Abstract

MACHUCA GALLEGOS, Laura. Female Hacienda Owners and Other Women, During the “Caste War” in Yucatán. Estud. hist. mod. contemp. Mex [online]. 2025, n.spe3, pp.141-172.  Epub May 13, 2025. ISSN 0185-2620.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iih.24485004e.2025.1e.77959.

This work examines the role of women in times of war, focusing on two groups of women who, although they did not suffer violence firsthand, were nonetheless affected by the consequences of the Caste War in Yucatán in 1847. Historiography on this topic has rarely addressed women, thus the central question of this article is how different women acted in wartime contexts. On one hand, the study analyzes a corpus of documents derived from the decree issued in October 1850, which granted various debt payment benefits to hacienda owners affected by the war (including some women from privileged groups). On the other hand, based on a government petition, it examines the claims of a group of women from a village whose husbands or sons were forced to go to war. Beyond violence, the article finds that written language and petitions were widely used as tools to claim rights.

Keywords : women; Caste War; Yucatan; hacienda; hacienda owners.

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