Pueblo Revolt

1. WHAT CAUSED THE
PUEBLO REVOLT OF 1680?
Readings Selected and Introduced by David J. Weber

2. Introduction
 The book is a compilation of historical essays
offering theses on what event(s) caused the Pueblo
Revolt of 1680
 Authors: Henry Warner Bowden, Ramon A.
Gutierrez, Van Hastings Garner, Angelico Chavez,
and Andrew L. Knaut
 The editor, David J. Weber, poses 5 questions, each
possible causes for the revolt. The five essays
answer each question and give a unique
perspective on the events.

3. Did the Pueblos Revolt to Save Their
Traditions?
 Henry Warner Bowden “Spanish Missions, Cultural
Conflict, and the Pueblo Revolt 1680”
 “The major theme in historical writing…has been to
interpret Indian rebellion as an expression of economic
and political self-determination.” These interpretations,
however, “…have been overemphasized.”
 Bowden contends that it was the dispute over religion
that was the catalyst for the rebellion.
 He states, the uprising was “…deliberately anti-
ecclesiastical…[and] the clergy were usually the first to
die.”

5. Did Franciscans Invite Martyrdom?
 In “Franciscans and the Pueblo Revolt”, Ramon A.
Gutierrez makes the argument that the Franciscan
monks responsible for missionizing the Pueblos
welcomed martyrdom.
 Gutierrez claims that some even made the trip to the
New Mexico with martyrdom in mind, such as Fray Jose
Trujillo, whose “lifelong quest for martyrdom”
culminated at the revolt in 1680.
 “Their suffering was ‘the sure road to life; because the
better title corresponding to such deaths is to call them
lives’”.

6. Did Pueblos Revolt to Save Their Lives?
 Van Hastings Garner offers the most impressive account for
the revolt and the most compelling case for causation.
 His study gathers many of the themes addressed by
previous/future historians and presents them as a
holistic/multi-causation event.
 Rather than point to one cause Van Hasting Garner points to
many:
1. Antagonistic imperialism
2. Reciprocating reliance between Pueblos and Spaniards that
eventually fell apart
3. Drought and famine
4. Suppression of the Natives
5. Important role of Mestizos

8. Did the Right Leader Make the Revolt
Possible?
 Angelico Chavez “Pohe-yemo’s Representative and
the Pueblo Revolt of 1680”
 The important mestizo, Domingo Naranjo, was a
prominent individual in the Revolt. His name
appeared frequently in multiple essays and the
current author, Angelico Chavez, gives special credit
to his leadership abilities in leading the rebellion.
 Chavez argues that Naranjo is the “Representative
of Pohe-yemo”, which was apparently the divine
being who was behind parts of Pueblo religion.

9. Did the Spaniards’ Loss of Authority
Encourage the Revolt?
 Andrew L. Knaut, in “Acculturation and Miscegenation” makes a
compelling argument that the interbreeding of Natives and
Europeans eventually led to a people difficult to control by the
Crown’s bureaucracies.
 “As a mestizo, Aguliar [a mestizo], represented what had become,
by the time of his birth in the third decade of the seventeenth
century, a large proportion of the Hispanic population in the
province.”
 “Mestizos found themselves pushed in different directions by the
deep seated ambivalence prevalent among the Spanish settlers.
Such social pressures could prove explosive and give rise to frequent
incidents of violence and confrontation.”
 The large number of Mestizos along with the frequent harsh
treatment they underwent at the hands of Europeans provided the
prime ingredients for rebellion.

10. Conclusion
 Clearly, there are many interpretations for causations of the
Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The conclusions of each historian
depend on the questions first asked before their research
begins, and these are the questions influenced by some of
their deepest biases.
 One thing can be considered objective, however. To point at
any one “thing” and say “that’s what caused the rebellion” is
foolish. As with most historical events, the situation is
complicated and a variety of factors were responsible for
the Pueblo’s revolt.
 David J. Weber compiles 5 well-written essays that give the
student-reader a firm grasp on why the Europeans were
overthrown by the Pueblos in 1680 New Mexico.