The Pueblo Revolt

The Pueblo Revolt, Robert Silverberg, Weybright and Talley, 1970

This is a history book about the defeat of the Spanish Empire, who, 300 years ago, were the most powerful empire in the Americas, by a group of Indian tribes who didn't even speak the same language.

The story starts in 1528, when a Spanish expedition to Florida ran into heat, disease and unfriendly natives. In five ships, they escaped into the Gulf of Mexico. Four of the ships sank, and the fifth washed up near present-day Galveston, Texas. Eight years later, the four survivors told the Spanish Viceroy in Mexico City tales of cities full of gold that they had heard from the local Indians. That was all the Spanish needed to hear; expeditions were sent north, but after more than a decade of exploring, the effort was abandoned with no gold found.

Around 1600, the Spanish tried again, founding a colony near present day Santa Fe, New Mexico. They were accompanied by friars whose job was to turn the Indians into Catholics. The colony almost failed more than once, because the Spanish hadn't forgotten their gold hunger, and were more interested in that than in building up the colony. The Spanish were less cruel to the Indians than in other parts of the empire, but oppression was still oppression.

The province went through a number of governors, of widely varying degrees of competence. The Spanish civil authorities wanted the Indians to spend all day tilling the fields, herding the animals and building houses for the Spanish. The friars complained that then the Indians would have no time or energy to build the churches or worship in them. A compromise was reached just before relations reached the point of civil war. The friars conducted periodic purges of the pueblos, removing and destroying all native artifacts. By the 1660s, the Indians had had enough, and began to quietly talk revolt.

The "leader" of the revolt, an Indian named Pope, took his time, talking to only a few allies at each pueblo. They would then talk to their fellow residents of the pueblo. When the day of the revolt neared, lengths of knotted cord were sent to each pueblo, each knot signifying one day until the revolt. The cords were carried by messengers who faced death if they confessed to the Spanish. In 1680, the Indians attacked, killing hundreds of Spanish and driving them out of the colony. The Indians were free of the Spanish.

The Indian coalition began to break down almost immediately. Pope, the leader, proclaimed himself the new governor and insisted on the same pomp and tribute from the Indians as the previous Spanish governor. After 12 years of near-anarchy, the Indians were happy to return to Spanish rule when they returned to reestablish their colony. But the Spanish had learned that easing their control over the Indians was a good idea.

This book is best for those who are history buffs. It's still an interesting story that is well worth the reader's time.