Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - The shipwreck that in the 1850’s carried Mayan people into slavery has been identified by archaeologists of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
The wreck of the Cuban-based paddle-wheel steamboat was found in 2017, but wasn't identified until researchers checked contemporary documents and found evidence it was the ship "La Unión."
The ship was found about 2 miles (3.7 kilometers) off the port of Sisal in about 22 feet (7 meters) of water after a local fisherman led archaeologists to the wreck. The ship had been used to take Mayas captured during an 1847-1901 rebellion known as "The War of the Castes" to work in sugarcane fields in Cuba.
Although slavery was illegal in Mexico at the time, those who operated similar ships had reportedly bought seized captured combatants, or deceived Mayas left landless by the conflict to "sign on" as contract workers, often in Cuba, where they were treated like slaves.
The La Unión was on a trip to Havana in September 1861 when its boilers exploded and it sank off the once-important Yucatan port of Sisal.
"The grandparents and great-grandparents of the inhabitants of Sisal told them about a steamship that took away Mayas during the War of the Castes," Institute archaeologist Barba Meinecke, said.
"And one of the people in Sisal who saw how they led the Mayas away as slaves, told his son and then he told his grandson, and it was that person who led us to the general area of the shipwreck."
The identification of the ship "La Unión" was based on the physical remains of the wooden-hulled side-wheeler, whose timbers bore signs of fire and whose boilers had exploded. The researchers also found silverware with the emblem of the company that operated the ship.
"The location of the wreck also coincides with contemporary accounts of the accident, which killed half of the 80 crew members and 60 passengers aboard.
"A strategy that Hispanic and Mexican oligarchs used since 1848 was to order the expulsion of those Mayans captured in combat, so many were sent to Cuba, where there was a shortage of workforce in the sugar cane plantations." according to INAH researchers.
"Each slave was sold for up to 25 pesos to intermediaries, and they could be resold in Havana for up to 160 pesos for men and 120 pesos for women."
In October 1860, a ship had been caught in neighboring Campeche state taking aboard 29 Mayas, including children as young as 7. Authorities prevented the ship from leaving, but clearly that didn't keep the trade from continuing. Mayas were often transported on ships that were taking sisal fiber and paying passengers to Cuba.
Sisal and henequen were fibers used in making rope, and were usually harvested by Mayas working in serf-like conditions on large plantations in the Yucatan. It was unclear if there were any Maya aboard on the ship's last voyage. The records are unclear because the Mayas would probably have been listed as cargo, not as passengers, or the ship may have tried to conceal their presence.
Barba Meinecke said that captured Mayan combatants were frequently sent to Cuba, from where many never returned. The next stage of research would involve trying to find their descendants. Researchers plan to travel to Havana, where there is a neighborhood called "Campeche."
"These people, or some of them, could be descendants of the Mayas who were taken by force or deception," she said. "Research has to be done so these (Mayan) people can know where their grandparents or great-grandparents are."
The Maya launched one of North America's last indigenous revolts in the lower Yucatan Peninsula in 1847, fighting against domination by white and mixed-race Mexicans who exploited them. The Mexican government fought the bloody rebellion with brutal repression, but couldn't wipe out the last resistance until 1901.
A few wrecks of African slave ships have been found in waters in the United States and elsewhere, but no Maya slaving ship had been identified.
Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
