During the early years of the Caste War, between 1848 and 1849 two different groups of refugees made for the island and settled. The first was a group of approximately 50 middle class, mestizo families (mostly merchants and craftsmen) and their servants. The second was a clutch of 350 Maya. The first and dominant group appropriated the best land and founded the town of San Miguel on the western coast. The Indians were forced inland, where they founded El Cedral, even today, the only other town in Cozumel.
For more than a century following its resettlement, business was good and the island’s position as a seaport grew in importance. The fishing industry was negligible throughout the 19th century, while the island exported its sugar, cotton, beef, sisal and fruit to mainland Mexico and the United States. It was also responsible for warehousing and shipping abroad the chicle and copra (coconut) harvested on the peninsula–which was actually its main source of income during this time.
The Great Depression (1930s) seriously affected the island economically. It bounced back during WWII by supplying the Allies with raw materials and something more. The Mexican Government agreed to let the U.S. Air Force build a base on the island; from which planes patrolled the Caribbean for Nazi submarines. The Americans abandoned the base at the end of the war, but the runways were left intact and facilitated Cozumel’s reincarnation as a tourist destination–its most successful role to date.
During the early years of the Caste War, between 1848 and 1849 two different groups of refugees made for the island and settled. The first was a group of approximately 50 middle class, mestizo families (mostly merchants and craftsmen) and their servants. The second was a clutch of 350 Maya. The first and dominant group appropriated the best land and founded the town of San Miguel on the western coast. The Indians were forced inland, where they founded El Cedral, even today, the only other town in Cozumel.
For more than a century following its resettlement, business was good and the island’s position as a seaport grew in importance. The fishing industry was negligible throughout the 19th century, while the island exported its sugar, cotton, beef, sisal and fruit to mainland Mexico and the United States. It was also responsible for warehousing and shipping abroad the chicle and copra (coconut) harvested on the peninsula–which was actually its main source of income during this time.
The Great Depression (1930s) seriously affected the island economically. It bounced back during WWII by supplying the Allies with raw materials and something more. The Mexican Government agreed to let the U.S. Air Force build a base on the island; from which planes patrolled the Caribbean for Nazi submarines. The Americans abandoned the base at the end of the war, but the runways were left intact and facilitated Cozumel’s reincarnation as a tourist destination–its most successful role to date.
© 2004 Editorial Veras. La guía Oficial del Caribe Mexicano.