The Encomienda

The Spark to the Pueblo Revolt

By Miranda Adams

The woman’s bones ache as she kneels to steal the fire’s warmth. The prickle of the cold winter air reaches her, even covered as she is by the cotton wrapped around her body. As she sits, shivering, her eyes wander to the window of her pueblo. Her husband was supposed to be home days ago and her worry deepens with the passing of every hour. She knew it was a sorry situation when the Spaniards demanded her husband journey to a neighboring pueblo to provide labor.

When a Spaniard bursts through the threshold, the woman rears back in surprise. She almost falls into the fire in her haste to retreat but instead of approaching her, as she feared, the man demands for her cotton blanket. He claims that she hasn’t given enough tribute, even though she has nothing to give. As she tries to demonstrate this to him, he crosses the pueblo in a few steps and begins removing her blanket from her bare body. She can’t fight the man; he would just make more of an issue for her. She wearily watches as he vanishes back into the frozen night.^[1]

Although that is a fictionalized story, this type of experience was common to the Puebloan Native Americans during the enforcement of the encomienda system. The encomienda - coming from the word encomendar which translates to “to entrust” - is a form of feudalism. In this, a Spanish soldier-citizen is allotted a certain number of Native Americans who he then would extract a tribute of goods or services from, and in exchange he protected the Indians.^[2] The Spanish broke the rules that kept the system lawful, which created physical, economic, and cultural conflict. As a result, tensions escalated between the Puebloans and the Spanish, leading to growing feelings of resentment and anger among the indigenous population. These circumstances served as the catalyst for the imminent uprising of the Puebloans against the Spanish. When religious intolerance reached a peak, it ignited the conflict, leading to the outbreak of the revolt against the Spanish colonial authorities.

Prior to the revolt, the Spanish removed and destroyed Puebloan ceremonial objects, forced Native adherence to the Catholic faith, and disparaged their beliefs.^[3] Finally, the Puebloans had enough. Popé, a Tewa leader who was born in 1630, spent four years arranging the rebellion. Forty-six pueblos agreed to the plan, and it was set into action. Most of the pueblos spoke different languages which made a written or orally communicated countdown ineffective. Solving this issue, Popé sent a knotted rope made of agave fiber to every participating tribe, each knot representing a day until the rebellion. The leaders would untie a knot every day, and hence they had a way to visually calculate how many days until their retribution.^[4]

Unfortunately, the Spanish became aware of the plot after capturing two of the Puebloan messengers, thus, the Puebloans had to start fighting two days prematurely. On August 10, 1680, the uprising began and 2,500 Native Americans fell upon the outnumbered Spanish. After a week-long battle filled with mass destruction of pueblos, brutally wrecked Spanish churches, and death, the Puebloans came out victorious. With the loss of approximately 375 Spaniards in the battle, the surviving 2,000, including the Catholic-converted Puebloans, abandoned the area.^[5] The Puebloans, broken but hopeful, began reclaiming their religion and attempting to rebuild a shattered society. The rebellion successfully drove out the Spanish for a little over a decade, who then began to reconquer New Mexico in 1695.^[6]

It is accepted that the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was a direct result of religious hampering upon the Kachina Puebloans by the Catholic Spanish - the polytheistic Kachina religion directly opposes the monotheistic practices in the Catholic faith. However, the encomienda system, with its many abuses and exploitations, set the stage for the revolt.

To delve deeper into this topic, it is crucial to explore the insights provided by historians who have conducted in-depth research on this subject. Through their collective works, Timothy Yeager, Allen Anderson, Edward Spicer, Jack Forbes, and Henry Bowden provide a thorough analysis of the encomienda system and the intricate dynamics leading up to the events preceding the Pueblo Revolt. In his article, “Encomienda or Slavery?”, Timothy Yeager examines the encomienda system and compares it to slavery. He concludes that slavery would have brought the Spanish Crown more money, but the Spanish didn’t like the connotation of slavery, so they instead chose to employ the encomienda. Next, Allen Anderson’s article, “The Encomienda in New Mexico, 1598-1680.”, gives a basic outline of how the encomienda system worked and its use in New Mexico. He believes the encomienda could have been morally sound if the Spanish had not broken their own laws. Furthermore, Edward Spicer’s book, Cycles of Conquest, dives into the effects of Spanish colonization on the Native Americans and how it changed their economics, language, religion, and overall lifestyle. In his book, Apaches, Navahos, and Spaniards, Jack Forbes provides his thoughts on the Athapascan people and the Spanish.^[7] He argues that the Native American tribes were united and that Spanish colonization brought that unity to an end. In his article, “The Pueblo Revolt of 1680,”, Henry Bowden makes an impressive effort to cease viewing the events that happened during this time strictly through a European lens but uses Spanish sources to further understand the situation. He discusses cultural and religious issues concerning the Spanish and Native Americans. This work will combine the research of these articles and books to determine the role the encomienda played in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

The Puebloans are a group of Native American tribes located in southwestern North America. If using modern maps, they would be found in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The Puebloans settled in this region during the 1300s and have remained until present day.^[8] The tribes included in the “Puebloan” label are: Acoma, Taos, Isleta, Santa Clara, and Zuni. Although not a Puebloan tribe, the Jumane are included in the Puebloan’s trials and tribulations.^[9] According to Ginès de Herrera Horta, the Puebloans live in dwellings called pueblos, hence their name.^[10]

Before the Spanish marched into the Native American pueblos and began their efforts to colonize them, they conquered South America. Christopher Columbus was the first to begin using the encomienda system in the Americas. However, it became clear the Spanish encomenderos, grantees of the encomienda, were abusing the system in South America. In 1574, the Crown set in place “New Laws” to make the system more lawful and end the slavery of Indians.^[11] The wealthy Spanish were abhorred by this, as the misconduct of the encomienda had brought them economic gain, and rebelled against the Crown. This slowly brought the encomienda system to its deserved end, but not before the Puebloans got their share of abuse.

The encomienda system was restricted by many ordinances to keep it lawful, as listed in the “New Laws”. Those who lived under the encomenderos were legally free under the Crown and their statutory rights protected.^[12] The Native Americans could not be removed from their pueblos under order of the encomenderos.^[13] Similarly, the encomenderos had specific laws for their conduct. The encomenderos were not allowed to live on Native American land or in their villages, nor could they buy land the Native Americans inhabited. Additionally, the Spanish could not enslave Native Americans or buy, sell, or rent them.^[14] The Spanish were also not allowed to force personal services to be elicited from the Native Americans. As Anderson states, “... Practice on remote frontiers often deviated from the king’s principles.” While these laws may seem thorough and moral, when no official oversight is provided, there is no promise of adhesion to the rules.^[15]

Spanish governor Don Juan de Oñate began his travels to reach the pueblos on December 19, 1597. Alongside him traveled Joseph Brondate, a Spaniard who acted as captain of calvary for this expedition. In 1598, the team reached a river dotted by roughly 200 Native Americans who were fishing. According to Brondate, during this first encounter the Native Americans accepted them warmly and helped the Spanish cross the river. Once the Spaniards crossed the river and traveled for a while, they reached the first pueblos.^[16] Ginès de Herrera Horta states that this is where Oñate set up the Spanish headquarters, inside the pueblo of San Gabriel.^[17]

This is a violation of the encomienda law that prohibits the Spanish to reside in Native American territory or pueblos. Adding weight to the situation, it is not just the first Spanish settlement but also the headquarters of the Spanish.  In Spicer’s book, Cycles of Conquest, he writes, “By law the encomenderos were not permitted to live on the lands which they held as encomiendas, but in New Mexico this law was largely ignored. The result … was persistent conflict between Spaniards … and the Indians[.]”.^[18] While this sustained circumstance of strife certainly helped build the tension that preceded the 1680 uprising, the legal misconduct of the Spanish was not the only issue. When the Spanish are in such close proximity from whom they can extract labor and goods from, there is ample opportunity for exploitation and abuse of the system.^[19]

There was also an undeniable lust for economic growth that the Spanish displayed during this time, as Anderson writes, “… [T]he economic motive of securing a cheap labor supply to maintain the colonists and increase their wealth was foremost in the minds of the encomenderos.”.^[20] In 1661, Spanish Captain Andres demonstrated this mindset in a letter. Andres wrote that the Spanish were forcing Native Americans to travel 660 miles to work while withholding pay.^[21] The Spaniards blatant disregard for the Puebloans physical or economic wellbeing was apparent. By withholding payment, not only could the Natives not supply themselves with essentials, they also wouldn’t have been able to provide for their family.

The tribute demands placed upon the Puebloans were brutally enforced and played a large role in procuring the Spanish their economic gain. Immediately from the time of the Spaniards arrival, the tribute was shackled onto the Native Americans.^[22] At first, the tribute was levied on households, so the Natives consolidated into bigger pueblos to minimize the effects of the tribute. However, the Spanish saw this and changed the tribute extraction from household to individual. This action caused the amount of tribute demanded to rise exponentially, which caused turmoil for the Native Americans who had to scramble to provide the tributes.

Horta accounts that part of the tribute for each individual was one cotton blanket, annually.^[23] If the Puebloans said they had no cotton blankets to give, the soldiers would remove them from the bodies of Native American women, who wore the blankets as clothing, and leave them naked.^[24] Culturally, this was a blow to the Puebloans. The only ceremony they performed during marriage rituals was an exchange of the man giving the woman a cotton blanket, which signified the husband’s vow to provide for his wife and hers that she would serve him.^[25] Certainly then, the Spanish’s cruel extraction of such culturally, and physically, important objects made the Natives resentful.

To add to the cultural blows, as D’Emilio and Freedman write in their book, Intimate Matters, “… [M]ost native peoples did not associate either nudity or sexuality with sin.”.^[26] This thought was irreconcilable with the Spanish colonists’ beliefs regarding such topics. By observing the differences regarding the acceptance of nudity, we see that by leaving the women naked, the Spanish were purposefully shaming the Natives and reminding them of their inferiority.

Due to a dangerous combination of drought, famine, and sickness spreading through southwestern North America, the Puebloans were at one of their lowest economic points during this time. The famine and drought ruined their crops, their cotton fields, and likely killed most of the wild game that was surrounding the pueblos. So dire was this situation that on some occasions the Puebloans had to eat charcoal, ash, and tree branches.^[27] In 1661, a Spanish captain acknowledges the severity of the situation in a letter, writing, “… [I]t is to be expected that grave ruin will come to this poor kingdom, which has just been through so serious a famine that the natives had to sustain themselves on seeds of grasses, tierra blanca, and herbs of very injurious character …”.^[28]

The Spaniards, despite being aware of the desperate measures the Native Americans were having to take, did not lessen the tribute. Ginès de Herrera Horta states that the Spanish soldiers went out once a month to extract tribute, maize in this case, from the pueblos.^[29] Horta accounts that one soldier told him the Natives “… part with it with much feeling and weeping…” and the Puebloans would follow behind the soldiers to watch if any of the corn kernels fell to the ground.^[30] If there were dropped pieces, they would hungrily collect the singular kernels of corn.

Additionally, in 1659, unconverted Puebloans sold their children and slaves to the friars to be converted in exchange for food.^[31] While maintaining the pretense of religious conversion, the friars agreed to buying the Native Americans although it was against the law.^[32] This exemplifies two points. The Spanish, once again, broke their laws that were meant to keep the Puebloans safe and unharmed. Additionally, it shows the Puebloans desperate need for sustenance, as they were willing to overlook the religious battle in favor of food.

The Puebloans were not the only ones affected by the infertile land. The Spaniards, so desperate for food, would torture the Native Americans until they revealed where they kept their stashes of preserved corn, which were incredibly precious to the Puebloans.^[33] The Spanish would also demand blankets or food then punish the Natives in their anger when the Natives couldn’t supply enough or refused to supply any. In more than one case, the Puebloans fought back against the Spaniards after such an occasion.

In 1601, Don Juan de Zaldívar - a nephew of the governor - led a group of men to the Acoma pueblo. The Spanish demanded supplies and once they were provided, the men left. However, three men - including Zaldívar - went back demanding more supplies. The Spanish ended up killing two Puebloans. Armed with stones and rocks, the Natives fought back and killed the group. The governor declared war and sent out an army to punish the Natives. The Natives refused to surrender. However, after two days of battle and many dead Puebloans, the Puebloans finally surrendered and offered tribute. The Spanish refused the tribute then brutally massacred the Natives in varying acts of cruelty, leaving nearly 800 dead.^[34]

The Jumane tribe also showed their resistance against the Spanish. When another of the governors’ nephews came to their pueblo and demanded food and supplies, the Jumane said they could eat stones. The governor, outraged by their disrespect, came to their pueblo to set fire to their pueblos and rain shots down on them. Five or six were killed, many injured, and two hanged.^[35]

From the very beginnings of Spanish settlement in North America, the presence of exploitation and abuse was prominent through physical punishment, massacres, selfish demands, cultural indifference, and broken laws. As seen, the seeds of revolution had been planted firmly in the minds of the Puebloans well before 1680. Unfortunately, without the use of a united rebellion, the Puebloans lacked the strength and resources to overthrow their Spanish rulers. It did, however, set the stage for the monumental uprising of 1680 when the Puebloans threw off the mantle of their Spanish overlords.

^[1] Fictionalized story based on true events. Francisco de Valverde y Mercado, “Ginès de Herrera Horta” in Don Juan de Onate, Colonizer of New Mexico, 1595-1628, ed. George P. Hammond, trans. Agapito Rey (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1953,) 6:653. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/ 

^[2] Timothy J. Yeager, “Encomienda or Slavery? The Spanish Crown’s Choice of Labor Organization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America.” The Journal of Economic History 55, no. 4 (1995): 843. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2123819.

^[3] Henry Warner Bowden, “Spanish Missions, Cultural Conflict and the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.” Church History 44, no. 2 (1975): 222-223. https://doi.org/10.2307/3165194.

^[4] Charles W. Hackett, “Declaration of Pedro Naranjo of the Queres Nation. [Place of the Rio del Norte, December 19, 1681.]” in Revolt of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Otermin’s Attempted Reconquest 1680-1682, trans. Charmion C. Shelby (Albuquerque: The University of New Mexico Press, 1942,) 246.

^[5] Don Antonio de Otermín, “Letter from the Governor and Captain-general, Don Antonio de Otermin, from New Mexico. [September 8, 1680.]” in Historical Documents relating to New Mexico, Nueva Vizcaya, and Approaches Thereto, to 1773, ed. Charles W. Hackett, comp. Adolph F. A. Bandelier and Fanny R. Bandelier (Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1937,) 3:327-335. https://archive.org/; Edward H. Spicer and Hazel Fontana, Cycles of Conquest: The Impact of Spain, Mexico, and the United States on the Indians of the Southwest 1583-1960 (Arizona: University of Arizona Press, 1962,) 163.; Simon Piermont and Justin Siewierski, “The Pueblo Revolt of 1680.” Open Anthology of Earlier American Literature. https://press.rebus.community/openamlit/chapter/introduction-12/.

^[6] Frederic J. Athearn, “The Reconquest of New Mexico, 1693-1704” in A Forgotten Kingdom: The Spanish Frontier in Colorado and New Mexico, 1540-1821. contrib. the United States. Bureau of Land Management. Colorado State Office (Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1989,) 11. https://www.google.com/books.

^[7] Athapascan (or Athabascan) is a set of linguistic groups, the Puebloans and surrounding Native American tribes are included in this group.

^[8] National Park Service. Visiting New Mexico Pueblos. National Parks Service, January 30, 2018. https://www.nps.gov.

^[9] Jumane is interchangeable with the modern variation of the tribe’s name, Jumano.

^[10] Valverde, “Ginès de Herrera Horta” 644.

^[11] Yeager, “Encomienda or Slavery?” 845.

^[12] Anderson, “The Encomienda in New Mexico.” 354.

^[13] Yeager, “Encomienda or Slavery?” 843.

^[14] Ibid.

^[15] Anderson, “The Encomienda in New Mexico.” 355.

^[16] Valverde, “Joseph Brondate,” Don Juan de Onate, Colonizer of New Mexico, 6:625. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/.

^[17] Valverde, “Ginès de Herrera Horta,” 6:643-644.

^[18] Spicer, “Cycles of Conquest,” 159.

^[19] Anderson, “The Encomienda in New Mexico.” 363.

^[20] Ibid.

^[21] Captain Andres Hurtado, “Declaration of Captain Andres Hurtado, Sante Fe, September, 1661,” Historical Documents relating to New Mexico, Nueva Vizcaya, and Approaches Thereto, to 1773, 3:188. https://archive.org/

^[22] Ibid., 357.

^[23] Valverde, “Ginès de Herrera Horta,” 653.

^[24] Ibid.

^[25] Ibid., 647.

^[26] John D’Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998,) 7. https://www.google.com/books

^[27] Jack D. Forbes, Apaches, Navahos, and Spaniards. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1960,) 97. https://archive.org/

^[28] Hurtado, “Declaration of Captain Andres Hurtado, Sante Fe, September, 1661,” 187.

^[29] Valverde, “Ginès de Herrera Horta” 653.

^[30] Ibid.

^[31] Hurtado, “Historical Documents relating to New Mexico,” 191-192.

^[32] Forbes, “Apaches, Navahos, and Spaniards.” 150-151.

^[33] Forbes, “Apaches, Navahos, and Spaniards.” 97.

^[34] Valverde, “Ginès de Herrera Horta,” 649-650.

^[35] Spicer, “Cycles of Conquest,” 157; Valverde, “Ginès de Herrera Horta,” 648-649; Forbes, “Apaches, Navahos, and Spaniards.” 89-91.