Isla Mujeres, México

Isla Mujeres was occupied by the Mayans before and after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The Isla Mujeres region, which includes the island, was peacefully handed over to the Spaniards by the Mayans in 1517. In 1847, the Mexican Indians and the central government began the War of Castes. The people of the Isla Mujeres region did not engage in the war, and so it became a refuge for people in the Yucatan Peninsula escaping the conflict.

The name, Isla Mujeres means “Island of Women.” There are two different legends for the origin of the name. The first has been frequently recounted by islanders and says that the island was used as a shelter for pirates, and that during their assaults they kidnapped women and brought them there. The romanticism of this story is furthered by the tales of the famous pirate, Fermin Mundaca. It is said that he fell in love with a female islander but she rejected him. To gain her affections, he built her a magnificent home, or hacienda. Unmoved, she married an islander. The legend says that Mundaca went mad and died a few years later. The remains of the hacienda can still be seen on the island. Mundaca's gravestone, which is located on the island, is marked with pirate symbols, and the inscription “As you are, I was. As I am, you will be.” Whether Mundaca really died on the island, however, is a mystery, since his body is missing from the gravesite. Some says he may have left the island and died in the city of Merida, but no one knows for sure.

The second legend is actually a bit more widely accepted among scholars. It says that during the 15th century Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba came to the island from Cuba looking for slaves for the Cuban mines. When the Spaniards reached the island, they found shrines filled with small figurines representing women. The temples was in honor of Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of fertility and love. Whether the small figurines represented her, or the pregnant woman who worshiped her, is still unclear. Any further study of the figurines is impossible, since all have been stolen and none are known to exist.

Isla Mujeres was officially founded as a modern city on August 17, 1854. Every year, there are celebrations in the city's center to commemorate the event.

The island is 8 km (5 miles) long and is 800 meters (1/2 a mile) wide at its widest part. It is located just off the coast of the city of Cancun around 8 km (5 miles) from Punta Sam and 10 km (7 miles) from Puerto Juarez.