Quintana Roo, << keen tahn uh ROH, >> is a state on the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico. Quintana Roo covers 19,387 square miles (50,212 square kilometers). At the time of the 2020 census, the population was 1,857,985. Most of the people live in a few coastal cities. The capital is Chetumal (formerly Payo Obispo).
For many years, the state economy was based on agriculture and fishing. In the 1970’s, the Mexican government launched a campaign to promote tourism. Today, many tourists visit the Riviera Maya, a strip of hotels and resorts along the state’s Caribbean coast. Clear, warm water and extensive coral reefs have made the Riviera a popular destination for snorkelers and scuba divers. The southern part of the state has many impressive ruins from the Maya civilization. Inland from the coast, agriculture is the chief economic activity.
The area that is now Quintana Roo was once part of the state of Yucatán. In 1847, a Maya peasant rebellion known as the Caste War broke out in Yucatán. Thousands of rebels fled to the forests and coastal areas of what is now Quintana Roo. The rebels established the town of Chan Santa Cruz (present-day Felipe Carrillo Puerto). Over time, they spread to smaller villages. They controlled the area until 1901, and it became a territory of Mexico in 1902. The government named the territory after Andres Quintana Roo, a Yucatán-born statesman who supported Mexican independence. In 1974, the territory became a state.
