ort of Sisal was occupied by the field marshal, Pedro de Ballesteros in 1585. It received the name "Santa María de Zizal", which was granted to it by Fray Diego López de Cogolludo. The name of Sisal comes from the Mayan meaning "Place where the cold is heavy and penetrating". Other meanings attributed to the name of the port are: "Freshness and shade made by large trees" and "son or daughter of a woman".[citation needed] As in the pre-Hispanic era, Sisal had commercial and political importance during the Colony. Here cotton, dye stick, tobacco and scarlet were sold, as well as the Yucatecan henequen that was exported from this port, which is why the agave fiber is called sisal or sisalana in other latitudes. Commercial Importance Sisal was declared a minor port on 3 March 1811. Previously, in 1798, it was granted absolute freedom of rights for direct trade with Spain as in the interior from port to port. Sisal acquired great importance after that appointment, because the Merida trade and the peninsula with Spain and Cuba, was made by this place. The good situation did not last long, due to the poor conditions of the port, in addition to the roads in poor condition that led to Merida, made the transit of goods inadequate. Another disadvantage was the lack of sufficient defenses in the case of being attacked by pirates. Sisal was connected to Mérida by a road of 53 km finished in 1564, but the swamp made the route difficult, unlike Campeche, which finally dominated the communication to the sea. In any case, due to its economic impotence, Sisal was declared a town in 1840, being the seat of the City Council that controlled the Yucatán coast from Celestún to Isla Mujeres. The appointment was proclaimed by Benito Pérez Valdelomar, governor of Yucatán. In the middle of the 18th century, the port of Sisal was already in third place due to the number of its exports, second only to Carmen and Campec
