American Colonies

The Spanish Frontier

Cabeza da Vaca• Conquistador who was second

in command of failed invasion• Turned slave of the natives he

was trying to enslave• Turned holy man

– He and 3 others were pressured to pray for the sick who luckily recovered

• Returned to Mexico proffering the pacification of the natives vice conquest– His reports however spawned

several more conquests with no riches ever found

Coronado• Fed intelligence about Zuni cities sheathed in

gold– Intel provided by Fray Marcos who never

entered a village

• Funded and equipped a force of;– 300 Hispanic soldiers– 6 Franciscan Friars– 800 Mexican Indian auxiliaries

• After first village, Hawikuh, denied entry, it was sacked– Found beans, corn, and turkeys– No gold, no silver

• Led by rumors, descended into Rio Grande Valley– Imposed upon natives who he lumped together

under the title Pueblos– Pueblos tricked Coronado with stories of gold in

the Great Plains• Coronado discovers trick• Uses compass to return to Pueblo and exact

revenge

Florida• Defense of shipping was main interest

of Spain• Colonies in area not successful as

Menéndez was looking for silver mines• Remaining colony, San Augustín, is used

as a dumping ground for “hoodlums and the mischievous”

• 1590s to 1600s saw the influence of the Franciscans in converting the locals– Epidemics drove natives to look for

spiritual protection– Local chiefs looking for an edge over

neighbors

• Priests maintained power through rigid morality enforced with beatings– Also relied on Spanish military to punish

and intimidate

New Mexico• Another attempt at pacification

– Large debts assumed by Don Juan Onate the adelantado• Drove him to look for big scores• Meant conquering and exploiting Indians

– Indians protested and killed Onate’s nephew and a patrol• In retaliation he had Acoma stormed

– 800 natives killed– 500 enslave

– Onate also alienated the Franciscan friars• Had him removed and charged for adultery and abusing

natives and colonists

• With appointment of new governor, new rules for occupation were introduced– Colonists were withdrawn to new settlement, Santa Fe– Instructed to raise own crops and livestock to limit

food exploitations of the natives– Limited military service to married men to reduce rape

• With the natives isolated from the bulk of the Hispanics, the Franciscans believed they could convert them into “escpecially tractable and pure Christians – superior to common Hispanics”

Don Onate

Don Peralta