Yaqui Wars
Encyclopedia
The Yaqui Wars, were a series of armed conflicts between New Spain
, and the later Mexican
republic, against the Yaqui native Americans
. The period began in 1533 and lasted until 1929. The Yaqui Wars, along with the Caste War
against the Maya, were the last conflicts of the centuries long Mexican Indian Wars
. Over the course of nearly 400 years, the Spanish and Mexicans repeatedly launched military campaigns into Yaqui territory and it resulted in several serious battles and some infamous massacres. But by the early 1900s, through almost constant warfare, deportation
, and disease
, the Yaquis and their allies were eventually defeated.
in the present day Mexican state of Sonora
, discovered silver
in the Rio Yaqui Valley. Following this, the Spanish gradually began settling on Yaqui land and by 1740, the natives were ready to resist. Some minor conflicts from before dated back to 1533 but in 1740 the Yaquis united their tribe with the neighboring Mayo
, Opata, and Pima
natives and successfully drove the colonists out by 1742. For the next several decades, the Spanish, and after 1821, the new Mexican republic, would fight a drawn out war to either conquer, or to hold on to the Yaqui's land. In 1833, the Yaqui leader Juan Banderas, and an Opata chief
, were executed for attempting to reunite the tribes of northern Mexico. But like Banderas, there were other leaders who continued resisting so the wars continued. One incident in 1868 was a massacre of about 120 Yaqui men, women and children, by Mexican soldiers, after 600 surrendered near Vícam
. Some 400 of the Yaqui prisoners were held inside a church which was then bombarded by artillery
. Affairs such as this drove many of the natives to emmigrate, while others were deported by the Mexicans or enslaved
.
Some warriors fled from their occupied pueblos along the Rio Yaqui and continued fighting in the Sierra Vakatetteve. In 1872, Mexico became a dictatorship
under President
Porfirio Diaz
and in 1876 the Yaqui leader José Maria Peres
, or Cajemé, established a small independent republic in Sonora. By then there were only about 4,000 "undefeated" Yaquis and they attemped to defend their county by building the fortified town of El Añil. Though in 1886, the Mexican besieged the town in the Battle of El Añil which ended the Yaqui republic. One year later Cajemé was captured and executed in Guaymas
. Juan Maldonado took Cajemé's place and he continued a guerilla war in the Sierra del Bacatete. The Yaqui towns along the Rio Yaqui became mostly deserted with the majority of the inhabitants fleeing north to settle in the United States
around Tucson and Phoenix
, Arizona
.
In February 1896 an event known as the Yaqui Uprising
began after the Mexican revolutionary
Lauro Aguirre
drafted a plan
to overthrow the government of Porfirio Diaz. Aguirre and his men were able to convince several Yaqui and Pima natives to join in the revolt so on August 12 a combined force of no less than seventy men attacked the customs house at Nogales
, Sonora. A battle then ensued which left at least three people dead and many more wounded. During the fight a group of American militia
formed in the adjoining town of Nogales
, Arizona and they assisted the Mexican defenders in repelling the rebels' attack. Ultimately the Yaquis and the others were obliged to withdraw from the area, ending the uprising and leading to a United States Army
operation to track the hostiles. Two companies of the 24th Infantry Regiment were assigned to hunt the rebels who were being pursued by troops of the Mexican Army
Colonel
Emilio Kosterlitsky. However, the rebels got away, some escaped to Arizona. In 1897 a peace treaty
was signed in Ortiz between the Yaquis and the Mexican government but in 1899 another serious outbreak of hostilities began and it led to the bloody Mazocoba Massacre of 1900, in which several hundred natives were killed.
Around this time Porfirio Diaz began advocating for a solution to the Yaqui wars. By 1903 the decision was to deport both the peaceful and rebellious Yaqui natives to the Yucatan
and Oaxaca
. Meanwhile, from 1904 to 1909, the Mexican governor
of Sonora, Rafael Izábal, led "organized manhunts" in which about 8,000 to 15,000 Yaquis were taken prisoner and "virtually enslaved". Following the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution
in 1910, Yaqui warriors joined all of the armies of the major rebel factions. They also began resettling their ancestral lands along the Rio Yaqui. In 1911, Diaz was exile
d and President Francisco Madero took office. He is said to have promised the Yaqui people compensation for their losses but by 1920, when the main phase of the war ended, the promises were forgotten about. By 1916, Mexican general
s, such as Alvaro Obregon
, began establishing estate
s on Yaqui land during the revolution and this led to renewed hostilities between the natives and the military.
It was during this period of the conflict that the United States Army fought the last battle
of the American Indian Wars. In January 1918, a small group of about thirty natives were intercepted by Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry, just across the international border, near Arivaca
, Arizona. In the thirty-minute skirmish that followed, the Yaqui commander was killed and a handful of others were taken prisoner. The last major engagement of the Yaqui Wars came almost ten years later in 1927 at the Battle of Cerro del Gallo. After that some minor warfare continued into 1929 but the violence was quelled mainly by bombings from the Mexican Air Force
. The Mexican Army also established posts at all of the Yaqui settlements and this action prevented future conflict.
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
, and the later Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
republic, against the Yaqui native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. The period began in 1533 and lasted until 1929. The Yaqui Wars, along with the Caste War
Caste War of Yucatán
The Caste War of Yucatán began with the revolt of native Maya people of Yucatán, Mexico against the population of European descent, called Yucatecos, who held political and economic control of the region. A lengthy war ensued between the Yucateco forces in the north-west of the Yucatán and the...
against the Maya, were the last conflicts of the centuries long Mexican Indian Wars
Mexican Indian Wars
The Mexican Indian Wars refer to the conflicts fought between Spanish, or Mexican, forces and Mexican Indians. The period began in 1519 during Hernán Cortés' conquest of the Aztec Empire and continued to 1933 during the Caste War in Yucatan against the Maya....
. Over the course of nearly 400 years, the Spanish and Mexicans repeatedly launched military campaigns into Yaqui territory and it resulted in several serious battles and some infamous massacres. But by the early 1900s, through almost constant warfare, deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
, and disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
, the Yaquis and their allies were eventually defeated.
Wars
The principal cause of the conflicts was like many of the Indian Wars in history, in 1684, the Spanish colonistsColony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
in the present day Mexican state of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, discovered silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
in the Rio Yaqui Valley. Following this, the Spanish gradually began settling on Yaqui land and by 1740, the natives were ready to resist. Some minor conflicts from before dated back to 1533 but in 1740 the Yaquis united their tribe with the neighboring Mayo
Mayo people
The Mayo are a Mexican indigenous people living in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, originally living near the Mayo River in Sonora. In their own language they call themselves Yoreme....
, Opata, and Pima
Pima
The Pima are a group of American Indians living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona. The long name, "Akimel O'odham", means "river people". They are closely related to the Tohono O'odham and the Hia C-ed O'odham...
natives and successfully drove the colonists out by 1742. For the next several decades, the Spanish, and after 1821, the new Mexican republic, would fight a drawn out war to either conquer, or to hold on to the Yaqui's land. In 1833, the Yaqui leader Juan Banderas, and an Opata chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
, were executed for attempting to reunite the tribes of northern Mexico. But like Banderas, there were other leaders who continued resisting so the wars continued. One incident in 1868 was a massacre of about 120 Yaqui men, women and children, by Mexican soldiers, after 600 surrendered near Vícam
Vícam
Vícam is a town in the Mexican state of Sonora located in the municipio of Guaymas. It is one of the main settlements of the Yaqui people. Historically the Yaqui also ranged through what is now the American Southwest, and there is a federally recognized tribe in the United States state of...
. Some 400 of the Yaqui prisoners were held inside a church which was then bombarded by artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
. Affairs such as this drove many of the natives to emmigrate, while others were deported by the Mexicans or enslaved
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
.
Some warriors fled from their occupied pueblos along the Rio Yaqui and continued fighting in the Sierra Vakatetteve. In 1872, Mexico became a dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
under President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Porfirio Diaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
and in 1876 the Yaqui leader José Maria Peres
Cajemé
Cajemé / Kahe'eme , born José Maria Bonifacio Leiva Perez was a Yaqui leader who lived in the Mexican state of Sonora from 1835 to 1887....
, or Cajemé, established a small independent republic in Sonora. By then there were only about 4,000 "undefeated" Yaquis and they attemped to defend their county by building the fortified town of El Añil. Though in 1886, the Mexican besieged the town in the Battle of El Añil which ended the Yaqui republic. One year later Cajemé was captured and executed in Guaymas
Guaymas
Guaymas is a city and municipality located in the southwest part of the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. The city is located 117 km south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and 242 miles from the U.S. border, and is the principal port for the state. The municipality is located in the...
. Juan Maldonado took Cajemé's place and he continued a guerilla war in the Sierra del Bacatete. The Yaqui towns along the Rio Yaqui became mostly deserted with the majority of the inhabitants fleeing north to settle in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
around Tucson and Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
In February 1896 an event known as the Yaqui Uprising
Yaqui Uprising
The Yaqui Uprising, or the Nogales Uprising, was an armed conflict that took place in the Mexican state of Sonora and the American state of Arizona. In February of 1896 the Mexican revolutionary Lauro Aguirre drafted a plan to overthrow the government of President Porfirio Diaz...
began after the Mexican revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
Lauro Aguirre
Lauro Aguirre
Lauro Aguirre was an engineer and journalist who was active during events that foreshadowed the Mexican Revolution.-Early life:...
drafted a plan
Plans in Mexican History
In Mexican history, a plan was a declaration of principles announced in conjunction with a rebellion, usually armed, against the central government of the country . Mexican plans were often more formal than the pronunciamientos that were their equivalent elsewhere in Spanish America and Spain...
to overthrow the government of Porfirio Diaz. Aguirre and his men were able to convince several Yaqui and Pima natives to join in the revolt so on August 12 a combined force of no less than seventy men attacked the customs house at Nogales
Nogales, Sonora
Heroica Nogales , more commonly known as Nogales, is a city and its surrounding municipality on the northern border of the Mexican State of Sonora. The municipality covers an area of 1,675 km², and borders to the north the city of Nogales, Arizona, United States, across the U.S.-Mexico border...
, Sonora. A battle then ensued which left at least three people dead and many more wounded. During the fight a group of American militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
formed in the adjoining town of Nogales
Nogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....
, Arizona and they assisted the Mexican defenders in repelling the rebels' attack. Ultimately the Yaquis and the others were obliged to withdraw from the area, ending the uprising and leading to a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
operation to track the hostiles. Two companies of the 24th Infantry Regiment were assigned to hunt the rebels who were being pursued by troops of the Mexican Army
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...
Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Emilio Kosterlitsky. However, the rebels got away, some escaped to Arizona. In 1897 a peace treaty
Peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...
was signed in Ortiz between the Yaquis and the Mexican government but in 1899 another serious outbreak of hostilities began and it led to the bloody Mazocoba Massacre of 1900, in which several hundred natives were killed.
Around this time Porfirio Diaz began advocating for a solution to the Yaqui wars. By 1903 the decision was to deport both the peaceful and rebellious Yaqui natives to the Yucatan
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
and Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
. Meanwhile, from 1904 to 1909, the Mexican governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Sonora, Rafael Izábal, led "organized manhunts" in which about 8,000 to 15,000 Yaquis were taken prisoner and "virtually enslaved". Following the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
in 1910, Yaqui warriors joined all of the armies of the major rebel factions. They also began resettling their ancestral lands along the Rio Yaqui. In 1911, Diaz was exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
d and President Francisco Madero took office. He is said to have promised the Yaqui people compensation for their losses but by 1920, when the main phase of the war ended, the promises were forgotten about. By 1916, Mexican general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
s, such as Alvaro Obregon
Álvaro Obregón
General Álvaro Obregón Salido was the President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. He was assassinated in 1928, shortly after winning election to another presidential term....
, began establishing estate
Estate
Estate may refer to:* Estate , a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations.* Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries....
s on Yaqui land during the revolution and this led to renewed hostilities between the natives and the military.
It was during this period of the conflict that the United States Army fought the last battle
Battle of Bear Valley
The Battle of Bear Valley was a small engagement between the revolutionary Yaqui natives and the United States Army on January 9, 1918 in southern Arizona. This skirmish is widely recognized as the final battle of the American Indian Wars.-Background:...
of the American Indian Wars. In January 1918, a small group of about thirty natives were intercepted by Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry, just across the international border, near Arivaca
Arivaca, Arizona
Arivaca is an unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is located north of the Mexican border and northwest of the port of entry at Nogales. The European-American history of the area dates back at least to 1695, although the community was not founded until 1878....
, Arizona. In the thirty-minute skirmish that followed, the Yaqui commander was killed and a handful of others were taken prisoner. The last major engagement of the Yaqui Wars came almost ten years later in 1927 at the Battle of Cerro del Gallo. After that some minor warfare continued into 1929 but the violence was quelled mainly by bombings from the Mexican Air Force
Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force is the aviation branch of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat . Since 2008, its commander is Gen...
. The Mexican Army also established posts at all of the Yaqui settlements and this action prevented future conflict.
See also
- Pascua Yaqui TribePascua Yaqui TribeThe Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a tribe of Native Americans, acknowledged by the United States government on September 18, 1978.Most U.S. members of the tribe live in southern Arizona. Descended from the ancient Uto-Azteca people of Mexico, the ancestors of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe first settled in the...
- Renegade period of the Apache WarsRenegade period of the Apache WarsThe Renegade period of the Apache Wars refers to the conflicts between the United States and the Apache people who left the reservation system between 1879 and 1886, and renegade Apaches who lived in northern Mexico into the 1920s. Chief Victorio and the medicine man Geronimo were perhaps the best...
- Mexican Apache Wars
- Mexican Comanche Wars