Archaeologists in Mexico identify first Mayan slave ship

[Judi Lynn]

Ship had been used to take Mayas captured during an 1847-1901 rebellion to work in sugarcane fields in Cuba

Associated Press in Mexico City
Tue 15 Sep 2020 16.42 EDT

Archaeologists in Mexico have identified a ship that carried Mayan people into virtual slavery in the 1850s, the first time such a ship has been found.

The wreck of the Cuban-based paddle-wheel steamboat was found in 2017, but wasn’t identified until researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History checked contemporary documents and found it was the ship “La Unión”.

The ship had been used to take Mayas captured during and 1847-1901 rebellion known as “The War of the Castes” to work in sugarcane fields in Cuba.

Slavery was illegal in Mexico at the time, but operators of similar ships had reportedly deceived Mayas left landless by the conflict to “sign on” as contract workers, often in Cuba, though they were treated like slaves.

The La Unión was on a trip to Havana in September 1861 when its boilers exploded and it sank off the once-important Yucatan port of Sisal.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/15/mexico-identifies-first-mayan-slave-ship

[marble falls]

1. How do you find these great articles????

[Judi Lynn]

2. One quick way is simply doing a search for "anthropology news" and it's always good to keep links

to ones which have provided interesting articles earlier. There are great sources. so many it's overwhelming thinking how many people are writing now, new material seems to be everywhere.

Totally habit-forming.