How long did pueblo independence last

A religious leader from Taos Pueblo named Pope sometimes found as Popay secretly organized a widespread rebellion to occur throughout the region on a single day.

Planning took shape silently during the summer of in more than 70 communities, from Santa Fe and Taos in the Rio Grande valley to the Hopi pueblos nearly miles west.

On the night of August 10, , Indians in more than two dozen pueblos simultaneously attacked the Spanish authorities. A force of 2, Indian warriors sacked and burned the colonial headquarters in Santa Fe.

By the time the revolt succeeded, Indian fighters had killed more than Spanish soldiers and civilians including two-thirds of the Catholic priests in the region and had driven the surviving Europeans back to El Paso.

The Indian leaders then restored their own religious institutions and set up a government that lasted until The Pueblo Revolt of was the single most successful act of resistance by Native Americans against a European invader. Yet, before that upheaval, there was the Pueblo Revolt of , the first revolution in what is today the United States of America. Like its Eastern Seaboard counterpart, the Pueblo Revolt of was a resistance movement against a colonial entity that was mistreating, even abusing, its colonial subjects to a level of desperation that resulted in the violent overthrow of a major world power.

One could argue the revolt was even more remarkable in that Indigenous people took on the might and power of Spain in New Mexico and were victorious.

The rebellious British Americans were versed in British ways, in British thought and British military tactics. The Pueblo people no doubt observed Spanish operations and tactics in New Mexico over the course of decades — eight of them to be exact.

And certainly they learned Spanish strengths and vulnerabilities. There had been rumblings and minor attempts to eject the Spanish in earlier decades, but they did not amount to much.

Not until August He and some others were whipped, but a few of his countrymen were hanged for their alleged transgressions. This act of injustice on his people inspired him to lead a revolt against Spanish oppressors, both religious and civil.

His name has been associated with that event ever since. The causes of such revolutions tend to be of similar origin. The Pueblo people had wrestled with the Spanish settlers and their offspring for generations, no doubt hoping for relief and compromise. Since , the Pueblo people had experienced attempts by Spanish priests and officials to eradicate their religion and the destruction of their kivas and kachina images. The encomienda system, in which a Pueblo would be assigned to a Spanish soldier who would then collect forced tribute in the form of goods, food and labor, also was a source of stress and anguish.

The Pueblo Revolt of was a violent statement of emancipation from Spanish rule. For decades, Britain refused to recognize the new American nation. Please be considerate of other visitors. Inappropriate language will be deleted. Skip to content. Helen Oliff Rafael Tapia, Jr. Published: August 6, Facebook Comments. Share on Facebook Share. Share on Twitter Tweet.

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