who is mentioned in the trips of Montejo the Captain General some 15 years later, was a great help and allowed the Captain General to continue his incursions into the land of the Yucatan.

This chief was Nahum-Pat, from Xaman-Há and Xel-Há. Montejo the Captain General was allowed to found a site in this place and it was the first city of Spanish origin in the land of the Yucatecans founded 30 October, 1527 and was designated as the headquarters. 

This ambitious plan of Montejo (to dominate Cozumel) produced a tragic incident when he arrived with a large force to conquer the east of the Yucatán, and started a rebellion on a grand scale which was impossible to contain and the Junior organized and laid the foundation of Mérida turning the surrounding pueblos into suburbs of the city, with an army to keep the peace.

The Nephew used the port of Polé to navigate to Cozumel, sending an advance group to seek the aid of the chief of the island. But they came back where they started because of a storm which tipped over their canoes and killed 9 of the Spanish and lots of Maya from Cozumel who with their chief went to help the Spanish. This was recorded in 1579 in Valladolid by Juan Montejo and Bernaldino de Villagómez, but it happened in 1546.

When they heard about the problems in the east of the area Maya they sent for a force to put down the rebellion believing that Montejo, the Nephew was one of the one who had drowned.

The Maya leaders were concentrated in Saci making agreements to double the offensive, but The Nephew, organized a counter attack from Valladolid on Chouachá, using all of his available resources to make a final push against the strong resistance of the Maya who would fight to the death for their liberty.

As it was meant to happen he went for the center of Sací with his power and broke the spirit of the rebels. According to informants with Francisco de Cieza, once he had control of Sací,

The Nephew returned to the new born Valladolid and ordered Cieza to continue his campaign against the province of Cochuá, who had showed indifference to what had happened in Sací, to their neighbor Cupules.

DOMINATION OF THE COCHUAJES

The same Cieza, initiated a thrust against the cocuhuajes. The campaign was bloody in the first months of 1544 because the normal defenses had been multiplied to stop his advance. Many of the Spanish troops were not reporting or reported little. The province of Cochuá was very large and there were communities very distant like Tiholop, Chikindzonot, Ekpedz, Sabán, Sacalaca even Polyuc and Chuhunub, and the Maya were entrenched in refuges and took turns fighting the Spanish.

The Cochuaes escaped from Cieza to Tabi, where with reinforcements and with good shelter they held out for over 4 months. The situation in Tabi was very bad for the Spanish so the two Montejos reunited with Cieza, (The Junior and Nephew), and with their troops they started to use the same terror tactics that conquered the east.

Says Baqueiro Anduze in his Heroic City: "The fighting has gone on every day for over 4 months. No few Spanish have been lost and many more wounded. Our Indian allies have fallen in numbers we can't count. Tixhotzuc, Chikindzonot are fiercely defended villages. They get stronger before they fall. The conquest of Chohuac-Ha and the east we accomplished village by village..."

Cieza says in 1578 in his writing: "We are entering a time of apparent calm with the Cupules and Cochuajes, just before spring in the year 1544, and they are paying tribute to their dominators."