Manuel Antonio Ay (c. 1817– July 26, 1847) was a Yucatec

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

military leader and revolutionary, and chief of the village of Chichimilá.

Life

Ay was the batab of Chichimilá. He would often help indigenous villagers with legal matters as he was literate while many of the local Maya could not read or write. Ay fought in the 1846 rebellion against the Merida-based government of

Miguel Barbachano Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo (29 September 1807 – 17 December 1859) (Baqueiro 1896) was a liberal Yucatecan politician, who was 5 times governor of Yucatán between 1841 and 1853. Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo was born in the city of Campech ...

, President of the

Republic of Yucatán The Republic of Yucatán () was a sovereign state during two periods of the nineteenth century. The first Republic of Yucatán, founded May 29, 1823, willingly joined the First Mexican Republic, Mexican federation as the Federated Republic of Yu ...

. He participated in the capture of

Chemax Chemax, the Mayan word meaning "tree of monkeys", is a town located in the east of Yucatán State, Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and b ...

in 1846 and

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

in 1847 under the orders of Colonel Antonio Trujeque and with the support of

Santiago Méndez Santiago Méndez Ibarra (1798 – 1872) was governor of Yucatán (state), Yucatán, Mexico 3 times from 1840 to 1857: 1840–44; 1847–48; 1855–57, alternating that office with Miguel Barbachano mainly during his first and second terms. Ménd ...

. However, after their military success, many of the Maya troops decided to declare independence themselves, putting them at odds with Méndez. Ay was one of the most active organizers of the indigenous insurrection. In 1847, he met with

Cecilio Chi Cecilio Chi (c. 1820 – December 13, 1848) was a Mayan indigenous batab, born in the town of Tepich, formerly Yucatán, currently Quintana Roo in Mexico. He was a military leader of the ''Cruzo 'ob'' ( The Caste War Maya). Early life Chi owne ...

Jacinto Pat Jacinto Pat (1797 − September 8, 1849) was a Maya leader and '' batab'' best known for helping lead the rebels in the Caste War of Yucatán. Early life According to the ''Encyclopedia of Quintana Roo'', Pat is an ancient Mayan surname that mean ...

, and

Bonifacio Novelo Bonifacio may refer to: Places * Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, a town in Corsica, France * Strait of Bonifacio, separating Corsica from Sardinia * Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, a municipality in the Philippines * Bonifacio Global City, a central busi ...

to plan the uprising that would become the

Caste War A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...

. Reportedly, he stated that his goal was to have the white men driven from the Peninsula. He was discovered when a bartender found a suspicious letter he had left in his hat signed by Chi. Once Colonel Eulogio Rosado, the Commandant of Valladolid, learned of the letter, he arrested Ay. Ay was put on trial from July 21 to 25 before he was sentenced to death by hanging. Rosado ordered his execution carried out in the plaza of the Santa Ana neighborhood of Valladolid on July 26. His corpse was transferred to Chichimilá, where it was covered and buried after being exhibited to warn the rebels. As a result of Ay's killing, Cecilio Chi and Jacinto Pat led an attack on the

criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...

residents of Tipich, beginning the Caste War. Ay left behind a son named Antonio who helped capture Valladolid in 1848. After the Maya fighters entered the town, Antonio executed the man who had carried his father's letter to Colonel Rosado.

Legacy

A statue of Ay is located in

Chetumal Chetumal (, , ; , ) is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the List of states of Mexico, state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, Municipality of Othón ...

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...

next to a statue of Cecilio Chi. There is also a monument to Ay in the Santa Ana Park in Valladolid.

References

* Reed, Nelson. (1964) ''The Caste War of Yucatan'' Stanford University Press, Palo Alto. Maya people Yucatán 1810s births 1847 deaths {{Mexico-mil-bio-stub