Batuco

Batuco lies in the wider Yaqui country of northwestern Mexico, where the Río Yaqui valley forms the heartland of the Hiaki or Yoeme people. Before Spanish contact, communities along the lower river farmed maize, beans and squash on ground renewed by seasonal floods. Other Yaqui lived nearer the river mouth and drew food from the sea, while desert and mountain groups hunted and gathered. This varied economy tied settlements to water, floodplains and several different ecological zones. Yaqui remains a tonal language in the Uto-Aztecan family, with a Cahitan affiliation.

Spanish contact began in 1533 and was followed by decades of resistance. Jesuits received permission to work among the Yaqui in 1617 and gathered communities into eight towns. During a mission relationship lasting about 120 years, they introduced wheat, cattle and horses while the Yaqui retained land and much local self-government. Later encroachment helped provoke the revolt of 1740.