Isla Mujeres History

         In 1842, when an American archeologist visited, he found the isle abandoned except for a few turtle fishermen. Five years later, a newspaper report said there were 1500 people on the isle, trying to escape the Caste War. .         This page from an paper about the Caste War by Michel Antochiw says that after ChanCenote fell (where 2000 rebel Mayas attacked and 60 men tried to defend the town) and Valladolid fell, panic spread across the Peninsula. Thousands fled by boat and the press reported there were 1500 refugees in Isla Mujeres and 3000 in Cozumel.          It says in the first few months of 1848, there was not a single pueblo, hacienda, or ranch that had not been invaded by the forces of the rebel leader Cecilio Chi. While he and his companions were heading toward Merida, the immense region from Rio Lagartos, Tizimin, and Valladolid to the Caribbean was le...