After more than eighty years of persecution, the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico finally revolted against their Spanish conquerors. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is a monumental event in American history. It marks the only time a Native American tribe successfully expelled a European power from native lands for an extended period of time. Although the Spanish eventually regained control over New Mexican territory in the mid-1690s, the Pueblo Revolt is a revolutionary example of the power of cooperation, determination, and great leadership. Andrew Knaut provides an in depth analysis of the Pueblo culture in his book, The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, as well as the critical events and political legislation that occurred in the time leading up to the revolt. He introduces his readers to little known facts about Pueblo life, Spanish brutality, and the inconsistency of leadership from the royal crown in Spain. Little is left to the imagination, as Knaut provides gruesome details of violence, hardship, and tragedy.
King Philip II appointed Juan de Oñate governor of New Mexico in 1595. By no means was Oñate the first Spaniard to cross the Atlantic, but his mission officially opened the colony of New Mexico to colonial expansion. King Philip II gave Oñate explicit instructions of how to carry out his entrada. Oñate was to "attract the natives with peace, friendship, and good treatment" (Knaut, 20). None of Onate’s men were to "commit excesses or set bad examples," as so many Spanish entrepreneurs have done on prior expeditions (Knaut, 21). And finally, King Philip II warned Oñate repeatedly to "provision his men amply" (Knaut, 31). By befriending the native people and introducing them to the Catholic faith, Oñate would complete his mission of establishing a permanent Spanish presence in the region.
What had originally been planned to be an "amply supplied" expedition of 200 men in 1595 eventually became one of only 129 men. Not only did Oñate have fewer men than he anticipated, but their supplies and morale were low after a three-year delay for departure. Oñate and his men finally arrived in New Mexico in 1598. They were not greeted by the Pueblos with open arms, but instead found that the Indians fled to the hill country upon seeing the Spanish approach their village. The Pueblos remembered their bitter experiences with previous Spaniards and did not trust these Europeans. However, some Pueblos, most likely the weak and elderly, did not flee when the Spanish entered their village. These "affable and docile" people, as the Spanish described them, would endure decades of persecution not only by Oñate, but also by his many predecessors. A statue of Onate can be found today in El Paso, Texas. For more information on the controversy of this statue, click here: "As a Sculpture Takes Place in Mexico, Opposition Takes Place in the U.S."
Just as the Pueblos had learned that the Spaniards were to be feared, the Spaniards learned that intimidation usually ensured Pueblo obedience and thus a pattern was born. Oñate had intended to break from this pattern and approach the Pueblos nonviolently, but the delays he faced prevented him from amply supplying his expedition. Months passed and by December of 1598, the Spanish had run out of food. Explorers under the supervision of maestre de campo Juan de Zaldívar were sent to search for provisions in Acoma. Thirty-one men accompanied Zaldívar, but the Pueblos of Acoma deemed Zaldívar’s demands for food and supplies too great. The Acoma Pueblos attacked the Spaniards, killing eleven, including Zaldívar.
The European ego at this time was incredibly high. For years, the Spanish had invaded the Pueblos’ lands, mistreated their people, and stolen their food. Simply because the Pueblos tried to defend themselves from this persecution at Acoma, Oñate launched a punitive quest against them. He claimed the need to reestablish order by means of a “quick and effective punishment” (Knaut, 40). He completely ignored the orders given to him by King Philip II. With their advanced technology, the Spanish were able to successfully penetrate the fortress at Acoma and attacked the Indians with guns and cannons until they surrendered. After his explanation of the battle at Acoma, Knaut gives much detail of the gruesome nature of the fight. No Spaniards were killed and only a handful was wounded, but roughly eight hundred Indians died defending their homeland. Those who died in the battle were the lucky ones. “Of the Indians who survived – approximately five hundred, eighty of who were adult males – all were taken as prisoners and removed to San Juan, arriving there on February 9, 1599 . . . Oñate sentenced all males over twenty-five years of age to have one foot cut off and to be distributed among Oñate’s captains for twenty years of personal servitude” (Knaut, 45).
The events at Acoma demonstrated the Spanish military capacity. The Pueblo would never forget the Spanish cruelty, but would have no success with expulsion for over eighty years. Throughout the seventeenth century, the Pueblo Indians were responsible for meeting payments of tribute to the Spaniards in the form of maize and clothing. It was truly an ironic situation, perhaps one of the most ironic in American history. The Spaniards invaded Pueblo land, killed the Pueblo people, and demanded Pueblo tribute; they therefore had complete control. The Pueblos, on the other hand, were forced to succumb to Spanish authority and religion because the Spaniards were the ones with the food and the weapons. The Pueblo spent years storing up maize in kivas, so when drought came and no crops could be harvested, their people would not starve. It was a delicate system that the Spanish ruined by demanding tribute. In the end, the Spanish would end up not only affecting the Pueblos, but they made matters worse for themselves in this foreign land as well.
Although conversion to Catholicism was the often the only option for Pueblo survival, special efforts were made so not to lose their traditional culture. Acceptance of a friar into a Pueblo community was by no means a full-hearted acceptance of the Catholic faith, but primarily a means of resources and protection. A friar “guaranteed . . . community protection from an Apache menace” and also “ensured some form of assistance [maize] in years of difficulty” (Knaut, 72). For the Indians who opted no to convert, flight was an alternative, but this did not come with a consistent source of food and protection. As a result, many religious ceremonies began taking place underground. Controversy often arose between the friars and the Pueblos, but “the traditional Pueblo life-style remained alive and vigorous despite the efforts made by Franciscan missionaries and colonial authorities to eradicate native religious practices” (Knaut, 80).
The arrival of Governor López de Mendizábal in 1659 brought slight relief to those Pueblos who suffered from practicing religious rituals in secrecy. Now, more than ever, the tension between colonial authorities and clerical heads was heightened. Clergy members desired legitimate conversions of Indians to Catholicism, while political figures, such as Governor Mendizábal, wished only for Pueblo labor and commodities. In the latter part of 1659, Governor Mendizábal “enacted strict new regulations . . . that limited the services the Pueblos could provide for the missions” (Knaut, 104). Mendizábal also lifted the official ban on the dancing of the kachinas. This proved to be very controversial, as many “friars started to abandon the missions and their Pueblo parishioners” (Knaut, 108). Not only was there an ongoing struggle between the Spanish and the Pueblo, but there was also a continuing rivalry between the Spanish political leaders and the Spanish clergy. This rivalry weakened Spanish forces, while Pueblos were finally able to take progressive steps toward unity, power, and eventually, victory.The physical isolation of New Mexico from the Spanish royal crown took a toll on the European power in the mid-1600s. Few immigrants came to New Mexico because “difficult access, harsh living conditions, and few opportunities for economic gain” did little to attract them (Knaut, 131). Those who did make the arduous journey followed the Camino Real, the royal road that passed through much of the New Mexican territory. As a result of the scarcity of new comers, purebred Spaniards lost their superior status and miscegenation became common. This “lost colony” would soon earn its place back on the map in August of 1680.Under the leadership of a medicine man named Popé, the Pueblo finally drove the Spanish out of New Mexico. Antonio de Otermín, colonial governor of New Mexico in 1680, had no chance against the revolting Pueblo Indians, whose population numbered close to seventeen thousand at the time. Their cooperation was the key to their success and the planning of this rebellion took years. To read a brief biography of the heroic medicine man from Tewa, click here: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/pope.htm. Four hundred Spanish colonists were killed, while two thousand fled, including Otermín and his men. This heroic tale would have been more satisfying had the Pueblo managed to expel the Spaniards forever, but such was not the case. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 continues to serve as a revolutionary example of persecution, perseverance, and relatively unsuccessful religious mission work. To read a letter from Don Juan de Otermin in which he gives a full account of what happened immediately after the revolt, click here: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/one/pueblo.htm

*The names, places, and terms in yellow are highlighted to steer readers to new insights and perspectives of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

Works Cited

“Acoma.” Online Photograph. Britannica Student Encyclopedia. 8 Oct. 2008 http://student.britannica.com/eb/art-92618.

Barrara, Julio. Diego de Vargus. Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Chacón, George. The Pueblo Revolt. Taos Mural Project, Taos, New Mexico.

"El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail." Map. Adventures in the Past. Oct. 2000. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Cultural and Fossil Resources, Recreation, and Environmental Education Groups. 19 Oct. 2008 . 

“Kiva.” 8 Oct. 2008 http://www.8thfire.net/images/kiva.jpg

Knaut, Andrew L. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 : Conquest and Resistance in Seventeenth-
Century New Mexico. New York: University of Oklahoma P, 1997.

“The World’s Largest Equestrian Bronze (Don Juan de Oñate).” 8 Oct. 2008
http://www.12travlers.org