1599 — Jan 21, Spanish (Oñate) Massacre Acoma Natives, punitive expedition, NM-300-800

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard January 5, 2024 (last edit) for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—>800  Bennett, Deb. Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship. 1998, p. 335.

—  800  Forbes, Jack D. Apache, Navaho and Spaniard. 1963, p. 90.

—<800  Jaques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges (Vol. 1 of 2). 2007, p. 6.

—  800  Nunnally, Michael L. American Indian Wars. 2007, p. 8.

—  800  Sonneborn, Liz. Chronology of American Indian History. NY: Infobase Pubs., 2007, 47.

—  800  Wikipedia. “Acoma Massacre.” 10-25-2012 modification.[1]

—  600  Murrin, Michael. History and Warfare in Renaissance Epic. 1994, p. 333, fn. 44.

—  300  New Mexico Office of the State Historian. “Oñate, Juan de.”[2]

–Hundreds.  Roberts, Calvin A. and Susan A. New Mexico. University of NM Press, 2006, 40.

Narrative Information

Bennett: “In January of 1599, Zảldivar led a massacre at Acoma Pueblo in which at least 800 men, women, and children were murdered in cold blood, even after tribal leaders tried several times to surrender.  There were no Spanish casualties, and this massacre and another in the same year involving the Jủmano Tompiros served to drive the native resistance underground an keep it smoldering for centuries.”  (Bennett, Deb. Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship. Solvang, CA: Amigo Publications, Inc., 1998, p. 335.)

Jaques:  “Acoma Pueblo  1598-1599  Spanish Conquest of New Mexico.  As Governor Don Juan de Oñate campaigned against Pueblo Indians in New Mexico, 30 soldiers were surprised near Acoma Pueblo, with 14 killed, including Commander Juan de Zaldivar.  His brother Vicente returned and, in a three-day action, captured the ‘sky city,’ east of modern Grants.  Up to 800 Indians were massacred, with many more enslaved (December 1598 – 22 January 1599).”  (Jaques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century (Vol. 1 of 2). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2007.)

New Mexico Office of the State Historian:  “In December 1598, on their way to Zuni, Capt. Juan de Zaldivar and his soldiers stopped at Acoma for provisions. While there the Acomas accused one of Zaldívar’s soldiers of stealing, and violating an Acoma woman. The Acomas proceeded to kill Zaldívar and nearly a dozen of his men, later claiming that the soldiers had demanded excessive amounts of provisions. A Spanish punitive expedition ascended on Acoma resulting in a three-day battle. When the fighting ended, several hundred Indians were dead, and hundreds of surviving Acomas were held prisoner and taken to Santa Domingo Pueblo to stand trial. Oñate severely punished the people of Acoma. Men over twenty-five had one foot cut off and were sentenced to twenty years of personal servitude to the Spanish colonists; young men between the ages of twelve and twenty-five received twenty years of personal servitude; young women over twelve years of age were given twenty years of servitude; sixty young girls were sent to Mexico City to serve in the convents there, never to see their homeland again; and two Hopi men caught at the Acoma battle had their right hand cut off and were set free to spread the news of Spanish retribution.

Nunnally:  “January 21, 1599, Acoma Massacre – New Mexico.  The Acoma Pueblo is attacked by Spaniards under Vicente de Zaldivar to avenge the death of his brother the month before.  The Spaniards kill over 800 natives and take over 500 prisoners.  All males over twelve are sold into slavery.  All males over twenty-five are sentenced to have one foot cut off.”[3]

Roberts and Roberts: “From the very outset Oñate faced challenges that threatened the survival of his colony.  Some settlers became immediately disgruntled.  Early prospecting yielded few traces of precious metals, though some Spaniards had expected to find silver lying visible on top of the earth, where it could simply be picked up.  Only with strict discipline and threats of punishment did the governor prevent their returning to New Spain.  The other threat came from some of the Pueblo Indians.  They had supposedly sworn to obey the orders of the Spanish governor, though how much of their oath of allegiance they understood was anyone’s guess.

“While the San Juan people remained friendly and helpful, the Acoma Indians mounted the most dangerous revolt against Oñate’s rule.  Since they lived in their ‘sky village’ atop sheer cliffs several hundred feet above the plain, and since the pueblo could be reached only by toeholds dug into the walls, the Acomas felt that they were safe and secure even from the Spaniards.  They found an opportunity to test their strength against the Spaniards when, in early December 1598, Juan de Zaldivar, Oñate’s nephew, arrived at Acoma with a party of soldiers.  En route to join Oñate, who was traveling westward in search of the Pacific Ocean, Zaldivar and his soldiers succumbed to the Indians’ promise to trade for supplies and climbed the walls to the village.  Once Zaldivar and his men were inside Acoma, the Indians fell upon and slew most of them.  Some Spaniards died while trying to jump to the plain below, although tree survived by landing in wind-swept sand along the face of the cliffs.

“When Oñate received th news, he wept at the loss of his nephew and his men, and then his sorrow turned to outrage and a determination to act.  He knew that if he did not subdue Acoma by force, people at other pueblos would sense Spanish weakness, a sign that would end any hope for the colony’s survival.  Thus, on January 12, 1599, Oñate dispatched a punitive force of seventy men under the command of Vicente de Zaldivar, Juan’s brother.

“Arriving at Acoma on January 21, 1599, Vicente ordered the people to surrender immediately, but the Indians, secure atop high cliffs, only jeered the Spaniards.  The next day the main force attacked the pathway to the top, drawing the defenders’ attention while Zaldivar led eleven soldiers up the rock behind Acoma and gained a foothold in the village.  Now pressed on two sides and faced with small bronze cannons that the Spaniards employed with skill, the Acoma people fought desperately in an uneven struggle.  When the battle was over, much of Acoma smoldered in ashes, and hundreds lay dead.

“The Spaniards took the survivors to Santo Domingo[4] to stand trial before Oñate.  Though collectively charged with the December massacre and with armed opposition to the new maters of New Mexico, no Acoma would receive the death penalty for insurrection.  However, the governor did hand down harsh sentences.  Oñate felt he had to clearly issue a warning – opposition to Spanish rule would bring swift retribution.  Men and women alike were sentenced to work for twenty years under Spanish supervision – a polite way of sentencing them to slavery – and all males over the age of twenty-five also were to have part of one foot cut off.  Sixty young girls were sent to Mexico City to live out their lives in convents, while young people under that age of twelve were placed in the care of Catholic priests.  Some historians have since doubted that all the terms of the sentence were fully carried out.  They point out, for example, that by 1604 most Acomas were no longer in servitude, but instead they had returned to the sky village and rebuilt their pueblo.”  (Roberts, Calvin A. and Susan A. New Mexico (Revised Edition). University of New Mexico Press, 2006, p. 40.)

“Sonneborn:  “1598. Pueblo territory is invaded by Don Juan de Oñate.  With the permission of the viceroy of New Spain, Don Juan de Oñate organizes an expedition to found a new Spanish colony, to be called New Mexico, north of the Rio Grande.  Funding the enterprise with his own fortune, Oñate travels with approximately 130 soldiers and their families, eight wagons of supplies, and nearly 7,000 head of cattle.  Like Coronado before him…Oñate hopes to find large gold and silver mines in the American Southwest.  Although he will not find the riches he dreams of, Oñate will succeed in establishing the first permanent European colony in the region.

“North of what is now Santa Fe, the Spaniards invade a Pueblo village and declare it a Spanish town, San Juan.  Oñate sends messengers to other pueblos to inform the Indians that they are now subjects of Spain and must obey Spanish law.  He tells the Pueblo Indians that through their submission they will obtain such benefits as new trade goods and the Catholic religion, which promises them ‘an eternal life of great bliss.

“1599. January. Pueblo at Acoma are massacred by the Spanish.

“Angered by their constant demands for food and clothing, the Indians of Acoma Pueblo rebel against the Spanish soldiers and settlers led by Don Juan de Oñate…who have invaded their lands.  Acoma warriors kill 13 men, including several officers. Oñate immediately organizes a swift and brutal retaliation.  A well-armed Spanish army sets upon Acoma, destroys the pueblo, and massacres approximately 800 residents.  Eighty men and 500 women and children are taken captive.

“Oñate punishes the survivors by sentencing women older than 12 and men between 12 and 25 to 20 years of servitude.  Men older than 25 are to serve an equal number of years as slaves, but in addition they are to have one foot cut off in a public ceremony.  The Spanish also amputate one hand of two Hopi who had been at Acoma at the time of the rebellion.  They are set free to tell the people of other pueblos of the hideous consequences of the quelled revolt.  The punishments will have the effect Oñate hopes for: the Spanish will not have to contend with another well-organized Pueblo revolt for 80 years….”  (Sonneborn, Liz. Chronology of American Indian History. NY: Infobase Pubs., 2007, 46-47.)

Wikipedia:  “The Acoma Massacre, or the Battle of Acoma Pueblo, was fought in January 1599 between Spanish conquistadors and Acoma native Americans in what is now New Mexico. After twelve soldiers were killed at Acoma Pueblo in 1598, the Spanish retaliated by launching a punitive expedition, which led to the deaths of around 800 men, women and children during a three day battle. Several hundred survivors were also enslaved or otherwise severely punished.” (Wikipedia. “Acoma Massacre.” 10-25-2012 modification.)

Sources

 Bennett, Deb. Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship. Solvang, CA: Amigo Publications, Inc., 1998. Partially Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=IaN-YaOMhX4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Forbes, Jack D. Apache, Navaho and Spaniard. University of Oklahoma Press, 1963.

Jaques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century (Vol. 3 of 3). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2007. Partially Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=tW_eEVbVxpEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Murrin, Michael. History and Warfare in Renaissance Epic. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1994. Partial Google preview accessible at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_and_Warfare_in_Renaissance_Epic/7ReDli9I5nsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Murrin,+Michael.+History+and+Warfare+in+Renaissance+Epic.+1994&pg=PP10&printsec=frontcover

New Mexico Office of the State Historian. “Oñate, Juan de.” Accessed 1-8-2013 at: http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=312

Nunnally, Michael L. American Indian Wars: A Chronology of Confrontations Between Native Peoples and Settlers and the United States Military, 1500s-1901. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2007.

Roberts, Calvin A. and Susan A. New Mexico (Revised Edition). University of New Mexico Press, 2006. Partially Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=SttlyvdXitEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Sonneborn, Liz. Chronology of American Indian History. NY: Infobase Publishing, 2007. Partially Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=OKfBId96DTIC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Wikipedia. “Acoma Massacre.” 10-25-2012 mod. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoma_Massacre

[1] Cites: New Mexico Office of the State Historian. “Oñate, Juan de.” This cite, however, writes that “several hundred” Natives were killed.

[2] “300” is our attempt to put a number to statement that “several hundred” Acoma were killed.

[3] Cites: Gunnerson, Dolores A. The Jicarilla Apaches: A Study in Survival. DeKalb: Northern Illinois Univ. Press, 1973; Rajtar, Steve. Indian War Sites. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1999; and Reader’s Digest Publications. Through Indian Eyes. Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest, 1995.

[4] Oñate’s headquarters Northeast of Albuquerque and southwest of Taos. (pp. 14 and 35)