Maxcanú Municipality (in the

Yucatec Maya language Yucatec Maya ( ; referred to by its speakers as or ) is a Mayan languages, Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula, including part of northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic community of Yucatec Maya speakers in San Fra ...

: "his four monkeys") is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Mexican

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

. Its seat is the town of

Maxcanú Maxcanú is a large town in the western part of the Mexican state of Yucatán; it also functions as the seat for the Maxcanú Municipality. It is located on Federal Highway 180, approximately south of Mérida. The ancient Maya site of Oxk ...

. The municipality covers an area of approximately 1,321 km² and is located roughly 52 km southwest of the city of Mérida.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of approximately 1,321 km2 and is located roughly 52 km southwest of the city of Mérida. It shares borders with the following adjacent municipalities: * Celestún, Samahíl, and Kinchil to the north, * Chocholá, Kopomá, and Opichén to the east, and * Halachó to the south. A small portion of its southern border is also shared with the state of

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

History

Maxcanú Municipality belonged to the chieftainship of Ah-Canul prior to the

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

. After the Spanish arrived, the area was organized as an

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

. In 1734, the encomendero was José Domingo Pardío, who was charged with 256 native inhabitants. In 1821, Yucatán was declared independent of the Spanish Crown. In 1825 the area was part of the Camino Real Bajo region, with its headquarters in Hunucmá. In 1847, as part of the

Caste War of Yucatán The Caste War of Yucatán or ''ba'atabil kichkelem Yúum'' (1847–1915) began with the revolt of Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous Maya peoples, Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula against Hispanic populations, called ''Yucatecos''. Th ...

, the state government passed laws for public flogging of Indians who might be conspiring against the Spanish. The local Indian headman and 200 natives were beaten. In 1900, Maxcanú was listed as a Villa and head of the pueblo of Kopomá and two rural farms Nupilá and San Isidro. In 1921, Nupilá withdrew, in 1925 San Isidro withdrew, and in 1935, Kopomá and the farm "Kobnochacan" withdrew and a new municipality was organized.

Governance

The municipal president is elected for a term of three years. The president appoints nine Councilpersons to serve on the board for three-year terms, as the Secretary and councilors heritage and patrimony, public services, public security, commissaries and ecology, urban development, rural development, public monuments, markets and health, and parks and public gardens. The Municipal Council administers the business of the municipality. It is responsible for budgeting and expenditures and producing all required reports for all branches of the municipal administration. Annually it determines educational standards for schools. The Police Commissioners ensure public order and safety. They are tasked with enforcing regulations, distributing materials and administering rulings of general compliance issued by the council.

Communities

The head of the municipality is Maxcanú. Within its municipal jurisdiction are included Hacienda Canzote, Chactún, Chan Chocholá, Hacienda Ché, Chunchucmil, Coahuilá, Cochol, Hacienda Crucero Copop, Granada, Kanachén, Hacienda Memu, Paraíso, San Fernando, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Santo Domingo, Hacienda Simón, Sombrilla, Hacienda Xamail, and Hacienda Xlam Riti. The major population areas are shown below:

Landmarks

Archaeological

A temple dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Caramel that was built in the seventeenth century and two chapels, the first in honor of St. Michael the Archangel and the second at the Three Crosses; and three former haciendas Kochol called Santo Domingo, Grenada and Santa Rosa. * Hacienda Kochol

Prehispanic

There is an archaeological site located near

Chunchucmil Chunchucmil was once a large, sprawling pre-Columbian Maya city located in the western part of what is now the state of Yucatán, Mexico. Although the famous explorer and author John Lloyd Stephens traveled within a few kilometers of Chunchucmi ...

, bearing the same name.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070226121524/http://www.yucatan.gob.mx/estado/municipios/31048a.htm – Geographic, demographic, and historic information, in Spanish, about the Municipality of Maxcanú

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxcanu Municipality Municipalities of Yucatán