JUCATAN, or YUCATAN, a large province of New Spain in North America, which is a peninsula. It is over against the island of Cuba, and contains a large quantity of timber, proper for building ships; as also sugar, cassia, and Indian corn. The original inhabitants are few, they having been very ill used by the Spaniards. Merida is the capital town. It is a flat level country; and is very unhealthy, which may be owing to the frequent inundations.