Chetumal

History

Chetumal, formerly called Chactemal (Mayan: "place where the redwood grows") has had a long and eventful history. For centuries it was the hub of Mayan maritime activity, boat building included. Gerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero, the first Spaniards to arrive, did so inadvertently in 1512 as the result of shipwreck. At first enslaved by their Mayan captors, Aguilar was later freed by Cortés to whom he rendered invaluable service as an interpreter, while Guerrero married a Mayan princess and for a long time successfully fought the Spanish invaders. The Spanish chapter of Chetumal's history really only began much later, in 1898, when the town proper was founded by Captain Othón P. Blanco (alias Payo Obispo, a name he later discarded). The principal purpose was to help suppress the smuggling of arms and munitions destined for the rebellious Indians during the "Caste Wars". In the early years the collection of timber houses grew up more or less haphazardly, the townsfolk living as best they could from farming and fishing. In 1954 however Chetumal was almost completely destroyed by a cyclone. Mexico's federal government stepped in to rebuild the city, since when it has developed into the major centre of trade and commerce on the east coast of the Yucatán peninsula.