Isla de Sacrificios ("Island of Sacrifices") is an island in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
, situated off the
Gulf coastline near the port of
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
, in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. The waters surrounding the island are part of the
Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Marine Park. It is currently closed to the public and is under the protection of the
Secretariat of the Navy
The Secretariat of the Navy (, SEMAR) is one of the twenty-one state secretariats of the government of Mexico. It is in charge of designing, planning, executing and coordinating public policies related to the Mexican Navy.
The Secretary of th ...
.
Spanish discovery
The island received its name when it was
charted by the expedition in 1518 under
Juan de Grijalva
Juan de Grijalva (; c. 1490 – 21 January 1527) was a Spanish conquistador, and a relative of Diego Velázquez.Diaz de Castillo, Bernal. 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, He went to Hispaniola in 1508 and to Cuba in 1511. ...
, the first
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
expedition to reconnoitre this section of the Gulf Coast. According to the account of
Bernal Díaz, a member of the expedition whose ''
Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España'' famously recalls the exploits of the ''
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
es'' on this and the succeeding venture led by
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
, after landing on the island:
Use by pirates
In 1683,
Laurens de Graaf and
Nicholas van Hoorn retreated to the island after their
attack on Veracruz
The attack on Veracruz was a 1683 raid against the port of Veracruz, Veracruz, Veracruz, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (colonial Mexico). It was led by the Dutch Piracy, pirates Laurens de Graaf, Nicholas van Hoorn, and Michel de Grammont.
Hist ...
. Once on the island, Van Hoorn became impatient at delays in receiving ransom payments. He ordered a dozen Spanish prisoners executed and had their heads delivered to Veracruz as a sign of his displeasure. De Graaf was furious and the two quarrelled and then fought a duel during which Van Hoorn received a minor injury to his wrist. The wound turned gangrenous and Van Hoorn died shortly thereafter.
Later visits
In 1823, when the island was visited by the antiquities collector,
William Bullock, he found it to be a "mere heap of sand" and uninhabited, save for "only one wretched Indian family living on it". Some ruins of
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
buildings were still visible. Bullock also noted the island to be:
Many finds from the island can now be seen in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
.
Notes
References
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{{Authority control
Islands of Veracruz
Veracruz (city)
Beaches of Veracruz