In August of 1680, the Pueblo Indians of northern New Mexico united lashing back against Spanish domination. In his book "The Pueblo Rebolt of 1680: Conquests and Resistance in Seventeenth-Century New Mexico," author Andrew L. Knaut does something very original: he analyzes both the Spanish and the Pueblo cultures to understand past conflicts and history that led to the dynamic of the two cultures.(1) This allows readers to gain a more in-depth understanding of the elements that enabled the evolution of this revolt. Generally, accounts of the revlot have tended to be biased since only Spanish records were saved, but Knaut uses concrete examples of violence and hardship to inspire readers' imaginations and to give them a clearer understanding of what the revolt was all about.
Throughout the 1500’s, the Spanish had set a precedent of blatant oppression forcing Native Americans into encomienda systems.(2) This system was employed during the Spanish conquests of the America’s and Phillippines; the purpose of this system acknowledged by the Spanish was to assist the colonists in the evangelization of the Natives.(3) However the system also functioned as a way to enslave the natives. This system of pseudo-slavery was not devised by an order from the Spanish crown; one missionary reported “the Spanish treat the Indians like excrement on the Spanish square (Bartolome de las Casas Destruction of the Indies, 1565). The Spanish traveled north of the Gulf of Mexico and to the Southeastern United States in search for gold and slaves, but it wasn’t until Cabeza de Vaca’s stories(4) that tempted the Spanish to push northward in the United States. His stories centered around the Pueblo Indians and about the seven cities of Cibola, and he is known as the man who actually encouraged the takeover of the Pueblo Indians.
Franciscan missionaries, aspiring conquistadores, and profit-hungry entrepreneurs were lured into the Pueblo region of New Mexico (Knaut, 17).(4) Juan de Onate, one of those missionaries, led a religious expedition and established the first permanent Spanish colony in New Mexico in 1598. After settling in, Onate and his men began to run out of food near the Acoma Pueblo and demanded food from the inhabitants who declined and instead, killed 31 Spaniards. Because of their disobedience, Onate attacked the Acoma Pueblo, captured it, and began his conversion of the Pueblos. During the attack, more than 800 citizens died. The disturbance that occurred at the Acoma Pueblo was a warning sign for Onate: “his dream of a “new world, greater than New Spain,” had vanished. In its place now stood a barren and impoverished colony, a handful of Spaniards, and an overwhelmingly Pueblo majority” (Knaut, 52).
Not only did the Spanish have to worry about the Pueblos but they also had to worry about their own battle between the church and state. On page 88, Knaut points out that these disputes between Franciscan missionaries, the royal governor, and the Spanish settlers in seventeenth-century New Mexico came from each group’s desire to control Pueblo land, labor, and tribute. These disputes were very beneficial to the Pueblos as leaders were able to show their support for the preservation of their community and ways of life more openly. One of the leading figures for these Spanish disputes was Governor Bernardo Lopez de Mendizabal who arrived in New Mexico in July of 1659, and “quickly recognized that access to Pueblo labor was a key to economic success” (Knaut, 103). Unlike the clergy, Lopez de Mendizabal was not as interested in Pueblo conversion as he was in economic gain. In 1661, Diego de Penalosa became the new governor and put an end to the church-state violence.
As time went on, Spain began to steer away from the Pueblo lands of New Mexico because it was in the middle of nowhere and caused the Spanish to become disjointed. New Mexico was the “forgotten province” (Knaut, 122) and was unpopular because it was hard to get supplies to and from the land. At the center of the traveling problem was Camino Real, the road that the Spanish had used previously to bring in new supplies from Mexico. As the Spanish became disorganized, the Pueblos did the opposite, and began to get ready for their uprising. Pueblo leaders convened during saint’s day festivals because they feared the Spaniards would learn of their plans (Knaut, 169).
Even though planning for the revolt took years and had to be kept secret, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 turned out to be very successful. 400 colonists were killed, and another 2000 fled from New Mexico. The Pueblos rid themselves of the Spaniards for nearly a decade.(5) The revolt is known as the most successful Indian uprising in American history, and through it, the Pope became one of the greatest Indian leaders of all time.
The Pueblos’ understanding and effective exploitation of legal, political, and commercial relations within the Spanish system helped protect their community from European infringement, but the Indians’ acceptance of and reliance upon that system to serve their needs actually tied them into the colonial structure to a degree not seen in the generations before the revolt (Knaut, 186). Looking back on the book, Knaut sheds the light upon some important events that led to the revolt. He talks about Penalosa(6) and how his emergence caused and allowed more and more members of the Pueblo community to practice religion underground in sanctuaries called kivas. Knaut talks about the first drought starting in 1666 and how it led to famine and how it caused an epidemic to spread in 1671. Also near this time, the Apache raids became fierce. He points to the population decline, from 130,000 in 1581 to 17,000 in 1680, and the Governor Juan Francisco Trevino who banned Pueblos from gathering in kivas and killed 47 medicine men. And lastly, he looks into the leadership of the revolt, and how the pope took over and led a more successful revolt.
Throughout history there have been countless occasions of oppression. In this book Knaut uses historical fact to create a narrative that illuminates both sides of the story; the author paints a picture in readers minds and as a result, readers are better able to grasp the complex series of actions and circumstances that produced the revolt. Thus, by revealing the humanity behind the facts the author allows readers to understand how a revolt can occur. No matter the time or the place, when the human spirit is subject to such severe oppression, huge feats of will and strength can be achieved. We must use the past to guide our actions in the present, as the human spirit can only be exploited for so long. By revealing how alternating perspectives can lead to such a conflict the author also illustrates the necessity of looking outside one’s own point of view. In an age of ever-increasing globalization, readers can look to this book as evidence to the power of understanding alternate perspectives. Now more than ever before people cannot be single minded; we must always be cognizant of the fact that there are two sides to every issue, if not more. In order to achieve peace and progress we must always strive to understand what creates and perpetuates different perspectives.
Works Cited
Knaut, Andrew L. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 : Conquest and Resistance in Seventeenth Century New Mexico. New York: University of Oklahoma P, 1997.
Additional Links
Noted above, these links can be used to provide further inisght and understanding about the causes and consequences of the the revlot.
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