chiefdom · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Cochuah

1441 CE – 1544 CE (approx.) · capital Tihosuco

A Maya province of eastern Yucatán centred on Tihosuco, conquered in 1544, whose region later became the cradle of the Caste War.

Origins

Cochuah emerged after the collapse of the League of Mayapan around 1441. It lay in the forests of east-central Yucatán, in what is now Quintana Roo, with Tihosuco and Ichmul among its main towns.

Rule and society

Colonial sources describe Cochuah as a warlike province whose towns were governed by local lords. Its people farmed maize and cotton and traded with the coastal provinces. Little else is recorded of its institutions.

Decline and legacy

Gaspar and Melchor Pacheco conquered Cochuah in 1544 with great violence, and it became part of the Province of Yucatán. In 1847 the Caste War of Yucatán, a long Maya uprising, broke out at nearby Tepich and centred on the Tihosuco district.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

League of Mayapan 1220 CE – 1441 CECochuahProvince of Yucatán 1542 CE – 1821 CE

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cochuah. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cochuah
MLA
“Cochuah.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cochuah. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Cochuah.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cochuah.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cochuah’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cochuah (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻