For most Americans in the Southwest, the real history of the region begins with the arrival of Anglo pioneers who moved westward in the mid-nineteenth century, spreading "civilization" to a virgin frontier. While there might be some acknowledgement that Indians and Mexicans already inhabited the Southwest, they, like the mountains and rivers, would be regarded as natural obstacles to hinder the progress of these "settlers."

In contrast to this popular notion of history, the human settlement of the Southwest predates the nineteenth-century pioneers by centuries. Native Americans trace their roots back several thousand years, during which time some groups evolved from nomadic bands of hunters and gatherers to sophisticated agricultural societies. The first European settlement in what is now the Southwest occurred in 1540, a full three hundred years before the "Westward Movement" that has become ingrained in our consciousness.

Over the course of the succeeding three centuries, Spaniards would migrate to the vast reaches of the northern frontier of New Spain as missionaries, soldiers, merchants, farmers, and ranchers, and they would plant the seeds of a rich Hispanic culture in this part of the New World.

The Spaniards who followed in the wake of Christopher Columbus were a diverse lot. Some came to the Indies in search of adventure and wealth, in anticipation of discovering El Dorado, C’bola, Quivira, or other mythical kingdoms so vividly described in the romantic tales of Renaissance literature. Others had nobler ends, such as the Catholic missionaries, who found in the Indians a fertile ground for the conversion of souls to Christianity. Still others-the majority of the immigrants-left their native Spain for the Americas to seek their fortune as farmers, soldiers, miners, merchants, craftsmen, and bureaucrats.

Anglo-American perceptions of Spanish activities in the New World historically have tended to reflect a negative, "Black Legend" image, maintaining that the Spanish conquerors and settlers were unusually cruel to the Indians. This image was frequently reinforced in England and the Protestant countries of Europe by the publication of travel narratives with engraved illustrations that emphasized scenes of torture, maimings, and hangings. It is important to remember, however, that these countries were engaged in a religious war with Spain-a war that Spain financed in part by riches imported from the New World. Since these countries dominated the publishing trade, their interpretations of Spanish cruelties circulated widely and evolved finally into "documentation" that later generations would accept as fact.

While it is true that some individual Spaniards were cruel and tyrannical, there is reliable evidence to demonstrate that, as a whole, the Spaniards were no more nor less cruel than other nations in their dealings with indigenous Americans. Their system of administration was much more efficient, and many of the leaders were devoutly certain that they brought the wonderful gifts of salvation and Hispanic culture, which would readily convert the natives into true believers of the faith and loyal subjects of the crown. Bernal Díaz, for instance, reports that Cortés frequently had to be dissuaded from setting up crosses and baptizing villages after a brief colloquy with the caciques, or chiefs. The priests recognized what Cortés found difficult to understand, that Spanish Catholicism and European civilization could not instantly supplant the heritage of centuries.

From their initial bases established in the Caribbean, Spanish explorers and conquistadores expanded the realms of the King of Spain to the mainland of South, Central, and North America through the early years of the sixteenth century. In 1519, Fernando Cortés set out from Cuba to explore the coastline of Central Mexico. From the Indians who lived along the coast, he learned of a mighty and powerful nation, whose capital was located several days travel to the west, on an island in a large lake. A shrewd diplomat and military commander, Cortés was able to assemble a formidable army composed of both Spanish and Indian troops, and he achieved entry into the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in November of 1519. Temporarily ousted during La Noche Triste (the Sad Night) of the following year, Cortés regrouped his forces and conquered the city on August 13, 1521. Mexico City has served as the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Republic of Mexico (established in 1821) ever since.

Within decades of the conquest of Mexico, Cortés and other conquistadores fanned out in all directions to establish Spanish hegemony over distant regions of the viceroyalty, from Central America in the south, to as far north as the present state of Kansas. The soldiers who followed their commanders into these dangerous and remote corners were motivated in large part by the hope of discovering the mythical kingdoms described in romantic literature. When Francisco Vásquez de Coronado explored northward in 1540, he came in the hopes of discovering "un nuevo México"—a New Mexico—perhaps even richer and more magnificent than the Mexico discovered and conquered by Fernando Cortés twenty-one years earlier. Much to his disappointment, he found not another Mexico, but only a group of Indians settled in pueblos, or towns, living a sedentary life based largely on agriculture. After exploring as far west as the Grand Canyon, and as far east as Oklahoma and Kansas, the expedition returned to Mexico. Although there was no "New" Mexico in the north, the name continued to apply to the region for the succeeding 450 years. By the mid-sixteenth century, the age of the conquistadores had come to an end in New Spain. Fearful of the tremendous power and authority that the conquerors had amassed during the initial years of the Spanish enterprise, the Crown embarked on a campaign to replace them with its own administrators and bureaucrats, ranging from the viceroy in Mexico City, to scores of lower level corregidores scattered throughout the hinterlands. Even the mighty Fernando Cortés found himself spending many of his last years fighting battles in the courts, the object of numerous civil suits.

The Spanish were very much used to administering conquered territories, based on centuries-long experience accumulated during la reconquista, the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. For hundreds of years Spanish soldiers and bureaucrats had developed institutions designed for the effective administration of the frontier. But the existence of the Indians added a new element into the proven formula. Were they to be considered as beasts of burden to serve the conquering Spanish as spoils of conquest, or as rational human beings, with rights to be protected and with souls to be converted to Christianity? To a great extent the latter philosophy prevailed, and a myriad of laws were passed to protect the rights of Indians from the usurpation of their land and labor. But as is often the case in frontier administration, the law was often honored more in its breach than in its observance. The institution of the encomienda, for example, was designed to entrust the Indians to the care of Spaniards for their religious education, in return for a specified, limited amount of tribute, paid either in labor or in goods. In many cases, however, the system deteriorated into a simple system of forced labor, without either the limits or the religious education. With regard to other legal protections for the Indians, however, such as land and water rights, enforcement tended to be stronger. In certain regions, such as Oaxaca, Indians effectively utilized the Spanish system of justice to maintain the integrity of their own lands.

One of the strongest forces for the protection and religious training of the Indians was the Catholic missionary. From the very beginning of Spanish colonization of the Indies through the late eighteenth century, thousands of priests representing Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, Augustinians, and other orders labored to convert the natives to Christianity. One of the most notable among these was Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, whose untiring efforts in the early sixteenth century served as the catalyst for the reform laws cited above.

The missionaries, most notably the Jesuits and Franciscans, also served to advance new Spain's frontier northward into Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Often accompanied by military presidios and civilian settlements, the missions served to indoctrinate Native American populations in the ways of Spanish culture. One of the most successful missionaries in this regard was the Jesuit father, Eusebio Francisco Kino. During the course of his missionary work with the Pimas and Papagos of Northern Sonora and Arizona, Father Kino introduced the Indians to cattle ranching and the cultivation of wheat, traditions that lasted long after Kino and the Jesuits had left the region.

New Spain remained among the realms of the Spanish Crown until 1821, when Mexico achieved its independence. During the three hundred years of Spanish administration, Iberian culture, law, and religion were superimposed on the native population of the region. But rather than becoming a mirror image of the mother country, New Spain drew upon a multitude of ethnic sources in developing its unique character. Many Mexicans today see themselves as a raza cósmica, or cosmic race, a blend of Indian, European, and Black races and cultural traditions. This rich heritage has left its mark as well on those parts of the United States that were once part of New Spain and Mexico. The Hispanic influence ranges from the names of such prominent metropolitan centers as Los Angeles and San Francisco, to cowboy terms, such as lariat (la reata) and chaps (chaparreras), to the living Hispanic culture that thrives in many areas of the Southwest today.

THE GILCREASE MUSEUM:

HISPANIC DOCUMENTS COLLECTION

ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES, especially for

Humanities Programs in Libraries.

Signed Letter from Jesuit Missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino Pimería, 1698, Document No. 218.

"Ferdinandus Sotto Crudeliter in Florida." Theodore De Bry, Admiranda Narratio. Frankfort am Main, 1590.

Plano de Tenuxtlitan [Tenochtitlán], Mexico (1545). Alonso de Santa Cruz Mapas Españoles de América, Siglos XV-XVII Madrid, 1951.

First Official Decree Issued by Fernando Cortés, the day after the conquest of Tenochtitlán. Tenochtitlán, August 14, 1521. [Signature Page.] Document No. 130.

RECOMMENDED READINGS

Alexander, Michael, ed. Discovering the New World: Based on the Works of Theodore De Bry. London: London Editions, 1976.

[A fascinating selection of texts and engravings from the books illustrated and published by Theodore De Bry, the best-skilled and most popular purveyor of New World images. His work strongly influenced the European perception of the Americas in the late 16th and 17th centuries.]

Bannon, John Francis. The Spanish Borderlands Frontier, 1513–1821. Albuquerque: The Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1974.

[One of the best syntheses of the history of the Spanish Borderlands, updating the classic 1921 overview by Herbert Eugene Bolton. Highly readable style.]

Bolton, Herbert Eugene. Coronado, Knight of Pueblos and Plains. Albuquerque: The Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1949.

[A classic account of the 1540 expedition of Francisco Vazquez de Coronado to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas in search of the mythical cities of Cibola and Quivira, much loved for its narrative power. Although presently out of print, the book is well worth searching for.]

D’az del Castillo, Bernal. The Conquest of New Spain. Trans. J. M. Cohen. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin Books, 1963.

[An exciting account of the conquest of Mexico from the perspective of a foot-soldier in the army of Fernando Cortés. Writing many years after the event, Diaz captures the drama, romance, and intrigue of the campaign, and brings the conquest alive for modern readers.]

Elliott, J. H. The Old World and the New: 1492–1650. London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1970.

[Offers a unique and intriguing view of the discovery and conquest of the New World, examining the impact of the Americas on Europe in the sixteenth century.]

Hanke Lewis. The Spanish Struggle for Justice in the Conquest of America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1965.

[By the foremost scholar on Bartolomé de las Casas, this classic work details the efforts of the 16th–century priest to reform royal policy toward Indian labor in Mexico and the Caribbean.]

John, Elizabeth A. H. Storms Brewed in Other Men’s Worlds: The Confrontation of Indians, Spanish, and French in the Southwest, 1540–1795. Lincoln: The Univ of Nebraska Press, 1975.

[An excellent detailed account of the interactions among the various ethnic groups and European Powers in the Spanish Borderlands, with a strong emphasis on Texas.]

Leonard, Irving A. Books of the Brave. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1949.

[This fascinating book, unfortunately no longer in print, gives an account of the types of books read by the conquerors, the printed books imported to the New World, and the different kinds of people who purchased and collected these books. Reading was not restricted to the upper classes.]

Lopez de Gomara, Francisco. Cortés, the Life of the Conqueror, by his Secretary. Trans. and ed., Lesley Byrd Simpson. Berkeley: The Univ. of California Press, 1964.

[The political shrewdness and religious devotion of the conqueror are made abundantly apparent in this account of the conquest, which is told from the perspective of Cortés.]

Meyer, Michael C., and William L. Sherman. The Course of Mexican History. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1987.

[A superb overview of the history of Mexico, with special attention to the colonial period. Material drawn from the most recent scholarship, ensuring the most sophisticated and up-to-date interpretation.]

Powell, Philip Wayne. Tree of Hate: Propaganda and Prejudices Affecting United States Relations with the Hispanic World. New York and London: Basic Books, 1971.

[Intriguing and provocative book analyzing the origins of anti-Hispanic, “Black Legend” attitudes maintained by Anglo-American culture and their manifestation in the Americas.]

Weber, David J. Foreigners in Their Native Land; Historical Roots of the Mexican Americans. Albuquerque: The Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1973.

[Excellent series of edited essays analyzing the image and status of Hispanos in the Southwest Borderlands under Anglo rule. Concentrates on the nineteenth century.]