History

Cancún is located in the state of Quintana Roo, where the Itsae indians arrived from the south. These Mayan people learned to survive and coexist with the jungle. We still have some reminders of their extraordinary culture, such as the Tulum fortress, the city of Cobá and Kohunlich, among others. There are ruins of countless sites, but mostly uexplored. It is not an exaggeration to say that you can find traces of their impressive culture in every piece of jungle. Quintana Roo took its name from an Independence patriot, Don Andrés Quintana Roo, writer, poet, born in Mérida, Yucatán which was previously a province and Quintana Roo was part of it. It is now the 31st state of Mexico.

Former President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz entrusted Banco de México back in 1968, to issue a National Tourism Programme. The objective was to contribute to the National Produce. The plan should also generate investment opportunities for the private sector and creation of jobs, reach self-determination and marketing of the national tourism products abroad, as well as obtain technologic autonomy in tourism services among other things.

Based on this criteria, Banco de México created Infratur in 1969, to draw a Tourist Resorts Internal Program. Studies were made to identify the best areas for the execution of the turist infrastructure projects. Cancún and Zihuatanejo were chosen as investment priorities.

In those days, Quintana Roo had merely 40,000 inhabitants, concentrated in Chetumal, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres. National Census did not consider Cancun island an important issue since inhabitants lived there only parts of the year.

During centuries nobody realized the magnificence of the Mexican Caribbean, until Cancun was born, a city that emerged from the jungle and turned into the capital of the international turims in Mexico.

The ocean that tourist cruise ships cross now, once belonged to pirates and the Mayas, that for half a century controlled the coastlines and land in the Mexican Caribbean, until General Bravo in a military action “conquered” the already abandoned Chan Santa Cruz, now called Felipe Carrillo Puerto and turned it into a forced labor camp settlement. This originated the terrible Quintana Roo jungle “Black Legend” .
The land now occupied by thousands of Mexicans who came from different parts of the country in search of better living conditions, once belonged to the gum sap extractors (chicleros) who lived in the middle of the jungle and suffered stressful living conditions, while in the ranches on the coast and the light house keepers took care of the Mexican Caribbean sovereignty.
The Mayas on the east coast of the Yucatán peninsula date back to the arrival of the Chontal Mayas who brought from their original land, Tabasco, the art of navegation. This allowed them the control of the coastline.
They established supporting ports for commercial purposes, such as Cozumel, Xcaret, Xel-Há and from there they moved on to the center of the Peninsula in 918 A.C.
The Mayas were originally familiar with navegation in rivers and the peaceful Gulf of Mexico. In order to be able to cross the Carribean and cover long distances, they changed “cayucos” for larger canoes, capable of heavy loads of merchandise and passengers.
After the discovery of the Yucatán Peninsula and several expeditions to explore this region, the Kings of Stain granted in 1526 the authorization to Adelantado Francisco de Montejo, to conquer these new lands.
Thus, by october 1527, the first spanish ships commanded by Montejo arrived in the now Quintana Roo coasts. This expedition landed only 2 kms. from Xel-Há towards Tulúm, in a place that natives called Zamá.
In the 19 th Century the pirats were still in control of the east coast of the Yucatán Península, taking advantage of the indian rebelions and the region’s abandonment. Jean Lafitte, Molas and Mundaca were among the most famous in those days. The latter built a “hacienda” in Isla Mujeres, where he died.
The actual Mexican presence in the Caribbean starts in the south, through a plan to populate key San Pedro, now Belize territory, which due its distance was a perfect refuge in 1848, for people running away from the War of Castes.
In the same period of time, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres were populated, both had been uninhabited due to the lack of security from pirates and sometime after the same happened to Holbox.
On November 21, 1849 the ranch of San Miguel in Cozumel was erected to town. A year later, on august 1850 the town of Dolores in Isla Mujeres is erected and so the presence of Mexico in the Caribbean coast is ratified from that moment on.