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Show THE FEARING 87 The Peace Policy and El Pinto As many Navajos moved west, the Spaniards lost contact with all but that part of the tribe which stayed near the Rio Grande, in the San Mateo and Cebolleta mountains. These people were victims of both the spread of Spanish settlement and Ute-Comanche raids. At first, as Navajo raids increased, the Spaniards could not control them. By 1774 Spanish troops were marching frequently into Navajo country, trying to punish the Indians. But most of these marches failed. The Navajos merely moved to their protected forts on Big Bead Mesa, and the raids went on. Because of the war, the Spaniards gave up their towns and ranches on the frontier. Settlers took refuge in the Rio Grande towns. They had deserted all their homes on the Rio Puerco and around the Cebolleta Mountains by late 1775. Thus the Navajos had reached one of their major goals. They had rid their land of Spanish settlers. At the same time, the governor began to use the Utes to fight the Navajos again. So, that year, the Navajos sent two leaders to Laguna to request peace, and the Spaniards were happy to agree. This peace lasted until 1780. During the 1770s, it had become clear to Spain that basic changes were needed to protect New Mexico and the rest of the northern frontier. New Mexico could barely survive the attacks of the Navajos and other Indians. Controlling them seemed impossible. The settlers lost so many horses to the Navajos that the province begged the rulers of New Spain for more animals to help defend the frontier. The Viceroy sent the fifteen hundred horses that New Mexico asked for in 1776. But he claimed that the settlers had brought many of their problems on themselves. They were careless, he said, because they lived on widely scattered ranches. Spain had other reasons to change life on its frontier. Spaniards had acquired Louisiana in 1763 and settled California in 1775. Their large claims, which stretched from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, would be difficult to defend. The needed reforms began in 1776. The northern provinces were brought together in a single unit of government, known as the Commandancy-General, under the direct rule of the King of Spain. Spain saw New Mexico as a key part of the new unit. After 1778 a new governor, Juan Bautista de Anza, worked closely with the Commandancy-General to control the Indians. Anza followed |
