History of Bacalar Mexico

                     In pre-Colombian times Bacalar town was a city of the Maya civilization. According to the historical sites, the original name of Bacalar is ‘’Siyan Ka’an Bakjalal’’. The meaning of Siyan Kaan is the birth of heaven while the meaning of the word Bakjalal is, encircled by reeds. Before the arrival of Spaniards, out of the sixteen provinces in Yucatan, Bacalar was the focal center of the kingdom. Political, economical, and administrative insecurity in this region made easy the Spanish conquest even though there was an importance of the commercial exchange in that zone.

               When talking about the history of Bacalar, it’s not possible to explain the long history of this wonderful town in a few paragraphs. If you are interested in knowing the whole history of Bacalar, you can visit the museum’s fort. You can go on tour in catamarans or you can rent a bicycle and travel at these places so, you would be able to learn about the fun thing about the Bacalar history surely. But from this article, we are going to tell you about five weird factors in the history of Bacalar.

Five weird factors in the history of Bacalar

if you are planning to go for a tour in Bacalar, there are some factors you have to know about the history of Bacalar Mexico before traveling there.

1. Bacalar was sacked by pirates

Throughout the seventeenth century, Bacalar town was raided by pirates. In all the times the town was raided, the pirates entered the lagoon from a canal. The pirates secretly used the Bacalar wood to build their ships and passed out the weapons to raid the Bacalar town through that canal. So, that canal was named the pirate’s canal.

In 1642 a pirate named Diego de Los Reyes, who was the pirate’s leader of the coastal state of Campeche destroyed the Bacalar town. Beginning in 1642, Bacalar was under the control of the pirates till 1733. The Spanish government was not able to protect the Bacalar town properly until they build the San Felipe’s Fort in 1733. This Fort of San Felipe, located on the lagoon’s banks provides the viewers with some of the lake’s most eye-catching sceneries. Today, there is a museum that includes exhibits like the pirates’ skeletons discovered from the region.

2. The region is filled with Mayan ruins

 

If you have ever visited or studied the history of Bacalar you must have seen the outstanding Mayan ruins in several places of Bacalar town. During 300 BC Mayans made Temple of the mask with eight-figure models colored with black and red colors. From those eight models, five models are preserved. Mexicans say that it symbolizes the real characters decorated with attributes related to the sun. Most of the structures like Plaza de las Estelas, Conjunto de las Vías and the 27 Escalones Ensemble. That can be seen today were built during the late classic because, during that century, the population increased rapidly. The growth of the population continued until 1000-1200 AD and in that century the Mayans arranged censer offerings in temples and constructed chambers and platforms around the main buildings and dwelling complexes.

3. Stromatolites of the Bacalar Lagoon

In the early history of Bacalar Mexico, stromatolites play an important part because their growth happens only in the physic-chemical conditions of the water. Bacalar is also a place where a large number of stromatolites are produced. The appearance of stromatolite is similar to the coral reefs and their growth happens because of the formation of blue algae.

The stromatolites in Bacalar have a history of more than 9000 years. But, the counterpart of the stromatolites’ living fossil has a history of more than 3.6 billion years. This makes Bacalar’s population the oldest evidence of life on Earth too. The fun fact is, these stromatolites are not really algae, they are bacteria that help to increase oxygen by doing photosynthesis. So, the history of Bacalar proves that the people in the Maya civilization protected these stromatolites without allowing them to the parish.

4. The caste war museum in Bacalar

In 1840 the wealthier Spaniards attempted to take over land being farmed by the poor farmers. Because of this, war was taken place between the native Maya and the citizens of European descent (Yucatecans) who owned the economic and the political power of that region. This war was taking place between 1847 and 1901. This became a huge conflict among the parties and lasted for about 55 years. If you have ever visited this caste war museum or gathered about the history of Bacalar you might have seen the fine arts, sculptures, tools, and handmade weapons which were used for the caste war. Also, there is medical equipment that was used to treat the people who got wounded during the war.

5. San Felipe Fort in Bacalar

Starting from 1975, San Felipe Fort in Bacalar has a very long history. This fort was made with the purpose of defending the Bacalar’s Maya community from the continuous attacks done by French, English, and Dutch raiders. An Italian architect named Juan Podio designed the walls of this fort using volcanic rocks, marine stones, and limestones with four points, similar to the shape of a star. The uppermost part of the fort, which is currently open for tourists, was used to store gunpowder, soldiers, and other weapons. Furthermore, the fort had 34 cannons but presently there are only 11 left. The fort was turned into a museum in 1980 and now there are archaeological artifacts like ancient maps and weapons.

The history of Bacalar Mexico is very long. It is famous around the world because of the ‘’Lake of seven colors’’. But other than that, many people visit Bacalar to see the Mayan ruins too.