The Pueblo Revolt
A Case Study
What Happened?
From 1598 to 1680, the Spanish ruled the American Southwest with an iron fist. The Native American people that inhabited the Southwest, known as the Pueblos, had been subjected to total rule by means of terror and abuse for eight decades. In 1680, the Pueblos finally rebelled against their Spanish rulers, partially due to the Spanish forcing Christianity on them. Churches were burned and priests were killed, demonstrating the Pueblos' intense desire to return to their old ways. Leading the revolt was Popé, who coordinated the revolt by using "Runners," effectively spreading the message to neighboring tribes, and preventing the Spanish from getting an early warning of the revolt. This contributed greatly to the revolt's success.
What did it signify, symbolize, and foreshadow?
The Pueblo Revolt was the most successful Native American revolt in the history of North America. It was successful because of the unity of the Native American tribes, the desperation to return to the old ways, and the advanced technology of the Pueblo people. Europeans assumed the Natives weren't advanced, and that they would have no problem putting down a revolt. The fact that the Natives were able to beat the Europeans signifies the falseness of these racist, stereotypical assumptions, and demonstrates how advanced and capable the Natives truly were. The Pueblos' desire to push out the Spanish was heavily fueled by the Spanish forcing Christianity upon them. This foreshadows 13 years after the revolt, when the Spanish return and, realizing their mistakes of the past and adapting to the more secular times, do not attempt to convert the natives, and are able to live peacefully amongst them for some time.
What did it achieve?
The Pueblo Revolt resulted in the Spanish being driven out of the Southwest for 13 years, and when they returned, they returned peacefully. Acoma, a town west of Albuquerque, is currently inhabited by Pueblo people, who have been there since the Spanish conquest in 1598. Though some Spanish churches have been built there, there are still kivas where Pueblo people can choose to maintain their old ways. Acoma and other pueblo tribes are also considered their own, self governing "countries," not included in the state of New Mexico. Though the Pueblo people never could return life to exactly how it was before the Spanish invaded, they have been able to maintain much of their culture because of the Pueblo revolt.
America's first revolution?
The Pueblo Revolt could very well be considered North America's first successful revolution. However, it could not be considered America's first, as America was not even established as a country yet. Technically, however, it is the first revolution to take place on the North American continent, and it was a very successful one at that.