Valladolid, Yucatán

Valladolid (Saki' in Maya) is a small city and its surrounding municipality in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Yucatán. Valladolid is in the inland eastern part of the state at coord|20.67|N|88.20|W|type:city(38,000). At the census of 2005 the population of the city was 45,868 inhabitants (the third-largest community in the state), and that of the municipality was 68,863. The municipality has an areal extent of 945.22 km² (364.95 sq mi) and includes many outlying communities, the largest of which are Popolá, Kanxoc, Yalcobá, and Xocén.

History

Named after Valladolid, at the time the capital of Spain, the first Valladolid in Yucatán was established by Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Montejo's nephew on May 28, 1543 at some distance from the current town at a lagoon named Chouac-Ha. Early Spanish settlers complained about the mosquitos and humidity at that location, and petitioned to have Valladolid moved further inland. On March 24, 1545, Valladolid was relocated to its current location, built atop a Maya town called " Zaci" or "Zaci- Val", whose buildings were dismantled to reuse the stones to build the Spanish Colonial town. The following year the Maya people revolted, and were put down with additional Spanish troops coming from Mérida.

Valladolid was long the third city of the Yucatán Peninsula (after Mérida and Campeche) in size and importance until the start of the 20th century. It had a sizable well-to-do "Criollo" population, with a number of old Spanish style mansions in the old city. Valladolid was nicknamed The Sultaness of the East.

In 1840 the city had some 15,000 people. Valladolid and the surrounding region was the scene of intense battle during Yucatán's Caste War, and the Latino forces were forced to abandon the city on March 14, 1848, with half being killed by ambush before they reached Mérida. Valladolid was sacked by the Maya rebels; it was recaptured later in the war.

Sights

Notable sights in Valladolid are the Colonial era Cathedral and the Convent of San Bernadino, and "Cenote Zaci", a landscaped natural well with a restaurant.

References

* [http://www.inegi.gob.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/sistemas/conteo2005/localidad/iter/ Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005] INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
* [http://www.e-local.gob.mx/wb2/ELOCAL/EMM_yucatan Yucatán] Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

External links

* [http://wikitravel.org/en/Valladolid_%28Yucatan%29 Valladolid on Wikitravel]
* [http://www.locogringo.com/past_spotlights/jan2002.cfm Valladolid on LocoGringo.com]
* [http://www.yucatantoday.com/destinations/eng-valladolid.htm Valladolid on yucatantoday.com]
[http://www.valladolidvirtual.com.mx Valladolid en Valladolidvirtual]