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Some Maya, who had fled the strife in the north but had no wish to become
subjects of the British, settled in the remote area of the Yalbac Hills, just
beyond the woodcutting frontier in the northwest. By 1862 about 1,000 Maya
established themselves in ten villages in this area, with the center in San
Pedro. One group of Maya, led by Marcos Canul, attacked a mahogany camp on the
Bravo River in 1866, demanding ransom for their prisoners and rent for their
land. A detachment of British troops sent to San Pedro was defeated by the Maya
later that year. Early in 1867, more than 300 British troops marched into the
Yalbac Hills and destroyed the Mayan villages, provision stores, and granaries
in an attempt to drive them out of the district.
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