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The History of New Mexico
Home » New Mexico » New Mexico Overview and History » The History of New MexicoThe history of New Mexico is nothing short of fascinating. The long journey to become the 47th state was not without bloody battles, clashing cultures and political scheming. However, life in New Mexico today has achieved a harmonious blend of the three very different cultures that have learned to live peacefully amongst each other.
The first inhabitants of the land now known as New Mexico were Native Americans. Cliff dwellings, pit houses, ancient kivas, petroglyphs, and other artifacts found in the state are evidence that civilized cultures occupied this ground since shortly after the time of Christ.
Spanish explorers were the next to arrive, about 100 years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The Spanish were drawn to the region because of rumors that the land held the Seven Cities of Gold. As the settlers flooded in, it didn’t take long for them to find resistance with the native people that were already established here. Francisco Vazquesz de Coronado of Spain arrived in New Mexico with his soldiers in 1540 to battle the Zunis and force them out of the area. The Spanish government ordered Juan de Onate to lead another expedition from Mexico to New Mexico in 1598. At this time, he settled the first Spanish capital of the area, San Juan do los Vaballeros, which was located at the convergence of the Rio Chama and the Rio Grande. The state of New Mexico uses this event as the beginning of its formal colonization.
The Spanish sent communications and supplies to the area along El Camino Real, or The Royal Road, which stretched 2000 miles from Mexico City to what is now Santa Fe. It was determined in 1610 that Santa Fe would be the new capital of the region. While making this six-month trek, the Spanish brought mining and forging tools with them and taught the Indians they encountered how to make weapons and tools. They also brought livestock to the Indians, including horses that would late be used against them.
The Pueblo Indians were initially accepting of the new settlers from Spain, but it didn’t take long for their forced religion and culture to rub the Indians the wrong way. As a result, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 began and the Indians overthrew the settlers, set their churches on fire and executed their priests, driving the Spanish colonizers in Santa Fe back to Mexico. In 1690, Diego de Vargas became governor and was ordered to recapture New Mexico and set up settlements again. He arrived in Santa Fe with about 50 soldiers and negotiated with the Pueblo Indians, convincing them to surrender. There is a still a festival called Fiestas de Santa Fe that is celebrated today in New Mexico on September 14 to honor this triumph. This is one of longest annually celebrated events in our country.
It seemed that this conquest was too easy to be true, and turns out it was. The Pueblo Indians retook Santa Fe when de Vargas went back to Mexico to retrieve some more settlers. De Vargas decided to use force and ended up killing hundreds of Pueblo warriors. This was dubbed the Second Pueblo Revolt of 1696.
As more and more Spanish settlers came from Mexico, it solemnly became clear to the Pueblos that their dwindling numbers were no longer a force to be reckoned with, and the Spanish gained more and more control of the land. The Spanish did attempt to tolerate their traditions, customs and culture to some degree. In fact, the Pueblos joined the Spanish in attacking the nomadic tribes of the Apache and Comanche that raided the settlements in New Mexico.
In 1821, Mexico won independence from Spain, making New Mexico officially a part of Mexico. The territory included what is now New Mexico, Arizona and parts of southern Colorado and Utah. In 1846 the United States Congress declared war on Mexico. General Stephen Watts Kearny led his army down the Santa Fe Trail which stretched from St. Louis to Santa Fe. Governor Manuel Armijo proclaimed he would fight the Americans, but after secretly meeting with the US government about his impending doom, he fled the city. This opened the door for General Kearny to enter Santa Fe on August 18, 1846 and take New Mexico without any force at all. It was then that the legendary Kearny Code was instituted.
With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1850, The Mexican-American war ended and the Territory of New Mexico was now a part of the United States. It wasn’t until 1863 that the territory was divided in half, with the eastern portion becoming New Mexico and the western portion become Arizona. Railroads quickly entered the picture which helped increase the population, but the rugged terrain made it hard to keep away outlaws such as Billy the Kid. Lawmakers were timid in making New Mexico a state because of the differing cultures and high Hispanic population. However, President William Howard Taft finally signed the proclamation that officially made New Mexico a state in 1912.
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