The Forgotten Liberator: Buenaventura Martínez and Yucatán's Republican Restoration

Yucatán's overthrow of the French-sponsored Empire (1864-1867) began under the leadership of a man named Buenaventura Martínez, a now-forgotten landowner and militia officer from the town of Baca. A detailed reconstruction of Martínez's life reveals three points. First, his rebellion arose not at the command of national political figures, but instead over local issues and under local leadership. Martínez belonged to a family of small- to moderate-sized landowners from the town of Baca, he had a history of rebellion against authority figures, and he was able to muster multiethnic support through personal charisma, family connections, and ties ofcompadrazgo. His revolt built upon popular discontent with Imperial attempts to revive the Caste War. Launching his rebellion in 1866, Martínez ultimately ceded leadership to the better-known Colonel Manuel Cepeda Peraza, but not before galvanizing Yucatecans to rebellion and constructing the basis of the Republican army. Second, an examination of post-Imperial Baca reveals that Mexico's republican restoration period (1867-1876) for the most part continued the basics of pre-1867 political culture. Third, his story reveals how important actors in Mexican history have been forgotten as national level politics and culture have displaced local memory. The recovery of that local memory, and particular of individuals such as Buenaventura Martínez, remains critical to a deeper understanding of Mexican history. Le derrota del imperio patrocinado por Francia en Yucatán empezó en 1866 bajo el mando de un tal Buenaventura Martínez, un ahora olvidado propietario y official de milicias del pueblo de Baca. La recononstrucción detallada de la vida de Martínez revela tres puntos. En primer lugar, su rebellion no se originó bajo el mando de las figuras políticas nacionales, sino en respuesta a los asuntos locales y por el liderazgo - asimismo - local. Martínez pertenció a una familia de ha*An cendados de tamaño pequeño o mediano del pueblo de Baca, tuvo una historia de insubordinación hacia las autoridades, y fue capaz de mobilizar apoyo multiétnico por su carisma personal, sus conecciones familiares, y sus lazos de padrinazgo. Su insurrección se aprovechó del descontento popular por los intentos imperiales de resucitar la Guerra de Castas. Eventualmente Martínez cedió el liderazgo al mejor conocido Coronel Manuel Cepeda Peraza, no sin antes haber construído el ejército de resistencia al llamar a los yucatecos a tomar armas. En segun