Maya Caciques in Early National Yucatán

198 Pages·2017·4.728 MB·English

by  Rajeshwari Dutt

M AYA C A C I Q U E S i n
E A R LY N AT I O N A L Y U C AT Á N
MAYA CACIQUES
IN EARLY NATIONAL YUCATÁN
R A J E S H WA R I D U T T
Maya Caciques in Early National Yucatán
A book in the Latin American and Caribbean
Arts and Culture publication initiative.
Latin American and Caribbean Arts and Culture is
supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Maya Caciques in Early
National Yucatán
Rajeshwari Dutt
University of Oklahoma Press : Norman
Parts of chapter 4 were previously published in Rajeshwari Dutt, “Crossing Over:
Caciques, Indigenous Politics and the Vecino World in Caste War Yucatán,” Ethno­
history 61, no. 4 (2014). Reprinted with permission of Duke University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Dutt, Rajeshwari, 1981– author.
Title: Maya caciques in early national Yucatán / Rajeshwari Dutt.
Description: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016033836 | ISBN 978-0-8061-5578-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Mayas—Mexico—Yucatán (State)—Politics and
government—19th century. | Caciques (Indian leaders)—Mexico—
Yucatán (State)—History—19th century. | Mayas—Mexico—Yucatán
(State)—Social conditions—19th century.
Classification: LCC F1435.3.P7 D88 2017 | DDC 305.897/427—dc23
LC record available at https//lccn.loc.gov/2016033836
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of
the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on
Library Resources, Inc. ∞
Copyright © 2017 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing
Division of the University. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
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Press, 2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069, or email [email protected].
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
In memory of my father, Ashish Kumar Dasgupta
For my mother, Purabi Dasgupta

Contents
List of Maps ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 3
1. Setting the Stage: Caciques as Political Intermediaries
in Colonial Ebtún 15
2. Webs of Power: Cacique Politicization in
Post-Independence Yucatán 41
3. For God, Glory, and Taxes: Caciques and the Politics of
Taxation on the Eve of Yucatán’s Caste War 61
4. War and the Cacique: Alliance Making in
Caste War Yucatán 75
5. “Your Majesty Loves the Indians”: The Defensor and
Maya Commoners in the Years of Maximilian’s Empire 103
6. Of Promises and Dilemmas: The Defensor and Maya
Caciques in the Years of Maximilian’s Empire 122
Conclusion 138
Notes 143
Bibliography 169
Index 175
vii

Maps
Nineteenth-century Yucatán 2
Ebtún area 16
The Caste War shifts to Chan Santa Cruz 79
José Demetrio Molina’s 1865 journey through Yucatán 108
ix