Abstract

VALENCIA SUAREZ, María Fernanda. English Imperial Aspirations in the Yucatan and Central America, 1584-1800. Trace (Méx. DF) [online]. 2022, n.81, pp.214-246.  Epub Jan 01, 2022. ISSN 2007-2392.  https://doi.org/10.22134/trace.81.2022.820.

From the last quarter of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century, some Englishmen (such as merchants, sailors, adventurers, scholars, courtiers, military men, government officers and members of parliament) regarded the mainland of Yucatan and Central America as strategically located to compete against Spain. They also considered it to be full of richness and inhabited by indigenous groups who were hostile towards Spain so they could be potential allies of England. Due to this, they considered it was possible, and not difficult, to occupy the region and to control the mines, the resources and wealthy cities of Spanish America. In this way, England could consolidate its empire by establishing a stronghold to advance the fight against Spain. In this paper the arguments and military strategies formulated by Englishmen who aspired to dominate Yucatan and Central America as well as their attempts to persuade some of their countrymen and the government of London to back them are analysed. This article also deals with the obstacles they faced, the outcomes achieved and the circumstances that allowed some of their plans to be implemented.

Keywords : English imperialism; military strategies; Yucatan; Central America; Anglo-Spanish rivalries.

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