The AskHistorians Podcast is a project that highlights the users and answers that have helped make /r/AskHistorians one of the largest history discussion forum on the internet. You can subscribe to us via iTunes, Stitcher, or RSS, and now on YouTube. You can also catch the latest episodes on SoundCloud. If there is another index you'd like the cast listed on, let me know!
This Episode:
/u/RioAbajo discusses the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, in which the indigenous people in what is now the Four Corners region drove out the Spanish colonizers. Starting with a discussion of Pueblo social, political, and religious organization we move from there into the arrival of the Spanish and the institution of the Mission system and encomiendas. Antagonism leads to a unified Pueblo force driving the Spanish from Santa Fe and initiating a decade without European intervention. The episode concludes with a discussion of how this event helped to shape a common and persistent Pueblo cultural identity.
If you want more specific recommendations for sources or have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask them here! Also feel free to leave any feedback on the format and so on.
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Thanks all!
Coming up next fortnight: /u/Bernardito kicks off a two-part series on decolonialism and counterinsurgency as we look at the French-Indochina War and the Algerian War.
Just a small note, but I call mission churches "cathedrals" multiple times in the episode, but there were no bishoprics in New Mexico until the 19th century. Just edit in "church" every time you hear the word cathedral and excuse my loose tongue. I'm sure there are other mistakes I hope you can forgive, but that was the most glaring.
Here is a brief reading list just touching on key sources, but if you want more sources, recommendations for reading material, or have any questions, please do ask!
Benavides, Alonso de 1945 Fray Alonso de Benavides' Revised Memorial of 1634. Frederick W. Hodge, George P. Hammond, and Agapito Rey (editors). University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
Hackett, Charles Wilson, (editor) and Charmion Clair Shelby (translator) 1942 Revolt of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Otermin's Attempted Reconquest, 1680-1682. Coronado Cuarto Centennial Publications, 1540-1940. 2 vols. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
Liebmann, Matthew 2012 Revolt: An Archaeological History of Pueblo Resistance and Revitalization in 17th Century New Mexico. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Preucel, Robert W. (editor) 2002 Archaeologies of the Pueblo Revolt: Identity, Meaning, and Renewal in the Pueblo World. The University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Wilcox, Michael 2009 The Pueblo Revolt and the Mythology of Conquest: An Indigenous Archaeology of Contact. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Edit: For formatting.
I was recently in Santa Fe and I noticed there was very little mention of the Pueblo Revolt at the museums and whatnot. It seemed to basically mention that it happened, then skip forward to when more European settlers returned. This seemed to be in stark contrast to when I was in Cusco, Peru and there was a ton of information about the native peoples and times of rebellion.
Is there a particular reason as to why New Mexico would downplay the revolt today? Is it nefarious and intentional or is it more likely an accidental lack of focus?
Did the movement to reject not just the Spanish, but also the Spanish influences and going back to pre-Spanish pueblo life, also extend to include agriculture? I have heard mentioned somewhere that Po’pay wanted the pueblos to stop cultivating Spanish-imported agricultural products, and get rid of the animals – basically going back to more or less just cultivating beans, corn, squash and turkey as they had before colonization.
Is that notion correct, and how did that play out (if we know) – the narrative I read seemed to indicate that the pueblo people realized it would be a bad idea to stop cultivating for example wheat and pigs, and get rid of the donkeys and mules as they had no other pack animals, and that this was one of the reasons why the Spanish weren’t resisted too much when they returned. It seemed to indicate that the pueblos thought that the benefits of being a colonized people with access to these agricultural product outweighed the other drawbacks – to me that narrative doesn’t sit right (we’ll accept to be ruled by the Spanish crown by the power of bacon) but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this?
Thanks for an excellent podcast!