Battle of Mazocoba facts for kids

The Battle of Mazocoba was a big fight during the Yaqui Wars in Sonora, Mexico. On January 18, 1900, the Mexican Army met many Yaqui people about twenty miles east of Guaymas. During this battle, hundreds of people were killed or hurt. Over 1,000 Yaquis were also captured.

Quick facts for kids Battle of Mazocoba
Part of the Yaqui Wars, Mexican Indian Wars
Date January 18, 1900 Location near Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico Result Mexican victory, Yaquis retreat.
Belligerents
Mexico	Yaqui
Commanders and leaders
Lorenzo Torres	Tetabiate Teresa Urrea
Strength
1,000–3,000	2,000
Casualties and losses
89 killed 210 wounded 54 killed 125 wounded	~90 killed or wounded 66 captured ~397 killed ~1,000 captured ~1,000 killed

The Battle of Mazocoba: A Major Fight

The Yaqui people and the Mexicans had been fighting for many years. Sometimes there were periods of peace. In 1897, a Mexican Army officer named General Lorenzo Torres tried to make peace. He talked with the Yaqui Chief Tetabiate, also known as Juan Maldonado.

Peace Efforts and Renewed Conflict

Chief Tetabiate led a group of several hundred Yaqui people. In May 1897, they signed a peace treaty at Ortiz. This treaty asked the Yaqui to change their way of life. They were supposed to become individual land owners. Tetabiate and about 400 of his people gave up. But soon after, they went back to the Sierra del Bacatete mountains. They continued to raid from there.

The situation became worse in August 1899. Yaquis in Bácum and Vícam started fighting again. General Torres had not followed the peace treaty. He kept his soldiers in Yaqui territory. More than 2,000 Yaqui warriors gathered along the Yaqui River. They fought the Mexican soldiers. The Yaquis had many casualties and had to retreat.

Setting the Stage for Mazocoba

After this, Tetabiate led between 2,000 and 3,000 people. They went to a rocky desert plateau called Mazocoba. This area was about twenty-five square miles in size. It was also about twenty-five miles east of Guaymas. General Torres gathered the largest army ever sent against the Yaqui. He had over 5,000 soldiers, both federal and state.

On January 18, 1900, General Torres led a force of 1,000 to 3,000 soldiers. They met Tetabiate and about 2,000 Yaqui warriors at Mazocoba.

Fighting at Mazocoba

A newspaper story from The New York Times on February 3, 1900, talked about the battle. It said Tetabiate and Santa Teresa were heading to Guaymas. They wanted to capture the port. The Mexicans caught up with them after they had gone only eight miles. The article also mentioned other Yaquis. They were "still hold[ing] the mouth of the [Rio] Yaqui." They had stopped all steamships from entering or leaving the river.

The New York Times article incorrectly said the battle happened on January 25. It stated that fighting started at 8:00 am and lasted for three hours. It also claimed General Torres and eighty-nine of his men were killed. Another 210 were captured, and fifty-nine men were missing. However, General Torres was not killed. He continued fighting the Yaquis for many months after.

Another report said the Mexicans lost fifty-four killed and 125 wounded. This report might not be fully accurate. It does not mention the dozens of men who went missing. The battle was mostly fought on foot. Both sides used big rocks for cover. The fight ended when the Yaquis retreated back to the Sierra del Bacatete. The Mexicans did not chase them. Instead, the Mexican soldiers also left.

Yaqui casualties are also reported differently. It is generally thought that at least 397 Yaqui men, women, and children were killed. About 1,000 more were captured. Other reports say over 1,000 Yaquis died. The New York Times said only ninety were killed or wounded, and sixty-six were captured.

What Happened After the Battle

After the Battle of Mazocoba, Colonel García Peña estimated the Yaqui strength. He thought there were between 900 and 1,040 Yaquis in the Bacatete mountains. By the end of that year, General Torres believed there were only about 300.

End of the Campaign and Deportation

Tetabiate himself was killed by one of his own men in 1901. By August, the Mexican Army stopped its fighting campaign. This was mainly because fighting the Yaquis was very expensive. Also, President Porfirio Diaz had a policy to remove Yaquis from their lands. The idea of moving the Yaquis from northern Mexico came up as early as the 1860s. But it was not until 1902 that Diaz put this idea into action.

The Yaqui were the main group to be moved. But Opata, Pimas, and Mayos were also forced to leave their homes. Most of these native people were gathered by Colonel Emilio Kosterlitsky. They were sent to San Blas, in Nayarit. From there, they were sent to work on henequen plantations in the Yucatan. Others went to sugarcane plantations in Oaxaca. Many people died while they were held captive.

Scattering of the Yaqui People

Those who escaped being moved were spread across northern Mexico. Some even settled across the border in southern Arizona. Evelyn Hu-DeHart, a history professor, said the Yaquis "had become the most widely scattered native people of North America." She noted that not even the Cherokee, who were moved from Georgia to Oklahoma, were as widely spread out.

Even though the army stopped fighting in August 1901, most Yaquis in the Sierra del Bacatete did not give up until January 1909. The Mexican government allowed some to settle on empty land in the Rio Yaqui valley. But the rest were apparently moved away. Between 1902 and 1908, between 8,000 and 15,000 Yaquis were moved. This was out of an estimated population of 30,000.

Continued Resistance

The Yaquis who gave up in 1909 were led by Luis Buli. He agreed to help the Mexicans find the remaining fighters under Luis Espinosa. But their efforts were not very successful. When the Mexican Revolution began in 1910, Espinosa and his group were still fighting their own war.

Images for kids

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  A depiction of the Battle of Mazocoba.