Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/103

Rh and José Antonio Facio were preparing a plot to overthrow Guerrero's government, and all authorities disposed to uphold it.

It will not be out of place to give here a brief sketch of the history of Yucatan, since I have made little mention of that province since 1708. From that time till the end of the Spanish domination the country was ruled by thirty governors, holding also the office of captain-general, who were appointed by the crown, besides a few others that held the position ad interim to fill vacancies.

During the rule of Governor Vertiz in 1717, the English occupants of Isla de Tris, later named El Cármen, were driven away. The mariscal de campo, Autonio de Figueroa, who governed from 1725 to 1733, winning golden opinions for his generosity to the poor during a terrible famine and epidemic, exerted himself successfully in driving away the_English usurpers of Yucatan territory at Belize. He burned Wallix or Belize, and rebuilt it, leaving it only when he believed it safe from further incursions. After his death, however, during a truce allowed by a treaty of peace between Spain and England the wood-cutters and turtle-catchers reoccupied the place, and wood-cutting and sinuggling became the established business. Several attempts to eject these interlopers, made subsequently by governors of Yucatan, had no results.

An event worthy of mention was the revolt in November 1761, of the Indian Jacinto Canek, with a large number of followers, because Bishop Parada's constitutions, which greatly favored the Indians, had been suspended, and their serfdom and condition as tribute-payers had been reimposed. The rebels were, however, defeated in their stronghold of Cisteil, and Jacinto and his chief accomplices punished.