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The 1700s were a period of extraordinary
change for New Mexico. After New Mexico was settled by the
Spanish in 1598, the colony became essentially a government
subsidized Franciscan mission for the Pueblo Indians. Following
the Pueblo Revolt and reconquest, the authority of the Catholic
Church was reduced substantially, and because of the expanding
influence of the French, English, and Russians in North
America, the Spanish government held on to New Mexico principally
as a defensive buffer against these enemies of the Spanish
Crown.
One of the most significant modifications
of Spanish policy occurred as a direct result of the Pueblo
Revolt of 1680. On that fateful August morning, the Pueblos
were on the verge of losing their cultural identity due
to the suppression and exploitation they had endured since
New Mexico was colonized by the Spanish in 1598. While the
revolt succeeded in only temporarily expelling the Spanish
from New Mexico, it did force changes in Spanish attitudes
which enabled the Pueblos to maintain their language end
ancient religious practices. After the reconquest, it became
apparent that the Spanish would have to demonstrate tolerance
towards Pueblo religious and cultural ceremonies and cooperate
with their neighbors in order to defend the colony against
the various tribes which besieged New Mexico from all directions.
The eighteenth century was an incessant
cycle of raids on Spanish settlements and Pueblos by the
various nomadic Indian groups which inhabited New Spain's
northern frontier, and of Spanish retaliatory campaigns
against these raiders. To fully understand the scope of
this problem, it is necessary to realize that New Mexico
was quite literally surrounded by hostile tribes. Along
New Mexico's northern and eastern frontier were the Comanche
and Jicarilla Apache. To the north and northwest were the
Utes, who constantly fought with the Comanche, and often
allied themselves with the Spanish, but they, too, raided
the Spanish towns and Pueblos of the upper Rio Grande when
it suited them. To the northwest and west were las provincias
de Navajo, or navajo territory; and to the southwest, south
and southeast, the various other Apache tribes. It is not
difficult to see why Indian relations dominated New Mexico
during this period.
While each of these tribes presented
New Mexico with problems at various times during the century,
it was the Comanche who posed the greatest threat to the
colony's survival. By 1750, this tribe had extended their
power throughout much of what is now eastern Colorado, northeastern
New Mexico, and western Texas. Spanish archives tell of
Comanche attacks on many New Mexican communities throughout
the century.
In the 1770s, the Spanish government
developed an aggressive policy designed to defeat and obtain
peace treaties with the various unfriendly Indian tribes
in northern New Spain. Juan Bautista de Anza, who was appointed
Governor in 1778, realized that in order to establish peace
with the hostile tribes which threatened New Mexico's frontiers,
he first had to break the power of the Comanche. To accomplish
this, he decided to deal decisively with Cuerno Verde (Green
Horn), the most powerful Comanche chief.
In 1779, de Anza launched a daring
military campaign in which Cuerno Verde was killed and his
tribe defeated in a decisive battle near present-day Pueblo,
Colorado. But despite the defeat, Comanche raiding New Mexico
did not stop immediately. Ironically, the effort to follow
up and force the Comanche into peace negotiations was hindered
by the subsequent diversion of Spanish resources to support
the American colonies' rebellion against England. The Spanish
government finally entered into a formal peace treaty with
the Comanche in 1786. This treaty ended their raids on New
Mexico's settlements and gained the Spanish a valuable ally.
The Comanche honored the agreement for several decades,
allowing a beleaguered New Mexico to divert attention and
resources to other matters.
Despite constant raids by and campaigns
against the various tribes, New Mexico managed to expand
its settlements during the eighteenth century. In 1695,
a new villa, or seat of government, was established at Santa
Cruz de La Cañada, north of the capital at Santa
Fe. In 1706, the villa of San Felipe de Alburquerque (present-day
old town in Albuquerque) was established to accommodate
the expanding population along the middle Rio Grande.
As New Mexico grew, there was an
urgent need to establish communities further from the Rio
Grande Valley and out into the frontier. Much of this expansion
was made possible through a system of land grants which
awarded tracts of land to individuals and groups who agreed
to establish settlements and cultivate land along the frontier.
Santa Rosa de Lima to the north, San Miguel del Vado to
the east, Cebolleta to the west and Belen, to the south,
are examples of communities established along New Mexico's
frontier during this period. This system of land distribution
differed greatly with the oppressive encomienda which characterized
New Mexico prior to 1680.
Prominent among those who shouldered
the burden of frontier settlement and defense were the growing
mestízo, or mixed blood, population of the province.
Among the least recognized of these groups are the genízaro.
The genízaro were Indians from various tribes, who
had, for a variety of reasons, lost their tribal identity.
Many of them were captive children, who had been raised
in Spanish households and been baptized, had assumed Spanish
surnames, and had eventually become Hispanicized. Genízaro
settlements such as those established at Abiquiu and Tomé,
bore a significant portion of New Mexico's frontier defense
well into the 19th century. Despite many struggles, the
growth of these communities made possible the subsequent
development and expansion of New Mexico.
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