AceHistoryDesk – Today in History – On September 21, 1595, Don Juan de Oñate’s petition and contract for the conquest of New Mexico was presented to Luís de Velasco, the viceroy of Nueva Vizcaya. Already a wealthy and prominent man, he sought to turn the Indians’ wealth into his own and had requested the assignment after hearing rumors about golden cities in the vicinity. Oñate was granted the commission and set about recruiting men for his expedition.

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New Mexico’s Colonial Past

After many delays, Oñate finally began the expedition in 1598 with approximately 200 men, accompanied by their families and servants.

The expedition crossed the Rio Grande at El Paso and split up into smaller groups to search for treasure. Some of his men wanted to return to Spain, but Oñate squashed potential deserters by executing several who had attempted to leave. He used brutal force against the Ácoma Indians, who had rebelled and killed several of Oñate’s men. Retribution and the severity of Oñate’s actions after reconquering the pueblo terrified other pueblos and the Spanish priests complained that the Indians distrusted the Spanish—making their conversion difficult.

In 1601, Oñate set out to find the legendary golden city of Quivera. After years of failure, he returned to find much of his colony deserted.

Although his colonization methods were horrific, Oñate is credited with establishing a colony in New Mexico and exploring the geography of the region.

In 1607, Oñate resigned as governor. He was tried and sentenced in 1614 for his cruel actions and ineptitude in ruling the colony. Oñate was fined, banished from New Mexico in perpetuity, and exiled for four years from Mexico City and its vicinity; he also lost his titles as governor and captain general of New Mexico. He appealed his convictions several times after his banishment from Mexico City had elapsed. Evidence of a pardon, likely granted between 1622 and 1624, is inconclusive.Tened piedad, Dios mío (Have Pity, My God). Luis Montoya and Ricardo Archuleta, unaccompanied vocals. Recorded in Cerro, New Mexico, August 9, 1940. Hispano Music and Culture from the Northern Rio Grande: The Juan B. Rael Collection. American Folklife Center

By encouraging further European settlement, efforts led to the founding of Santa Fe in 1610—America’s oldest capital city. Congress established the Territory of New Mexico in 1848 at the conclusion of the Mexican War. On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the forty-seventh state.

Learn More

• The Today in History collection includes numerous features on New Mexico’s history including José Manuel Gallegos, the organization of the Arizona territory, and the 1853 Gadsden Purchase.
• Explore the New Mexico: State Resource Guide to find more resources related to New Mexico found in collections throughout the Library as well as a select print bibliography and suggested external websites.
• Search on New Mexico in American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940 to find out more about life in nineteenth and early twentieth-century New Mexico.
• Photographs of the state are available in the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negativescollection.
• An online research guide on the Mexican War links to a wide variety of material associated with the Mexican War (1846-48), including manuscripts, maps, broadsides, pictures, sheet music, books, and government documents available throughout the Library of Congress website. In addition, it provides links to external websites focusing on the Mexican War and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers.
• Parallel Histories: Spain, the United States, and the American Frontieris a bilingual, multi-format English-Spanish digital collection that explores the history, geography, and culture of Spain and the interactions between Spain and the United States from the fifteenth century to the present. The archived presentation has a section, “Juan de Oñate and the Founding of New Mexico.”
• Additional photographs of New Mexico can be found in these collections:
  • Denver Public Library Digital Collections: Photographs
  • American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936: Images from the University of Chicago Library
  • Panoramic Photographs
  •  Detroit Publishing Company 
  • Digital Horizons: Life on the Northern Plains: F. A. Pazandak Photograph Collection

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