Mérida was founded by conquistador Francisco Montejo on January 6, 1542, on the site of a much earlier Mayan city called T’ho and soon became an important Spanish stronghold.

During the Colonial period, the city’s first families lived in the streets surrounding the main square and poorer citizens occupied designated barrios or neighborhoods, for example, to the west lay the Mayan districts of Santiago and Santa Catarina; to the east, San Cristóbal was inhabited by Indians from the central Mexican highlands who had fought on the side of the Spaniards. Santa Lucía was a Negro and colored neighborhood north of the square and San Sebastián, another Mayan barrio, lay to the south. Each district had its own church; mansions, convents and colleges also sprang up as the city began to grow.

After Mexico threw off Spanish rule in 1821, Yucatán had its own aspirations for Independence and seceded from Mexico on two occasions in 1842 and 1846. In 1847, the Maya turned against the wealthy Yucatecan elite and the bloody conflict that ensued and lasted for 55 years was known as the Caste War. The rebels advanced rapidly on Mérida and it was besieged, miraculously surviving because the Maya abandoned their posts and returned to their villages to tend their fields.  The Yucatecan government turned to Spain, United States and Great Britain for aid but none was forthcoming. In 1854, the territory was once more incorporated into Mexico. 

   In the final years of the nineteenth century, Mérida became a boomtown thanks to increased demand for henequen or sisal, a native plant used to make rope. A small group of influential landowners became rich overnight and at one time the city had more millionaires than New York. They spent their fortunes on palatial residences, stately civic monuments and the latest European fashions.

Mérida has a population of around 950,000 and is a thriving commercial, educational and cultural center. It has four universities, a medical school and several important hospitals, a convention center, shopping malls, theaters, movie houses and a host of restaurants and bars. Communication and transport links are excellent: the International Airport is located 15 minutes from Downtown; the port of Progreso is a 30-minute drive away and a toll road links the city to Cancún (3.5 hour drive) and the other beach resorts along the Mexican Caribbean coast.