Spanish officials in New Mexico arrested dozens of Pueblo religious leaders on accusations of "witchcraft"; punishments included hangings, whippings, and enslavement. The crackdown became a major catalyst for inter-Pueblo organizing that culminated in the 1680 revolt.
In late spring 1680, messengers and leaders from multiple Pueblo communities gathered at Red Willow (Taos Pueblo) area to coordinate a province-wide uprising, with Po'pay (Popé/Po'pay) among the principal organizers.
The Pueblo Revolt began with coordinated assaults on Spanish settlements and missions across New Mexico, rapidly overwhelming outlying positions and communications.
Pueblo forces tightened the siege of Santa Fe, cutting supplies and placing the Spanish colonial government and settlers under acute pressure inside the capital.
After days of siege, Spanish authorities and surviving settlers abandoned Santa Fe and began a retreat toward the Rio Grande corridor and El Paso del Norte, marking the effective collapse of Spanish rule in New Mexico.
Separate groups of Spanish and allied refugees converged near Fray Cristóbal and continued south, consolidating the displaced colonial population after the revolt.
The displaced New Mexico colonial government and settlers established an exile base around El Paso del Norte, from which Spanish authorities planned future attempts to return north.
Governor Antonio de Otermín led an expedition back into New Mexico in an effort to reassert control, but Spanish forces proved insufficient and ultimately retreated again toward the El Paso region.
Don Diego de Vargas was charged with restoring Spanish authority and led a reconquest expedition toward Santa Fe, the first major Spanish return to New Mexico since 1680.
De Vargas reached Santa Fe and secured a negotiated submission that allowed Spanish reentry, commonly characterized as a relatively bloodless initial restoration of Spanish rule.
A larger return movement brought settlers and supplies back toward New Mexico under de Vargas’s leadership, escalating competition over food, housing, and labor and sharpening conflict with Pueblo communities.
During renewed fighting after the reconquest, Spanish forces under de Vargas attacked and took Astialakwa (a Jemez Pueblo stronghold), a major violent episode that underscored Indigenous resistance and the coercive character of the Spanish return.
A new, widespread Pueblo uprising broke out in the mid-1690s, with attacks on colonists and missionaries, showing that Spanish control remained contested even after reoccupation of Santa Fe.
De Vargas produced a substantial official account detailing raids, killings, and Spanish countermeasures during the 1696 uprising, reflecting both the severity of the conflict and the administrative effort to reassert imperial authority.
Pueblo Revolt and Indigenous Resistance in New Spain (1680–1692)
