Isla Mujeres History

     Tourism was being developed in Isla Mujeres decades before Cancun existed. The island had scheduled amphibious airplane flights arriving in the 1930's. Scheduled ferry service began in the 1950's after a road was built to the coast from Valladolid. The bus drivers would spend the night on the isle, sleeping at the movie theater. 1930's Isla Mujeres downtown 1930's: Amphibious Flights To Isla Mujeres       In 1932 a 12-passenger amphibious aircraft was flying the "Chicle Route" from Florida to Cuba to Progreso to Cozumel, Chetumal, Belize, and Guatemala. In the 1930's, celebrated Mexican pilot Sarabia began operating his airplane company in Quintana Roo with five airplanes, which could each carry five passengers. They established the "Caribbean Route" ( Ruta del Caribe ): Chetumal-Puerto Carrillo-Cozumel-Isla Mujeres.        The famous pilot was good friends with Quintana Roo Governor Melgar, and they enjoyed bre...

     Before tourism came to the coastal regions of Quintana Roo, chicle harvesting was one of the main industries that fueled the economy of the area for over half a century. Chicle was used in the manufacturing of chewing gum until the 1950's, and is a natural latex produced by the sapodilla tree to protect itself from insects and animals.      In 1898, Puerto Morales was established (20 miles south of present-day Cancun) to serve as an international port for shipping chicle (called Punta Corcha). At an inland jungle village west of the port, chiclero workers cooked the sap down into a white resin, molded it into bricks, and transported it to the coast in rail cars, drawn by horses or mules, for export to the United States. Another rail line brought the bricks of chicle to Puerto Juarez. (Isla Mujeres had been founded a half-century earlier in 1850.)      For centuries, the Maya extracted ch...

1866 Map.   Description: Scarce separately issued Spanish Sea chart of the Coast of Mexico, from Santander toYucatan . Highly detailed, including soundings and lighthouses. For sale at this LINK,where it can be enlarged digitally .        In 1865, the Mexican Imperial Government, led by Maximilian of Hapsburg, ordered an official census. People were required to remain at home for five days, and those who could not, had to leave their personal information and signature with a proxy. Failure to comply could result in a fine of one to 25 pesos or twice as many days in jail. The census taker was to warn people of these consequences and the natives would be warned through their leaders and employers. The census taker received a one peso payment for each person recorded, a one peso fine for each one omitted, and two days in jail for each peso he was fined and couldn't pay.      The questions were: Name, nationali...

Link to source of this map . Every August, Isla Mujeres celebrates the founding of the town & the original Decree is read. In this article, our town historian Fidel Villanueva Madrid, explains some of the circumstances surrounding this document:       "The town was founded in 1850 under special conditions because of the critical situation that existed in the state of Yucatan as a result of the Caste War. The villagers, who were escaping from the horrors of the war, were mostly farmers who came from different parts of the peninsula, and not fishermen as some writers have mistakenly reported. The Decree itself is clear about this because it orders the settlers to till the land of the island for six years, and it does not refer to fishing at all. As for the indicated time of six years, at the end of that period, they would be entitled to the land which they had worked without interruption.      I must add that the capt...