Revolución de los Ríos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Revolución de los Ríos
Part of the Yaqui Wars, Mexican Indian Wars
Date 1867-1868 Location Sonora, Mexico Result Mexican victory, Yaquis and Mayo retreat.
Belligerents
Mexico	Yaqui Mayo
Commanders and leaders
Ignacio Pesqueira Prospero Salazar Bustamante

The Revolución de los Ríos (which means Revolution of the Rivers) was a conflict that happened from 1867 to 1868. It involved the Mayo and Yaqui people, who lived along the Mayo and Yaqui Rivers in Sonora, Mexico. They rose up against the Mexican government.

This uprising was a part of the larger Yaqui Wars. Even though the Mexican government often defeated the Yaqui and Mayo groups, they kept fighting back. The conflict ended after a sad event where Mexican troops gathered over 400 Yaqui people, including women and children, into a church. Then, they fired upon the church, causing many deaths. The fighting finally stopped when big floods hit the Mayo and Yaqui rivers, making it impossible for the Indigenous communities to continue the war.

Why the Conflict Started

During a time called the Second French Intervention in Mexico, the Mexican government had treated Indigenous tribes in Sonora unfairly for a long time. Because of this, many members of these tribes decided to join the French. They helped the French set up the Second Mexican Empire.

The French gained allies among the Yaqui, the Mayo, and the Opata tribes. A leader named Refugio Tánori, who was chief of the Opatas, joined the Empire with a large group. The Yaqui leader Mateo Marquin also showed his support for the French. These native allies helped the French take control of Alamos, Sonora, and forced the Mexican Republican commander, Pesqueira, out of his base.

When the Empire started to fall, Tánori was captured by Republican forces and executed. The commander who carried out these executions was Prospero Salazar Bustamante. He would later be involved in the Bacum Massacre, which happened at the end of the Revolucion de los Rios.

The Uprising Begins

As the Second Mexican Empire was ending and the Mexican Republic was taking back control of Sonora, the Yaqui people started an uprising in June 1867. On July 1, Colonel Prospero Salazar Bustamante went to the area with soldiers to calm things down.

The Yaqui were peaceful for a short time but rebelled again later that year. The Mayo people also rebelled. A local official named Jose Prado felt it was necessary to start a military campaign against them.

The Yaqui rebels managed to kill one of the Mexican military commanders. By December, the Yaqui had reached the Rio Mayo. They attacked and defeated the soldiers stationed at Santa Cruz. Then, they moved on to the towns of Etchojoa and San Pedro.

The commander of the national guard, Alejo Toledo, gathered his forces at Navojoa. Soon after, Jose Prado marched towards Mayo to fight the rebels.

Governor Pesqueira set up his main base in Guaymas. From there, he sent Colonel Salazar Bustamante with 300 men from Guaymas, 200 from Hermosillo, and four cannons. Prefect Prado was sent with 400 men to control the Mayo people. Small groups of soldiers were also placed in other areas to watch the rebels.

Colonel Salazar Bustamante set up his camp near the mouth of the river. From there, he sent soldiers to fight the Indigenous groups, along with an Indigenous ally named Dionisio Salazar. Governor Pesqueira also ordered that after capturing rebel leaders, the remaining rebels should be sent to different towns and farms. The goal was to make them work in agriculture and mining.

Prefect Prado defeated the Mayo people. Then, he sent his forces against the remaining Yaqui rebels. On January 8, 1868, he defeated them at San Jose, and on January 10, at Bacum. On January 13, his forces met up with Colonel Bustamante's forces.

These operations were managed from Guaymas by General Garcia Morales. He ordered the soldiers stationed at Alamos to return to the Guaymas military area to keep peace among the Mayo. This was a good decision because the Mayo rose up again before the end of January. On February 13, they attacked the port of Agiabampo and took supplies. However, they were later defeated by Colonel Prado and other commanders.

The campaigns against the Yaqui continued actively through early 1868. Government forces patrolled the river, defeating any Yaqui groups they found. This forced Indigenous people to hide in the forests. Men were shot, women and children were taken away, and their belongings were seized.

The Bacum Church Event

On February 12, a group led by Colonel Bustamante fought some Indigenous people near Cócorit. Thirty-three men died, and the same number were taken prisoner. Three days later, about 600 Yaqui people, including women and children, came to the same town, wanting to surrender.

Colonel Salazar suspected they might be trying to trick him, so he took them all prisoner. He said he would release one prisoner for every firearm they turned in. After 48 firearms were given up, Bustamante released 48 prisoners.

With over 400 prisoners still held, Bustamante marched them on February 18 towards the town of Bacum. He locked the prisoners, including women and children, inside the church. He took ten leaders as hostages. He told the prisoners that if anyone tried to escape, the hostages would be shot.

Later that evening, the hostages were shot, with the reason given that an escape attempt had been detected. Then, the troops opened fire on the church. A cannon was placed at the church door and fired into it multiple times. The church caught fire, and many Yaqui people died. Others managed to escape in the confusion.

The government believed the rebellion was over by May 1868. Commander Garcia Morales ordered the remaining troops to leave the area in June. However, the Mayos attacked the town of Etchojoa on July 5. Then, 400 Mayos headed towards Santa Cruz.

Lieutenant Colonel Jose Otero left Alamos with soldiers to fight this new uprising. This conflict finally ended in October when large floods on the Rio Mayo destroyed the Indigenous communities. The floods made it impossible for them to continue fighting.