A variety of Indian groups lives in New Mexico when the Conquistadores moved in. Broadly speaking the Indians included those living in the Pueblo Area and those living in the surrounding Great Plains.
Indian Population in Pueblo Area
Data from Knaut (1995).
| Year | Inhabited pueblos | Pueblo Population | Christian Indians |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1539 | 110-150 | ||
| 1581 | 61 | 130,000 | |
| 1598 | 60,000 | ||
| 1602 | 60-70 | ||
| 1607 | 600 | ||
| 1638 | Less than 40,000 | ||
| 1670s | 46 | 17,000 | |
| 1706 | 18 (excluding the Hopi) | 6,440 (excluding the Hopi) | |
Plains Indians
The Great Plains surrounded the Pueblo area and residing in the plains were the Athapaskan Indians comprising the Navajos, Jicarilla Apache, Mescalero Apache, and Chiricahua Apache (Knaut, 1995). These people usually interacted peacefully with the Pueblos, but occasionally, and increasingly through the seventeenth century, violence occurred. Nomadic aggression took two forms:
- Raid Party comprising from 3 Navajos, or slightly more Apache, up to 10 at maximum. Their aim was to steal and escape without being seen. The arrival of horses with the Spanish made these operations easier and more lucrative.
- War Party comprising larger groups, sometimes into the hundreds. Their intent was violence, often revenge killing.
References
Knaut, A. L. (1995). The Pueblo Revolt of 1680: Conquest and Resistance in Seventh-Century New Mexico. University of Oklahoma Press.
Simmons, M. (1991). The Last Conquistador: Juan de Onate and the settling of the far Southwest. University of Oklahoma Press.