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The Pueblo Revolt of 1680: Conquest and Resistance in Seventeenth-Century New Mexico

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A very interesting book on a rare event where the Indians actually drove out their white conquerors from a long established colony. In 1680, the Pueblo Indians of northern New Mexico rose up in massive revolt against their Spanish overlords and managed for a short time, to regained their independence from colonial rule. This revolt came after nearly four generations of colonial rule where continued Spanish misrule generated this revolt.

The book proves to be well written and researched as the author explained how this revolt came to be. According to the author, much of for the revolt had to do with the following factors. Rejection of Christianity, economic dependency on the white, inter-racial marriages between whites and Indians and how that reflects on the fact that small numbers of Europeans were controlling larger numbers of Indians. In four generations, many of the Spanish colonialists have intermarried with the local Indians, blurring the racial lines. White intimidation fades as the conqerors and the conquered blended in.

The book proves to be a short read but it turned out to be very informative and rather an eye-opener. Spanish did managed to reconquered New Mexico once more in the 1690s, never again were the Indians sucessful in pushing out their European overlords which have been in place for generations. (It would be like if the 1862 Dakota Indian Revolt in Minnesota were successful!) The book come highly recommended for those interested in western colonial history.

This book concerns a topic of the Spanish Borderlands settlement from a period of the mid 1500's on to the year 1680, year of the revolt by the Pueblo peoples. The author gives his best effort to present some history both before and after this revolt.

The area covered in this study is pretty much New Mexico where by the year 1601 there were approximately 250 settlers, while the indignant tribes numbered in the thousands. Most of the settlers did not reside within the Pueblos. All the settlements were completely ringed by Indians (Jicarilla, Mesacalero, Chiricahua, and Navajo) and suffered from both raiding parties to war parties. The settlements were desired by higher authorities in both of the power centers of that time: Mexico City and Madrid. The reasons included a desire for added wealth for the king and empire, a desire to convert the native tribes to Catholicism, and the looking for a South Sea harbor to the west, among others. These settlements were at best "unfortunate" colonies containing very dissatisfied settlers.

The reasons why the Spanish desired to settle New Mexico have been stated above, however, this is what the settlers found: Scant resources, sandy land lacking both wood and water, no pastures, land both colder and hotter than they were used to, few minerals, and no gold or silver. Many settlers arrived poor expecting to better their condition but remained even poorer after years of settlement. Just feeding and clothing oneself was a challenge. Near impossible to rely on Pueblo for help as the native peoples had the similar problems obtaining food and clothing.

Even by 1607 the governor and captain general at San Juan guessed the number of Christian converts at no more than 600 people, and that was probably a generous estimate. Most Indians, especially due to the Spanish heavy handed mistreatment, 'scorned' baptism and remained increasingly hostile. The Spaniards were always outnumbered and the eventual hostility of the Pueblos not only worked against them but increasingly led to massacres and the final revolt.

As one reviewer stated, possibly other books are equally well worth reading, yet this book is written well and assembled in a manner that allows a serious reader to come away with an understanding of the factors behind this revolt by the Pueblos in the year 1680.

Recommended for the interested Spanish Borderland readers concerned with the history of New Mexico that eventually led to the revolt of 1680 chasing the hated Spanish overseers out for many years.

Semper Fi.

This book was a real disappointment. I do not recommend it to anyone interested in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. There are much better books on the subject available: The Pueblo Revolt : The Secret Rebellion That Drove the Spaniards Out of the Southwest, The Pueblo Revolt (Bison Book), and Po'pay: Leader of the First American Revolution.

Check out the above titles and skip this one.