Bacalar

Bacalar was a city of the Maya civilization in Pre-Columbian times, and was founded in 415 A.D. with the name of "Sian Ka'an Bakhalal".

It was the first city in the region that the Spanish Conquistadores succeeded in taking and holding, in 1543 (during the 1543–1544 Pachecos entrada).

The southern half of what is now Quintana Roo was governed from Bacalar, answerable to the Captain General of Yucatán in Mérida.

After pirates sacked the town in the 17th century, the Fortress de San Felipe Bacalar was completed in 1729, and may be visited today.

In 1848, during the Caste War of Yucatán, rebellious Chan Santa Cruz Maya conquered the town.