The 1680’s Pueblo Indians and the Spanish

1. The 1680’s Pueblo Indians and the Spanish By Dalin Arave B8

2. The Pueblo revolt • In 1680 the pueblo people revolted against the Spanish. • “The Pueblo killed 400 Spanish and drove the remaining 2,000 settlers out of the province. Twelve years later the Spanish returned and were able to reoccupy New Mexico with little opposition.” • “In 1680, Pueblo Indians revolted against the estimated 2,500 Spanish colonists in New Mexico, killing 400 of them and driving the rest back into Mexico. The conquering Pueblos sacked Santa Fe and burned most of the buildings, except the Palace of the Governors. Pueblo Indians occupied Santa Fe until 1692, when Don Diego de Vargas reconquered the region and entered the capital city after a bloodless siege.” • The governor at the time was Governor Otermin

3. missions • “The natives were forced to be baptized At first, some Native Americans chose to stay at the missions. There they learned new ways of living and working. However, many Native Americans were forced to work on mission farms and ranches. Some fought back, tearing down churches and other mission buildings. Some settlers in the borderlands held much land. Some built large homes or estates called haciendas, where they often raised cattle and sheep. The Spanish, and the animals they brought with them, changed life for many Native Americans. Horses, long extinct in the Americas, once again roamed the land. Some Native American tribes leaned to tame horses for use in hunting and war. Some learned to raise sheep and to use their wool to make clothing. ”

4. slavery • “At first, very few Europeans settled in the Americas. After more gold and silver were found, many more colonist came. They hoped to get rich. Others came to start large farms, called plantations. By 1550, there were about 100,000 Spanish colonists spread across the Americas. To the south of New Spain, Portugal formed the colony of Brazil.    Both Spain and Portugal need many workers to grow crops and to mine gold and silver. They forced Native Americans they had conquered into slavery, which is the practice of holding people against their will and making them work without pay. Many thousands of Native Americans died from hunger and the work they did. Thousands more died of diseases that settlers brought with them from Europe. Diseases such as measles, smallpox, and influenza sometimes killed whole tribes.     Some colonists became concerned about how the Native Americans were being treated. One such colonist was Bartolome de Las Casas. He was a landowner who later became a priest. He freed his enslaved workers and spoke out in favor of better treatment of Native Americans. As more Native Americans died the colonist began to capture Africans to be enslaved workers.”

5. But why did the Pueblos revolt? • After the conquest of northern New Mexico by Juan de Oñate at the turn of the seventeenth century Spanish authorities systematically subjugated the inhabitants of the pueblos. Indians who had lived and worshiped independently for centuries were forced to abandon their religions, adopt Christianity, and pay tribute to Spanish rulers. Their traditional centers of worship (kivas) were destroyed along with the sacramental objects (kachinas) with which their ceremonies and devotions had always been performed. Resistance to Spanish rule was met with imprisonment, torture, and amputations. • So of course they revolted! I would’ve too!

6. Life for… The Pueblos The Spanish • Most were put into missions and forced to practice the Spanish religion • Any other kind of faith practiced was considered the devils work • Had to farm or work for Spanish • Lived in reservations • All of them were Catholic • Most had Pueblos work for them • Lived much better than the Pueblos (more wealthy)

7. Just some extra info! • For a period of 70 years beginning in the early 17th century, Spanish soldiers and officials, as well as Franciscan missionaries, sought to subjugate and convert the Pueblo Indians of the region. The indigenous population at the time was close to 100,000 people, who spoke nine basic languages and lived in an estimated 70 multi-storied adobe towns (pueblos), many of which exist today.

8. What I have learned • What I have learned while doing all of this is that nobody should be forced into a religion.(Especially if you don’t want them to revolt against you) Also that life was very tough for the Pueblos back in the 1600’s and I should be grateful for what I have. Especially freedom of religion. ( and all other kinds of freedom for that matter!) I have also learned many historical facts about what occurred during the year 1680. Like how the Pueblos revolted (and can you blame them) against the Spanish in Santa Fe. And that they lost won until twelve years later when the Spanish came back for their land fighting! I learned the Pueblo were pushed too hard and treated poorly by the Spanish and I feel pretty bad for them. I found it interesting that the Pueblos considered death to be far worse than being separated from their faith, families, and land. What was also pretty interesting to me was how each and every one of these modern day fairy tales were twisted and changed to fit the Spanish version of it. I thought it was pretty cool actually how most of the people that came into contact with Serafina changed for the better about their feelings for the Pueblo. I can understand however why some of the Spanish people in the crowd wanted the Pueblo to lose the trial. It’s because they feel it would be unfair if their act(s) went unpunished. Even the Governor at one point wanted them to lose the trial, however he was the one who was able to make it happen, but later , I believe, he not only freed them because of his deal but also because he was changing. I have to admit I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of doing the research however it was well worth it and I definitely did learn. I have learned that hard work often comes with a good lesson. I know it sounds like I'm wrapping it up but I still have a couple hundred words actually. I also enjoyed learning about the missions that the Pueblos were taken to and forced into baptisms. It surprised me that anyone would do that and it quite frankly scares me a little bit. I kind of wonder what would have happened if instead of the Spanish taking the Pueblo, it was the other way around. It very well could have ended up very worse. It is wrong to force people onto reserves let alone missions. And then take some of there stuff and put them into slavery? It’s inhuman is what it is! It was interesting while doing research I found that some people actually sided with putting them into missions. So I suppose this is all a matter of opinion.

9. bibliography • Serafinas Stories • Wikipedia • American Journeys.org • SantaFe.org • california.com • and 49online.org