Yaqui

Yaqui Allies:

The Yaqui Wars,[2] were a series of armed conflicts between New Spain, and the later Mexican Republic, against the Yaqui Indians. The period began in 1533 and lasted until 1929. The Yaqui Wars, along with the Caste War against the Maya, were the last conflicts of the centuries long Mexican Indian Wars. Over the course of nearly 400 years, the Spanish and the Mexicans repeatedly launched military campaigns into Yaqui territory which resulted in several serious battles and massacres.[1][3]

The cause of the conflicts was like many of the Indian Wars. In 1684, the Spanish colonists in the present day Mexican state of Sonora discovered silver in the Rio Yaqui Valley. Following this, the Spanish gradually began settling on Yaqui land, and by 1740, the natives were ready to resist. Some minor conflicts from before dated back to 1533[1] but in 1740 the Yaqui united with the neighboring Mayo, Opata, and Pima tribes and successfully drove the colonists out by 1742.[4]

During the Mexican War of Independence from Spain (1810–1821) the Yaqui did not participate on either side. It was when Occidente passed a law in 1825 making the Yaqui its citizens and subjecting them to taxes that the Yaqui decided to go to war, since they had not previously been subjected to taxes. The first fighting was at Rahum. The movement was encouraged by Pedro Leyva, a Catholic priest and took the Virgin of Guadalupe as its symbol. The Yaqui coalesced around Juan Banderas as their leader. Juan Banderas was a noted Yaqui leader, who after receiving visions in 1825, attempted to unite the Yaqui and other nearby tribal groups, including the Opata, Lower Pima (Pima Bajo), and Mayo, under the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Banderas successfully challenged Mexican rule in Sonora and Sinaloa between 1825 and 1832. Occidente was so affected by the war that the capital was moved from Cosala to Fuerte. In 1827 Banderas' forces were defeated by Mexicans in the vicinity of Hermosillo. This defeat was partly due to the Yaquis having primarily bows and arrows, while the Mexicans had guns. After this defeat, Banderas negotiated a peace with Occidente, in which he was granted pardon, and recognized as a captain-general of the Yaqui, and was given a salary.[5]

In 1828 the office of captain-general was abolished, and Occidente government reasserted its right to tax the Yaqui, as well as proposing a plan for allotting the Yaqui lands. In 1832 Banderas renewed the war against the Mexican authorities, in cooperation with Dolores Gutiérrez, a chief of the Opata people.[6] Mexican forces captured Banderas and other Indian leaders after the defeat of Banderas' forces at the battle of Soyopa, Sonora, in December, 1832. In 1833 Banderas and Gutiérrez, along with 10 others, were executed in January 1833. Banderas remained a powerful and admired symbol of Yaqui resistance to foreign domination.[7]