ВОЕННО-ПОЛЕВОЙ СУД И КОНТРАБАНДА НА ЮКАТАНЕ XIX В.: ДЕЛО БОТА “FOUR SISTERS”

Abstract

This article deals with an issue of the court-martial functioning in Mexican state of Yucatán in the middle of the 19th century. The political violence, a very characteristic of the epoch, in Yucatán scaled up with a start of the ethno-social conflict between the government and predominantly Indian population of southeastern part of the state – the Caste War (1847–1901). For the juridical practices the constant political conflicts, domination of the Army and military men in public life meant broad simplification of judicial procedures, often executed by officer corps. One special place for the middle of the 19th century was the fortress of Bacalar, which controlled the border with British dominions in Belize. It was one of the crucial points for importation of contraband into Yucatán peninsula, and if before 1847 it had been mostly civil goods, with the start of the Caste War, Belizean entrepreneurs actively participated in supply of rebels with armament and munitions. They were contrabandists of such kind who were captured on September 13 of 1849 in the border outpost in Chaac upon the Río Hondo.They left behind themselves the “Four Sisters” boat case – the document that shed light not only on the details of simplified court procedures in the 19th century Mexico but also on various details of wartime daily life in that remote fortress.