In January 1847, Bonifacio Novelo, a Maya captain of the Campeche army, ordered his infantry to attack Valladolid and the execution of the military chief. The Yucateco leaders responded by ordering the capture and execution of Maya leaders, Jacinto Pat, Bonifacio Novelo, Cecilio Chi, and Manuel Antonio Ay, who were feared to be plotting a revolt against the Yucatecos (Dzules). The Yucatec troops captured and executed Manuel Antonio Ay, destroyed Cecilio Chi´s ranch, raped a girl, and shot and killed four other Maya. On 30 July 1847, Cecilio Chi and his troops attacked the village of Tepich and burnt it to the ground, killing 30 white/mestizo families and raping the girls. The war had began.

Mestizo and Mayan people began fleeing Mexico into British Honduras during the Yucatán Caste War.