Pueblo Revolt of 1680

833 Words2 Pages

In the 17th Century, widespread colonization of the new world was constantly changing the face of the Americas. European power-houses like England, France and Spain were building colonies on every coast line of the new world. The Native Americans were being forced from the lands they called home for many years, and those that wished to stay were being converted to Catholicism or other religious practices. In some parts of the Americas Native Americans were even being pressed into slavery. Both conversion of the Native Americans and Native Americans being pressed in to slavery were practiced in the Spanish colonies extending into the areas that will one day be called, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and California. The most dominant nation in these regions were the Pueblo Indians. In order to control the Pueblos, the Spanish made the once free people live in peasant communities, forts and missions so they could keep a close eye on them. Oppressing these proud people gave cause to resistance by the Pueblos. An influential Pueblo leader known as El Pope rose up to lead his people from oppression. This revolt actually caught the governor, Captain-General Don Antonio de Otermin off guard. In a letter written by Otermin to Fray Francisco de Ayeta he described how the events unfolded. Otermin described how he had caught word of a plot designed by the Pueblo to overthrow the Spanish. Otermin did not disclose how he discovered it; however it is possible that some of the loyal Pueblos heard of it and informed him that the uprising was going to happen. While a large portion of the Pueblo population had begun following El Pope long before the uprising there were still many who were loyal to the Spanish settlers and leaders. Once Otermin heard ... ... middle of paper ... ...ything and everyone that were there. At times they would work with the Natives at other times they would be at war with the natives. The Spanish had been engaged with the natives longer and over time felt the best way to control them would be to convert them or put them into same locations where they could “keep an eye on them”. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was proof that no matter what they tried, when one man, country, or society tries to oppress another, war is almost always inevitable. Works Cited 1. Charles Wilson Hackett, Revolt of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Otermin’s Attempted Reconquest, 1680–1682 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1942), Volume 2: 245–49. 2. C. W. Hackett, ed., Historical Documents relating to New Mexico, Nueva Vizcaya, and Approaches Thereto, to 1773, vol. III (Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1937), 327-35.

More about Pueblo Revolt of 1680

Open Document