Piracy and Contraband in Yucatan: The Two Sides of the Same Coin

Piracy became part of the everyday life for the inhabitants of the Yucatan Peninsula during the 17th century, especially for the villa and port of Campeche. Pirates became the most feared enemies along with the Maya rebels in the countryside and numerous expeditions tried to eradicate them from the area, usually with little success. At the same time, and a role little explored by historians, pirates also became great allies for the inhabitants in their character of smugglers. The Yucatan Peninsula suffered by its isolation from the main trade routes of the Spanish commerce, making difficult and expensive for Spanish people to live up to their European standards. Piracy, as an always life-risk activity, forced its participants to look for any opportunity to magnify the profit. Pirates became the best suppliers for the European goods that Spanish people were looking, creating links with people from all social ranks, from black enslave people, Maya people, traders, and even local authorities. The best example is the contraband case of 1674 against Alonso Matheos, an estanciero who was captured by the authorities and revealed a contraband network that included almost every local Spanish authority in Campeche.

The poster will show the official trade routes as well as the placed used by the pirates to move merchandise. It will also include descriptions of items to show how involved everyday goods. Finally, it will also include descriptions of the main actors in the case as well as their role and position.